Has little to do with US versus other countries. You're probably looking through framing lumber. Those don't need to be straight and are priced accordingly. If

Has little to do with US versus other countries. You're probably looking through framing lumber. Those don't need to be straight and are priced accordingly. If you want stuff that's dimensionally accurate, you'll want to look at the furniture grade selection (which will be a relatively small area) or go to a lumber yard where there's more selection. The big box stores mostly focus on the lower grade lumber.