WholeTrees Structures has announced its intentions to reopen the shuttered MooseWood Millworks flooring plant in Ashland, Maine. WholeTrees plans on using the facility to become Maine’s first manufacturing plant for a natural log product known as structural round timber.
Wood Markets News
Fixed Mortgage Rates Move Lower for Third Consecutive Week
Freddie Mac has released its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® for the week ending January 19, 2023. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.15%, down from last week when it averaged 6.33%. A year ago at this time, the 30-year rate averaged 3.56%.
US Weekly Jobless Claims Decrease
The US Department of Labor is reporting that the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 190,000 during the week ending on Saturday, January 14, 2023. This is a decrease of 15,000 from the previous week’s unrevised level of 205,000.
Mercer International Announces Three-week Curtailment at Its Celgar, BC, Pulp Mill Starting in March
Mercer International announced on Tuesday that due to a lack of appropriate fiber availability, its pulp mill located in Celgar, British Columbia, Canada is planning to take an approximately three-week downtime. The curtailment is scheduled to begin in March.
Producer Price Index for Final Demand Declines 0.5% in December—Up 6.2% For All of 2022
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today that the Producer Price Index (PPI) for final demand, seasonally adjusted, declined 0.5% in December, following a 0.2% increase in November and a 0.4% increase in October.
BC Government Announces New Manufacturing Jobs Fund to Support Employment and Resilient Economies
The British Columbia provincial government announced on Tuesday that it will be investing $90 million (CAD) over three years through the new BC Manufacturing Jobs Fund. The fund will focus on areas experiencing economic impacts from changes in the forestry sector.
Canada’s Producer Price Index and Raw Materials Price Index Decline Month-Over-Month in December
Statistics Canada reported that in December 2022, the Industrial Product Price Index declined 1.1% month-over-month but was up 7.6% year-over-year. The Raw Materials Price Index fell 3.1% month-over-month but posted a 7.5% year-over-year gain.
Mortgage Applications Increase for Second Consecutive Week
According to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association, for the ending January 13, 2023, the Market Composite Index (a measure of mortgage loan application volume) increased 27.9% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier.
US Builder Sentiment Improves in January
On Wednesday, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) reported that builder sentiment in the market for newly built single-family homes rose 4 points in January to a reading of 35.
Nova Scotia Introduces “High Production Forestry” Scheme
In response to recommendations outlined the “An Independent Review of Forest Practices in Nova Scotia” report, the province has released in its “High Production Forestry Phase II Guidance for Implementation”. According to the document’s introduction, the Province of Nova Scotia is embarking on a new vision for forest management on Crown lands.