The new survey of Canadian and U.S. softwood lumber producers shows an uneven trend across North America during 2012. According to the study, U.S. softwood lumber production increased by 6.3 percent, while Canadian production saw only a 0.4-percent increase.

The top 20 for each country were surveyed. Findings show the top 20 U.S. companies rose from 15.1 billion board feet (bf) in 2011 to 16.4 billion bf in 2012, for an increase of 9.1 percent, increasing their market share of U.S. production from 56 percent to 58 percent. Canadian companies increased their market share total of Canadian lumber production from 75 percent in 2011 to 80 percent in 2012.