2025 Was a ‘Pivotal’ Year for Mass Timber Construction

The final numbers aren’t in yet but this past year will see growth at around 20 percent in buildings using the technology.

A new analysis of the mass timber field from Ricardo Brites, director of engineering and virtual design and construction at Mercer Mass Timber, finds that there were over 2,500 mass timber projects that have been built or are in progress in the country at the end of 2025. This marks the continuation of the annual 20 percent growth rate that has been in effect since the technology began to be used in 2015.

According to a published article, data from the 2024 International Mass Timber Report shows “steady increases in production in Canada and the US, from 158,000 cubic meters in 2019 to 393,000 in 2023, and a climb in mass timber buildings constructed annually from 151 to 279 in that same period.”

While sustainability and lower operating costs over the lifetime of the structure are cited as important reasons for the growth in mass timber building, at least one source points to a different reason. “We have lots of tech firms and big companies that say, ‘Hey, we’re battling it out for workers. We want the best space possible,’” Bill Parsons, chief operating officer at WoodWorks, a non-profit industry organization for timber construction, said in a recent interview. “A good office has been really important to people, and those tend to be wood offices.”

Recent federal government cutbacks in programs and subsidies have caused concern about mass timber’s continued growth but the report said that legislation that promotes programs that fund mass timber, such as the Mass Timber Federal Buildings Act and the Wood Innovations Grant Program from the USDA, are still progressing for now.

Do you want to learn more about the Mass Timber Movement? See it firsthand at IWF 2026 this August in Atlanta, featuring a new Mass Timber and Prefabricated Construction Product Display Area in the A Exhibit Hall. Learn about the new showcase.

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