That’s the headline at Huffington Post this afternoon, above a piece highlighting lumber gone wild. We’re reminded in the article here that resurgent U.S. housing starts are still well below the rate of household formation. We’re also told average annual growth of wood exports is 39 per cent for China, 9 per cent for South Korea, and 6.3 per cent for the Philippines. Surprisingly there’s no mention of India or Pakistan. And while it’s well-known that Turkey is one of the world’s top travel destinations, who knew it’s the “hot current destination” for wood products? Albright, what’s our freight to Istanbul?!

“This news is welcome relief for those in Canada’s wood products industry that are still standing. As U.S. growth spills over to the rest of the world, demand for wood products will only increase. As such, it is hard to believe that the industry is not on the verge of a new period of expansion. The bottom line? Sustained growth in the U.S. housing market is breathing life into one of the industries hardest hit by the global economic and financial crisis. Perhaps this is where the new wave of international business investment will begin. One thing’s sure, there’s ample money to fund it.” – Peter Hall, Chief Economist, Export Development Canada