Tariffs

Tariffs Affecting Millwork Costs

What are tariffs? Tariffs are taxes imposed by a government on goods and services imported from other countries and are typically a percentage of the goods or services value.

How much lumber does the U.S. consume? The U.S. uses approximately 50 billion board feet of lumber annually and produces 35 billion board feet. That means that if we did not export any lumber, we would still be short by about 30% of our current lumber production to meet demand. The U.S. commercial construction lumber supplies are heavily reliant on Canadian lumber.

How much lumber is imported from Canada? Depending on the source, we import between 70-80% of commercial construction lumber from Canada. Current tariffs are set at 14.5% on Canadian lumber. The Commerce Department has determined that the tariffs on Canadian lumber should be at 34.5% with a review scheduled in August of September of 2025. That is when the 34.5% tariffs will take effect. That is a significant increase in taxation on lumber imported from Canada. It is likely that most or all the increased tariffs will be passed on to the consumer.

What does that mean for commercial construction and specifically millwork? With about 20% of a millwork project cost coming from imported lumber this means that projects should see an overall increase in cost by about 4% starting in the fall of 2025.

What is the U.S. doing about it? The U.S. Secretary of Agriculture issued a memo on April 4, 2025, directing the U.S. Forest Service to increase timber output, simplify permitting, remove National Environmental Policy Act processes, reduce contract burden, and work directly with state, local and forest producers to ensure the Forest Service delivers a reliable consistent supply of timber. While this may increase timber production by 25%, it will take years to implement.

What is Giffin Interior doing about it? We pay close attention to material costs and future increases in costs or shortages in supply. We give our customer options in materials, let them know when there are upcoming material cost increases, and we buy materials at the best time for cost and project schedule. Whether material procurement is affected by a market crash, global pandemic, or tariffs, we keep our finger on the pulse of materials and pass along that information to our customers.