International wood-based panels giant West Fraser has reported adjusted earnings (EBITDA) of US$(144m) for the third quarter (Q2 2025: US$84m).
Sales for the group were US$1.307bn (Q2 2025: US$1.532.bn). The North America engineered wood products division recorded EBITDA of US$(15m). The European engineered wood products segment reported adjusted EBITDA of US$1m.
“There’s no escaping that supply and demand imbalances persist for many of our wood-based building products in an environment where elevated mortgage rates continue to impact housing affordability,” said Sean McLaren, West Fraser’s President and CEO.
“And this challenging backdrop has now been joined by increased duty rates and new Section 232 tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber. Despite these conditions and the resulting uncertainty faced by our industry, we remain steadfast in our strategy, taking appropriate action that will ensure our operations remain flexible and sized to meet the needs of our customers while also controlling costs.
“We continue to evaluate strategic investments that will make our Company stronger through the cycle and generate long-term shareholder value, even as we maintain robust liquidity and a balanced capital allocation strategy.”
Capital expenditures in the third quarter were US$90m.
West Fraser said the seasonally adjusted annualized rate of US housing starts was 1.31 million units in August 2025, with permits issued for 1.31 million units, according to the US Census Bureau.
It said demand for new home construction and wood building products may continue to be challenged and even decline over the near term should the broader economy and employment slow or the trend in interest and mortgage rates negatively impact consumer sentiment and housing affordability.
In Europe and the UK, West Fraser expects industry demand to improve but remain challenging over the near term.
In West Fraser’s NA EWP segment, the softer demand for its OSB products in the third quarter also has carried into the fourth quarter. In the Europe EWP segment, the company expects demand to improve for MDF, particleboard and OSB panel products in the near term, recognizing there are ongoing macroeconomic uncertainties in the region.
“On balance, we continued to experience relatively stable costs for inputs across our supply chain in Q3-25, including chemicals and waxes, while we have experienced some downward cost pressure for resins, and contract labour availability and capital equipment lead times continued to show improvement.
West Fraser expects capital expenditures remain in the range of $400 million to $450 million in 2025.
