There was plenty of positive economic data this week, but the bounce in residential construction activity really caught my eye. This tends to be a leading indicator for the economy overall. Housing starts were particularly strong in March, surging to their highest level since 2006. This probably isn’t too much of a surprise for those who have been watching Lumber build on last year’s gains and move to new all-time highs this week. Not that I was trying to do channel checks during my break last week, but I did notice plenty of trucks on the road headed North and loaded with lumber and logs as I drove through Kentucky, Tennessee, and Alabama (though they are not yet to the point of traveling in convoys surrounded by a security detail).
