To help meet the demand for sawn timber and to keep mills in operation, logs are being transported more than 900 kilometers by rail from northern New South Wales as part of the bushfire recovery, according to a report by “ABC News.”
Wood Markets News
Canadian Unemployment Increases 3% Month-Over-Month in February
Statistics Canada reported on Thursday that in February, 388,000 Canadians received regular Employment Insurance (EI) benefits, up by 11,000, or 3%, from January’s total. The February increase was the first monthly increase since July 2022.
Hampton Lumber’s Fort St. James Forest Products Ships First Lumber From New Sawmill
According to Burns Lake Lakes District News, on April 10th, Hampton Lumber’s Fort St. James Forest Products shipped its first load of lumber from its newly built sawmill. In 2019, Hampton Lumber bought the original sawmill from Conifex.
Existing Home Sales Declined 2.4% Month-Over-Month in March
On Thursday, the National Association of Realtors® reported that total existing home sales recorded a 2.4% decline in March from February to a seasonally adjusted rate of 4.44 million. At the end of March, total housing inventory registered was 980,000 units, up 1.0% from February.
US Home Prices Increase Quarterly and Annually in Q1
According to Fannie Mae’s latest Home Price Index (FNM-HPI), single-family home prices increased at a non-seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.7% from 2022Q1 to 2023Q1, down from the previous quarter’s revised annual growth rate of 8.6%.
New Two-Story Mass Timber Pedestrian Bridge Installed at George Brown College in Toronto
PCL and Limberlost Place partners are celebrating a construction milestone at George Brown College’s Limberlost Place with the installation of a two-story mass timber pedestrian bridge. Installation of the bridge included prefabricating individual CLT pieces off site.
Fixed Mortgage Rates Push Higher in the Week Ending April 20th
Freddie Mac has released its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® for the week ending April 20th. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.39%, up from last week when it averaged 6.27%. A year ago at this time, the 30-year rate averaged 5.11%.
The Conference Board US Leading Economic Index® Declines Again in March
The Conference Board released Thursday its Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for the US in March. The LEI declined 1.2% to a reading of 108.4 (2016=100) after posting a decline of 0.5% in February. The LEI has dropped 4.5% over the six-month period from September 2022 to March.
US Weekly Jobless Claims Increase for the Week Ending April 15th
The US Department of Labor is reporting that the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 245,000 during the week ending on Saturday, April 15th. This is an increase of 5,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 240,000.
Southern Forest Products Association Reports Another Record Year of SYP Lumber Shipments
According to a press release issued on Monday by the Southern Forest Products Association (SFPA), shipments of Southern Pine lumber recorded a year-over-year increase in 2022, marking thirteen consecutive years of growth. Shipments in 2022 totaled 22.16 billion board feet (Bbf).