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Report from
North America
US housing starts moved upward in July, led by
apartment construction
Groundbreaking for new US single-family homes and
permits for future construction moved higher in July even
as high mortgage rates and economic uncertainty
continued to hamper home purchases. Overall residential
construction was buoyed by a surge in new apartment
projects.
Single-family housing starts, which account for the bulk of
homebuilding, increased 2.8% to a seasonally adjusted
annual rate of 939,000 units in July the Census Bureau
reported. Permits for future single-family homebuilding
edged up 0.5% to a rate of 870,000 units, snapping a four-
month skid.
Residential construction starts jumped 5.2% to a rate of
1.428 million units on the back of a second month of
double-digit increases in apartment projects.
Groundbreaking for multi-family projects of five or more
units rose 11.6% to an annual rate of 470,000 units, the
highest level since May 2023. New apartment
construction, which had been in a protracted downtrend
after peaking in 2022, has jumped more than 50% in the
last two months.
How long that resurgence continues remains in question
though as total permit issuance, a guide for future activity,
fell 2.8% to a five-year low of 1.354 million units, led by a
nearly 10% drop in multi-family project permits. “The
data suggests that we're in for a softer patch,” said Macrina
Wilkins, a senior research analyst at the Associated
General Contractors of America. “Builders are cautious
about any future demand or the financial conditions that
would impact consumers and their inclination to buy.”
In Canada, the annual pace of housing starts in July rose
4% compared with June, according to the Canada
Mortgage and Housing Corporation. The agency says the
seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts was
294,085 units for July, up from 283,523 in June.
See: https://www.census.gov/construction/nrc/current/index.html
and
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/money/topstories/cmhc-reports-
annual-pace-of-housing-starts-in-july-up-four-per-cent-from-
june/ar-AA1KJwU9?ocid=BingNewsVerp
Home sales also up in July
Sales of previously owned US homes also rose in July,
but the pace of sales remains sluggish amid affordability
issues for buyers thanks to high house prices and interest
rates on mortgages.
Home sales rose 2.0% in July to a seasonally adjusted
annual rate of 4.01 million units from 3.93 million in June
according to the National Association of Realtors.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast home resales
would be essentially unchanged from June at 3.92 million
units. Sales edged up 0.8% on a year-over-year basis.
NAR Chief Economist, Lawrence Yun, saw the data as
suggesting that some relief in the factors that have
weighed on home sales, high borrowing costs and prices
and limited inventory, may have eased. The sales pace
over the last two years has averaged around 4 million units
a month, a weaker rate than seen even during the 2007-
2009 recession that was triggered by a collapse in the
housing market.
“The ever-so-slight improvement in housing affordability
is inching up home sales,” Yun said. “Wage growth is now
comfortably outpacing home price growth and buyers have
more choices.”
Home sales saw the biggest rise in the Northeast with an
8.7% increase in sales month on month to an annual rate
of 500,000, up 2% year-over-year. The South notched a
2.2% increase in sales month on month to an annual rate
of 1.85 million, up 2.2% year-over-year.
In the Midwest, sales decreased 1.1% from the previous
month to an annual rate of 940,000, up 1.1% from last July
and in the West, sales increased 1.4% over June to an
annual rate of 720,000, down 4.0% from last July.
See: https://www.nar.realtor/research-and-statistics/housing-
statistics/existing-home-sales
Disappointing July job numbers
US employers added a disappointing 73,000 jobs in July
as payroll growth slowed and the unemployment rate rose
from 4.1% to 4.2% the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
reported.Even more concernin, job gains for May and June
were revised down by a whopping 258,000, portraying a
much weaker labour market than believed in late spring
and early summer and raising the odds the Federal Reserve
will cut interest rates.
Before the report was released, economists had estimated
that 105,000 jobs were added in July.
"The cracks in the labour market have widened
substantially and add further pressure on the Federal
Reserve to lower interest rates, Nationwide chief
economist, Kathy Bostjancic, wrote in a note to clients.
Health care once again accounted for the largest gains in
employment while federal government employment
continued to decline. Employment showed little change
over the month in other major industries, including
mining, oil and gas extraction, construction, and
manufacturing.
See: https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2025/08/01/jobs-
report-july-2025-data/85467514007/
and
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm
Consumer sentiment dips on inflation worries
The index of consumer sentiment for August from the
University of Michigan fell for the first time in four
months as Americans worried about inflation.
The overall index declined by 5% to 58.6 from 61.7 but
the measure of current conditions dropped by 10.4%.
Inflation expectations for a year from now increased to an
annual rate of 4.9% from 4.5% in July.
According to the consumer price index, inflation is
currently running at a 2.7% pace, but many items have
been rising at a rate higher than that.
Some economists say that US import tariffs will lead to
higher inflation, although so far that effect has been
limited. But prices for necessities such as housing,
groceries and medical care continue to go up.
“Overall, consumers are no longer bracing for the worst-
case scenario for the economy feared in April when
reciprocal tariffs were announced and then paused,”
Joanne Hsu, survey director, wrote in an analysis.
“However, consumers continue to expect both inflation
and unemployment to deteriorate in the future.”
The increase in inflation expectations “was seen across
multiple demographic groups and all three political
affiliations,” Hsu said.
Earlier this month, twin reports on consumer and
wholesale inflation painted a mixed picture, with the
former coming in a little below expectations and the latter
running higher than forecast. This does suggest that
companies may be shouldering some of the burden of
tariffs for now but that they may begin to pass those higher
input costs onto consumers in the coming months.
See: sca.isr.umich.ed
US factory activity contracted for 5th straight month in
July
Economic activity in the manufacturing sector contracted
in July for the fifth consecutive month, say the nation's
supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM Report
On Business.
The Manufacturing PMI registered 48% in July, a small
decrease from the 49% recorded in June. Economists
surveyed by the Wall Street Journal had forecast the index
to inch higher to 49.5%. In the ISM index, a reading below
50 indicates contraction.
More than two-thirds of manufacturers experienced
contraction in their output in July, the highest level since
December 2024.
“The dominant theme remains tariffs,” said Thomas Derry,
the ISM’s Chief Executive Officer. “Manufacturers are
questioning their sourcing strategies and are starting to
think about passing the higher costs from tariffs to their
customers.”
The wood products sector was one of 10 manufacturing
industries reporting contraction in July while the Furniture
and Related Products sector was one of seven industries
that reported growth.
See: https://www.ismworld.org/supply-management-news-and-
reports/reports/ism-report-on-business/
Cabinet sales fall 6.5% through first half of 2025
Cabinet manufacturers reported that sales had fallen 6.5%
up to June 2025 versus last year through the first half of
the year, according to the Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers
Association’s June Trend of Business report.
Sales for the first half of the year came in at US$1.185
billion versus the more than US$1.267 from January-June
2024 as cabinet sales volume declined by 14.5%. KCMA
reports that Custom Sales fell 5.7%, Semi-Custom Sales
dropped by 4.0% and Stock Sales plunged 15.7%.
June cabinet sales were down 2.3% from the previous
month and down 7.4% versus June 2024.
See: https://kcma.org/sites/default/files/2025-
08/June%20TOB.jpg
China tariff hike delayed
The US has extended the suspension of higher tariffs on
Chinese imports until 10 November, keeping the US levy
at 30%, while China agreed to keep its rate at 10%.
In mid-August the tariffs were set to snap back to April
levels, when the US levied 145% duties on Chinese goods
and China retaliated with 125% on US exports.
The extension follows the latest round of US-China trade
talks where both nations first agreed to scale back tariffs in
May after meeting in Geneva with US duties dropping to
30% and China’s to 10%.
The decision underscores the unpredictability of the US
tariff strategy which has left businesses, particularly
importers and exporters, having to adapt to sudden
changes in rates and timelines, creating uncertainty in
supply chains and pricing strategies.
Meanwhile, new data from the Labour Department shows
that the tariffs already in place are starting to ripple
through some consumer prices. Furniture prices rose 0.9%
from June, one of the sharpest monthly increases among
tracked categories. Video and audio products climbed
0.8%, while apparel was up just 0.1% and toys rose 0.2%.
See: https://www.furnituretoday.com/international/trump-
delays-china-tariff-hike-as-inflation-ticks-higher/
US Raises Duties on Canadian Softwood Lumber to
35.19%
The US Department of Commerce says it has made a final
decision to more than double countervailing duties on
Canadian softwood sawnwood imports, a move business
groups in British Columbia say will harm communities on
both sides of the border.
A statement from the American Department says the duty
for most Canadian companies is being increased to
14.63%, up from 6.74%, after it determined softwood
sawnwood from Canada was being unfairly subsidised.
The increase is on top of a recent jump in anti-dumping
duties to 20.56%, bringing the total duty level for
Canadian softwood to 35.19% according to the US
Lumber Coalition.
See:
https://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/news/woodworking-
industry-news/us-raises-anti-dumping-duties-canadian-softwood-
lumber
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