Freddie Mac has released its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® for the week ending April 6th. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.28%, down from last week when it averaged 6.32%. A year ago at this time, the 30-year rate averaged 4.72%.
Wood Markets News
University of New Hampshire Project Testing Use of Regional Softwood in Mass Timber Construction
The University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension has begun work on a project that has the potential to increase the usage of the region’s timber industry, as well as supporting efforts to fight climate change, according to the New Hampshire Business Review.
US Weekly Jobless Claims Decrease for the Week Ending April 1st
The US Department of Labor is reporting that the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 228,000 during the week ending on Saturday, April 1st. This is a decrease of 18,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 246,000.
Private Sector Job Cuts Up Month-Over-Month in March
According to the Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. (CG&C) Job Cuts Report released Thursday, US-based employers announced 89,703 job cuts in March. This is up 15% from the 77,770 announced job cuts in February.
Can Hybrid Construction Practices Reduce the Building Industry’s Impact on the Environment?
In an article published in “pbctoday,” Liam Bryant, an associate at London-based Webb Yates Engineers, discusses the use of hybrid timber construction in meeting sustainability targets for construction projects.
Canadian Employment Moves Modestly Higher in March; Unemployment Continued to Hold Steady
Statistics Canada reported Thursday that in March, employment grew by 35,000, or 0.2%. Employment has generally been on an upward trend since September 2022; and since then, employment has increased by 383,000, or 1.9%.
PRT Growing Services Acquires International Forest Company (IFCO)
PRT’s acquisition of IFCO establishes North America’s largest reforestation platform. PRT will operate 14 seed orchards and 28 nurseries, producing 630 million forest seedlings annually.
Proposed Bonfield, Ontario, Sawmill Loses License Bid
Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry has announced that it will not be issuing an operating license to International Wood Industries for its proposed sawmill in Bonfield, Ontario. The original proposal dates back to 2017.
Finland’s Wood Imports and Export Values Declined in 2022
The Finnish forest industry’s foreign trade was negatively impacted in 2022 by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the resulting economic affects. According to Luke, a total of 5.5 million cubic meters of roundwood and forest industry by-products were imported in 2022, a 56% annual drop.
UPM Completes Sale of Russian Businesses to Gungnir Wooden Products Trading
UPM on Monday announced that it has completed its withdrawal from all of its businesses in Russia. UPM is selling all of its Russian operations, including the Chudovo plywood mill, to Gungnir Wooden Products Trading.