The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday edition that West Fraser Timber and Canfor are suffering from tepid demand in the United States where the recovery in the housing market is stuttering. A Bloomberg dispatch to The Globe says U.S. housing starts fell 8.8 per cent last month. Housing demand is not strong enough to support lumber prices at current levels. "This is a pretty slow recovery we're seeing," said Bloomberg analyst Joshua Zaret. The U.S. is the largest market for Canfor and West Fraser, which manage timberlands in British Columbia that supply softwood used to construct house walls and roofs. Canadian producers are already facing a slowdown in Chinese demand and the long-term impact of the mountain pine beetle on B.C. forests. West Fraser shares have fallen 19 per cent this year. Canfor has slumped 26 per cent, the sixth-worst performance on the 235-member S&P/TSX composite. Both Canfor and West Fraser report first-quarter earnings next week and are likely to post their lowest net income in four years. While the U.S. housing market has made gains in the past few years, there is a limited supply of available land and prices have risen faster than wages, making it harder for some Americans to buy.