CVD investigation of Canadian softwood lumber may benefit steel

Wednesday, 26 April 2017 23:07:18 (GMT+3)   |   San Diego
       

On April 24, 2017, the US Department of Commerce (DOC) announced its affirmative preliminary determination in the countervailing duty investigation of imports of softwood lumber products from Canada. Preliminary subsidy rates for five mandatory respondents ranged from 3.02 to 20.26 percent.
 
Imports of softwood lumber from Canada were valued at an estimated $5.66 billion in 2016, $4.52 billion in 2015 and $4.89 billion in 2014. The DOC is scheduled to announce final determinations on September 7, 2017.
Sources tell SteelOrbis that the ruling against Canadian softwood may have positive implications for the steel industry, as it may increase the consumption of steel in construction projects that traditionally use Canadian softwood lumber products.
 
According to the American Institute of Steel Construction, there are a variety of advantages to using steel framing for both residential and non-residential construction instead of wood. Structural steel systems provide long-term durability compared to wood, which is vulnerable to fire, termites, and rotting with age. Additionally, because structural steel is fabricated off site in controlled conditions, the impacts of weather and site conditions are greatly diminished, and field erection of steel framing requires considerably fewer workers that wood construction.
 
As for the cost of wood framing versus steel framing, the difference in cost is approximately 10 to 15 percent, which could be mitigated by higher lumber costs if final determinations in the DOC investigation reach that level or above.

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