U.S. employment in sawmill and wood preservation industries fell to roughly 85,400 workers in the third quarter of 2025, the tenth straight quarterly decline, falling below levels recorded at the onset of the pandemic and reaching its lowest level since the first quarter of 2013, according to the National Association of Home Builders.
Sawmill production was unchanged in the third quarter of 2025. Utilization rates for sawmills and wood preservation industries remained near 70% during the quarter.
The sawmill utilization rate has trended downward since 2017 as capacity increased while output stayed flat. In the third quarter of 2025, on a four-quarter moving average, utilization increased to 68.8% from 68.2%.
On a four-quarter moving average, sawmill production was 1.2% higher in the third quarter of 2025 than in the second quarter and was 3.1% higher than a year earlier.
Softwood lumber prices fell 4.9% in the third quarter of 2025 but remained 3.9% higher than one year earlier. Hardwood lumber prices rose 1.0% in the third quarter, the seventh consecutive quarter of increases.
Over the full year of 2025, the U.S. imported an estimated 12.7 billion board feet of softwood lumber, the lowest annual import level since 2014. The fourth quarter import volume was the lowest since the first quarter of 2014.
Duty rates on U.S. softwood lumber imports rose through 2025, with Canadian imports affected the most as combined antidumping and countervailing duties doubled to 35%. A new 10% Section 232 duty took effect in October for all softwood lumber imports, bringing the duty rate on Canadian softwood lumber to 45%, and Canada accounted for around 80% of U.S. softwood lumber imports.
Residential construction demand weakened in the third quarter of 2025 and faded over the course of 2025, alongside the decline in softwood lumber imports.
