Trump’s Tariff Is Forcing Homebuilders to Cut Costs
Softwood is unloaded at Murray Brothers Lumber Company woodlot in Madawaska, Ontario on Apr. 25, 2017.
Photographer: Sean Kilpatrick/CP
For the past 18 months, Eddie Martin has been trying to find ways to keep the affordable homes he builds, well, affordable.
About 40 percent of the Texas homebuilder’s framing lumber comes from Canada. The Trump administration slapped punitive tariffs on Canadian softwood timber last year, claiming the industry is unfairly subsidized. The move has driven lumber prices to near record highs. Tilson Home Corp., where Martin is president, has so far refrained from passing on the added costs to homebuyers. To do that, it’s cut back the number of home plans it offers and is considering swapping pricier fir for cheaper Southern yellow pine, even though its tendency to bow in the Texas humidity makes it more difficult for construction crews to work with.