The Expert Podcast

So is there something going on with new home construction or remodeling that's affecting the Sawmill Timber industry? Here's one company in Rosboro, Oregon, that's going to shut a mill. They're going to lay off 25 people. This one's even bigger—this one's in Fourth, which is in the central Oregon Valley, the Wamit Valley area. They're going to lay off 100 people over the next few weeks or months. This is a pretty large Sawmill operation that serves a lot of the Pacific Northwest.

Is this something because of housing starts? Here's another article from Market Watch that says housing starts posted its sharpest drop, really going back almost four years. It fell 15% in January. In the real estate market, there's really not much other source of homes than the new construction market. Resale homes are very slow to come online, very slow to come on the market. So the bright spot has been new home construction.

If that starts to fade away, is it going to have an effect on the construction trades, lumber mills, timber companies, and maybe even the real estate market?

Altoe, I know you have an opinion about that. Put it in the comments and let us know what you think.