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US Construction Industry percent rise in new housing prices. The looming threat of

Faces Threats large-scale deportations raises serious questions about the
industry’s ability to meet housing demands.

The US construction industry is facing dual challenges that Rising lumber costs and tariffs
threaten to disrupt its already fragile balance: labour shortages On the materials side, the cost of 2 x 4 lumber and mass
stemming from immigration policies and rising material costs timber products is set to soar under new tariff plans.
driven by proposed tariffs. President Trump has proposed a 25 percent tariff on
According to a report by the Pew Research Center and Canadian goods, including softwood lumber, compounding
the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, undocumented the existing 14.54 percent tariff. Such measures could drive
workers make up over 13 percent of the national construction up construction expenses significantly, especially as the US
workforce, with that figure climbing above 50 percent in housing market remains tepid.
construction-heavy states like California and Texas. For many, these price increases recall the previous

administration’s trade policies, which sparked discussions
Labor shortages from immigration policies about boosting domestic production of cross-laminated timber
Economists and major builders, as reported by The Wall (CLT) and glulam.
Street Journal, warn that mass deportations will exacerbate While more than 2,000 mass timber projects are under
workforce shortages, increase wages, and delay projects. development nationwide, Pat Jolley of Forisk Consulting notes
Research from the University of Utah and the University that the US mass timber industry is still in its infancy.
of Wisconsin highlighted the aftermath of over 300,000 “It remains to be seen how new trade policies will impact

deportations between 2008 and 2013. its growth,” Jolley remarked. Without significant investment in
This led to countless unfilled construction roles, a year’s domestic manufacturing, the reliance on imported materials
worth of lost productivity in the average county, and a 20 could further strain project budgets.

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