The quarterly market, published by Skansa USA<\/a>, shows that the US market for wood-based building materials (including lumber, MDF, and engineered wood products) remains sluggish, primarily due to the Fed Reserve’s expected rate cuts failing to materialise.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n In recent months, experts have reported that the United States is the world’s “best bet for global lumber.”<\/a> However, despite hopes that a long-awaited housing rebound (tied to rate cuts) resulted in massive spikes in plywood entering ports<\/a>, sky-high interest rates have left private developers struggling to cover the borrowing costs of development\u2014leaving the US construction market to be propped up by government projects and big tech.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Declines in commercial office and privately financed development projects are offset by public infrastructure projects, technology\/data centre projects, continued primary and secondary educational spending and health care project investments,” Mr Stouthamer said, with the cost of concrete up 22.1%, putting pressures on higher density development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Concrete escalated pretty steadily during 2023, and this trend is continuing so far this year,” said Rob Cantando, Skanska’s director of the strategic supply chain – with price increases driven by diesel, labour and raw material costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Brandon Huff, the vice president and division manager for general construction for Portland-based Deacon Construction, “The larger (private) projects that require a lot of financing are harder to move, so we’re seeing a lot of the smaller renovation projects still being prevalent, and some of the small commercial projects still being prevalent.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Wood](\"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/The-edison-outside-fotor-2023111016326-1024x576.jpg\")
Future Data Centres Made with Wood? Big Tech Eyes Green Shift<\/h6>\n\n\n\n