Commerce Finalizes Countervailing Duty Rates on Canadian Softwood Lumber (opens in a new tab)
Final CVD results of the seventh review: Canfor 14.11%, West Fraser 15.31%, Resolute 12.42%, most others 14.11%, for entries from Oct. 19.
Issue 003 ·
New Canadian Lumber Duty Rates Hit the Border
Top Builds
Final Anti-Dumping Rates Set for Canadian Softwood Lumber Imports (opens in a new tab)
Final AD rates: Canfor 17.00%, West Fraser 4.71%, Resolute 13.13%, most others 10.64%; combined with CVD, most producers face 24.75% before the Section 232 tariff.
September Housing Starts Slip 5.2% to 1.221 Million Annual Rate (opens in a new tab)
Single-family starts ran at 859,000 and single-family permits fell 4.0% to 845,000.
Builder Confidence Falls to 29, Lowest Since June 2012 (opens in a new tab)
43% of builders cut prices in October and 65% used sales incentives as rising rates weighed on demand.
Pending Home Sales Drop 7.3% in September (opens in a new tab)
Pending sales fell 7.3% from August and 11.3% from a year ago, with declines in all four regions.
D.R. Horton Signs Multi-Year Deal for Promise Robotics' Robot-Built Homes (opens in a new tab)
The deal supports production of 1,250+ homes, with a new Phoenix factory expected to start manufacturing in early 2027.
Market & Money
Small Business Optimism Dips to 97.9 as Labor Woes Persist (opens in a new tab)
26% of owners named labor quality or availability their top problem; short-term loan rates averaged 8.2% in September.
Dream Finders Closes $2.2 Billion Acquisition of Beazer Homes (opens in a new tab)
The all-cash deal closed Oct. 20, making Dream Finders the sixth-largest U.S. homebuilder.
Code & Policy
ROAD Act Drops Chassis Rule; Investor Purchase Ban Starts Jan. 7, 2027 (opens in a new tab)
HUD still has to write standards for chassis-free manufactured homes, and the institutional-investor purchase ban takes effect Jan. 7, 2027.
HUD Advisory Committee Takes Up Chassis Removal at Oct. 27-28 Meeting (opens in a new tab)
The Manufactured Housing Consensus Committee holds a virtual public meeting on removing the permanent-chassis requirement.
Commerce Sets Rules for Counting U.S. Content in USMCA Metal Imports (opens in a new tab)
Guidance for steel, aluminum and copper from Canada and Mexico applies to entries on or after Oct. 14.
Running the Business
Remodelers' Net Margins Hit 6.3%, Highest Since 1996 (opens in a new tab)
NAHB's Remodelers' Cost of Doing Business study (2024 data) shows a 29.9% gross margin for the average firm.
Field & Products
Deckorators Adds Faster-Install Align Railing and Two Decking Lines for 2027 (opens in a new tab)
Align aluminum railing with preassembled DropLock panels plus Meridian and Elevate decking reach dealers in January 2027.
USG Raises Prices on Bead and Trim Shipped From Oct. 19 (opens in a new tab)
Increases cover paper-faced and metal bead and trim (USG, Clinch-On, Phillips) plus Phillips steel and vinyl products; no percentage given.
Trade Talk
Median Construction Worker Age Holds at 42 as Gen Z Share Climbs (opens in a new tab)
Gen Z's share of the construction workforce rose from 6.4% in 2019 to 16.8% in 2024.