The Vancouver Sun reports in its Tuesday edition that British Columbia's lumber producers continue to book substantial profits on near record lumber prices almost a year after the U.S. Department of Commerce first hit Canadian producers with punishing duties.
The Sun's Derrick Penner writes that the benchmark price for 1,000 board feet of top-quality two-by-fours hit $540 (U.S.) about a month ago, compared with $315 (U.S.) at the start of 2017 before the U.S. reignited the trade dispute.
Bottlenecks in rail transportation plaguing all industries are one reason lumber prices have spiked so high, but solid demand has also allowed producers to simply pass the price of tariffs along to consumers in prices, said Susan Yurkovich, president of the B.C. Lumber Trade Council.
Final duties were set last fall at between 20.8 per cent and 22.1 per cent, depending on which company it is, and so far, Ms. Yurkovich said it is consumers that have felt them the most.
West Fraser Timber reported a $596-million profit in 2017, up from $326-million in 2016. Canfor reported $345-million in profits up from $151-million in 2016.
Last year, however, B.C.'s lumber production shrank slightly due in large part to the record wildfires.
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