Lumber Price Changes Help Building Material Sales

Building material and supplies wholesalers reported total operating revenue of $145.1 billion in 2021, up 35.6 per cent from 2020, says Statistics Canada. This reflects both a change in the volume of goods sold to support housing starts and changes in prices paid for lumber. For the former, the value of single dwelling building permits rose 41.5 per cent in 2021, up to $40.7 million. For the latter, the price of lumber and other sawmill products averaged 50 per cent higher in 2021 than in 2020.