The US Department of Labor is reporting that (seasonally adjusted) an additional 232,000 Americans made their initial filing for unemployment benefits during the week ending on August 27. This is a decrease of 5,000 from the previous week’s revised-lower level of 237,000.
Wood Markets News
Canfor Announces Reduced Operations at Its Swedish Facilities—Effective September 12, 2022
Canfor Corporation announced today that effective September 12, it intends to reduce operations at its Swedish facilities due to a decrease in market demand. The reduced operating schedule will result in a 15% decrease in production capacity and the reduction is anticipated to remain in effect through Q4 2022.
Expansion of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument Will Depend on Courts’ Ruling on Presidential Logging Authority
The expansion of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument may come down to whether the president—at the time, Barack Obama—had authority over the 2.4 million acres of federal “Q&C Lands” in Western Oregon. The decision falls to the US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.
Construction Industry Job Openings Remained 60% Above Pre-Pandemic Levels in July
A deeper dive into the US Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) for July reveals that the construction industry had an increase in job openings month-over-month (June–July 2022) of 22,000, which brings the total number of job openings in July to 375,000 jobs.
Canadian Real GDP Records Fourth Consecutive Quarter of Growth in Q2 2022
Statistics Canada (StatsCan) reported today that in Q2 of 2022, real GDP in Canada increased 0.8%. The increase marks the fourth consecutive quarterly Canadian GDP growth. Final domestic demand rose by 0.7% in Q2, following a 0.9% increase in Q1 2022.
Mortgage Applications Continued to Decline in the Week Ending August 26, 2022
According to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Application Survey, for the week ending August 26, the Market Composite Index (a measure of mortgage loan application volume) decreased 3.7% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier.
ADP Reports Private Sector Employment Gains and Increased Compensation in August
According to the August ADP® National Employment Report™ released today, nonfarm private sector employment increased by 132,000 jobs in August, and annual pay was up 7.6%. The report is produced by the ADP Research Institute® in collaboration with Stanford Digital Economy Lab.
US Home Price Gains Continued to Decelerate in June 2022
On Tuesday, S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller released its US National Home Price NSA Index for June. The Index, which covers all nine US Census divisions, reported that home prices experienced a 18.0% annual gain in June, down from 19.1% in May and down from a 20.6% annual gain in April.
Canada Officially Files Notice of Challenge to US Softwood Lumber Duties
Canada’s International Trade Minister Mary Ng announced on Monday that the Canadian government has filed a formal notice of challenge under the US–Mexico–Canada trade agreement’s dispute resolution system, in regard to US duties on Canadian softwood lumber.
US House Prices Increased 17.7% Year-Over-Year in Q2 2022, FHFA Reports
According to the latest Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) House Price Index, nationwide US home prices rose 17.7% from Q2 2021 to Q2 2022. House prices were up 4.0% when compared to Q1 2022. The FHFA’s seasonally adjusted monthly index for June 2022 was up 0.1% from May 2022.