Commentary

Canada Tariffs

Point • Counterpoint: Tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber

Point Counterpoint   POINT   Tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber hurt the U.S. homebuilding market True. Millions of first-time home buyers and young families struggling to gain a toehold...

Succession planning insights – Part III

Part 3 • Succession planning insights Part I • Succession planning insights Part II Installment payments to buy out a business interest—not as simple as it sounds. A...
housing unit loss rates

The impact of housing removals on housing demand

Industry Spotlight The rate of housing removals is an often overlooked, but surprisingly important component of housing demand. It is often overlooked because quality data...

Verify before you buy when taking on new product lines

Point of law One of my lumberyard clients in the upper Midwest recently found itself in a precarious situation. I’ll call the client Midwest Lumber,...
unfilled jobs graph

What will the federal reserve do if…?

The purpose of this spotlight is to flag one of the potential spoilers for the housing recovery over the next few years: above-trend economic...

Succession planning insights – Part II

Part 2 • Succession planning insights Part I • Succession planning insights Part III Expensive (and common) mistakes with life insurance. Almost all successful business owners have acquired...
Blake Nelson

From lumberman (or kid) to lawyer

I recently read with interest the LBM Journal feature on Davis-Hawn Lumber entitled “From lawyer to lumberman.” My story is the opposite. I grew...
single family starts graph

Key demographic trends: Overall household formations and mix of starts Part III

This is the final segment of the Spotlight series on demographics and implications for housing starts. The purpose of this Spotlight is to shift...

Succession planning insights

Part 1 • Succession planning insights Part II • Succession planning insights Part III The topic of privately held/family business succession may appear to be rather mundane,...
household formations

Key demographic trends and their effect on the wood products industry Part II

Focus on household formations for 25-44 age group Last month, we began a series of Spotlights to address some significant demographic trends. In Part I,...

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