Housing market forces woodworkers to innovate: an exclusive report on current housing trends and the effects on woodworkers' spending

Abstract

What are the market conditions for woodworkers involved in the construction-based sectors and what are some of the investments being planned to improve their capabilities? For perspective, the total value of private construction (residential and nonresidential) put in place in the United States was more than $1.5 trillion dollars in 2023 ($1,541,063 million), up 4.7% from 2022 based on U.S. Census Bureau figures. This increase was driven largely by increased spending on nonresidential construction. Spending decreased for single-family housing (-13.5%) and residential improvements (-4.6%) in 2023, even though spending on the smaller multi-family housing sector increased by 20%. Spending increased by 22.4% for nonresidential construction in 2023, following another relatively substantial increase (11.7%) in 2022. The number of single-family housing units started in 2023 was 947,700, a 5.7% decline from 2022, which marked a second consecutive annual decrease after 10 years of increases. Single-family starts still are well below the peak of nearly 1,716,000 units in 2005. Multi-family starts were 472,200 in 2023, down 13.7% from 2022 even though overall spending on multi-family housing increased. Against this backdrop, this 15th annual housing market study was conducted in early 2024 to assess market conditions for secondary woodworking manufacturers involved in construction-based and related sectors. Information is provided on the status and current activities of manufacturers, as well as analysis of what has changed since last year. This study is a joint effort by Virginia Tech, the USDA Forest Service, and Woodworking Network/FDMC. (See “About the Survey” for details about the study design and respondent characteristics.)

Citation

Buehlmann, Urs; Bumgardner, Matt; Koenig, Karen. 2024. Housing market forces woodworkers to innovate: an exclusive report on current housing trends and the effects on woodworkers' spending. FDMC magazine. July: 18-20, 22. woodworkingnetwork.com