Finish Carpentry Contractors
Industry Profile Report
Dive Deep into the industry with a 25+ page industry report (pdf format) including the following chapters
Industry Overview Current Conditions, Industry Structure, How Firms Operate, Industry Trends, Credit Underwriting & Risks, and Industry Forecast.
Call Preparation Call Prep Questions, Industry Terms, and Weblinks.
Financial Insights Working Capital, Capital Financing, Business Valuation, and Financial Benchmarks.
Industry Profile Excerpts
Industry Overview
The 31,600 finish carpentry contractors in the US build and install specialty carpentry products used to finish buildings. Services include the installation of cabinets, countertops, doors, windows, door and window frames, garage doors, millwork, molding, trim, paneling, decks, shelving, and stairs. Projects include work on single-family homes, commercial buildings (stores, restaurants), office buildings, apartment buildings, health care and institutional buildings, and educational buildings. Most firms are small, independent operators that serve a local market.
Seasonality Of Demand
The volume of work for finish carpentry contractors varies throughout the year and is influenced by seasonal factors.
Dependence On General Contractors
Finish carpentry contractors are often part of a team of specialty contractors hired by a general contractor.
Industry size & Structure
The average finish carpentry contractor operates out of a single location, employs 5 workers, and generates about $854,000 annually.
- The finish carpentry industry consists of 31,600 establishments that employ 160,000 workers and generate $27 billion annually.
- The industry is highly fragmented. Most firms are small, independent operators that serve a local market.
- About 30% of carpenters are self-employed, according the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Most self-employed carpenters work in residential construction.
Industry Forecast
Finish Carpentry Contractors Industry Growth
Recent Developments
Apr 10, 2025 - Lumber Futures Volatile Amid Tariff Shifts
- Lumber futures fell when President Trump unveiled his reciprocal tariff plan on April 2, 2025, and Canadian lumber was not among the targeted products, according to The Wall Street Journal. Lumber prices had been rising amid anticipated increases of existing levies on Canadian lumber imports. Prices may have also drifted downward due to expectations of weaker housing demand as tariffs increase the costs of building homes, reducing affordability. On April 9, the Trump administration paused its reciprocal tariff agenda for 90 days for most countries but left in place a baseline 10% import duty on all countries except China, which faces total tariffs of 145%. Canada and Mexico are not subject to the new 10% baseline tariffs, and goods trading under the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement will remain duty-free. Before Trump’s tariff pause, a UBS analyst estimated reciprocal tariffs could add about $6,400 to the cost of building the average house.
- The continued rise in the median age of US housing stocks may present opportunities for finish carpenters. In an April report, National Association of Home Builders analysis of US Census Bureau data showed that nearly half of owner-occupied homes were built before 1980. In 2023, the median age of owner-occupied homes reached 41 years, up from 31 years in 2005. Median home age has increased since the Great Recession when new housing production dropped dramatically. Since then, home building activity has not kept pace with demand. US homes require more maintenance and repairs as they age, driving remodeling spending. The lock-in effect of low mortgage rates during the pandemic is also prompting homeowners to renovate rather than move and face a higher interest rate.
- Exchange operator CME Group began trading in Southern yellow pine futures on March 31, 2025, according to The Wall Street Journal. The move comes as more sawmills migrate from Canada to the US to mitigate the effects of rising tariffs. Giving US-grown Southern lumber their own futures contracts will allow sawmills and wood-consuming industries to better manage their exposure to price fluctuations. Before the launch of Southern Yellow Pine Futures (ticker: SYP), lumber futures excluded southern pine and were based on deliveries of Northern conifer boards, much of which were Canadian spruce, pine, and fir. The new Southern yellow pine futures will be settled in cash, allowing speculators to trade without holding lumber inventories.
- North American construction and engineering spending in 2025 is expected to grow by 2% after increasing an estimated 6% in 2024, according to FMI’s first-quarter 2025 North American Engineering and Construction Outlook. With growth of 19%, the data center sub-sector will lead 2025 nonresidential building construction, followed by public safety (9%), amusement and recreation (7%), and power (7%). Commercial construction spending is expected to decline 9% in 2025 amid a 6% decline in warehouse demand, which accounts for more than half of annual commercial spending. Lodging construction spending is forecast to drop by 7%, and stubbornly high office vacancies are expected to hold new office construction to 2% growth in 2025.
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