11:49 AM EDT, 03/18/2025 (MT Newswires) -- The Western Wood Products Association (WWPA) released December 2024 softwood lumber stats, capping off a tough year for the industry, notes RBC.

RBC analyst Matthew McKellar views the potential application of tariffs and other recent policy developments as manageable for the group. Canfor ( CFPZF ), Interfor ( IFSPF ), and Western Forest Products each has more lumber capacity in the U.S. than in Canada, and McKellar expects U.S.-produced lumber prices to rise in response to tariffs as substitution occurs.

However, investors are increasingly focused on potential cracks in demand. "While we aren't ready to throw in the towel on some modest improvements in wood products demand in 2025 (i.e., our call at the beginning of the year) just yet, we think questions around the consumer will continue to be topical over the next few months," McKellar said.

RBC thinks current share prices represent attractive entry points for its Outperform-rated wood products names; Canfor ( CFPZF ), Interfor ( IFSPF ) and Western Forest Products are all trading below their respective long-term averages on an EV/Trend EBITDA basis.

"We continue to prefer IFP as our top idea of the three, although our relative preference versus WFG has narrowed with rising uncertainty around demand (pecking order: #1 IFP, #2 WFG, #3 CFP)."

Price: 15.36, Change: +0.18, Percent Change: +1.19