U.S. sawmills produced 23.855 billion board ft. (bbf) of softwood lumber in the first eight months of 2018, a gain of 4.8% from the 22.760 bbf produced in the same period last year.  According to the Western Wood Products Assn., Western U.S. sawmills contributed 9.868 bbf to the eight-month total, up 5.8% from 9.327 bbf a year earlier, while sawmills in the southern U.S. accounted for 12.864 bbf, an increase of 4.1% from last year’s 12.355 bbf.  In August alone, softwood lumber ...