The Government of Canada, through the Green Construction Through Wood Program, is funding a study of hybridized mass timber materials to be developed for achieving reduction in carbon emissions and expansion in design possibilities. Construction firms EllisDon and DIALOG have been the recipients of more than $550,000 (CAD) of the funding.
Wood Markets News
New Home Sales Decline Month-Over-Month and Year-Over-Year in June 2022
On Tuesday, the US Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development jointly announced that new residential single-family home sales for June were at a SAAR of 590,000, according to estimates. This is 8.1% below the revised May rate of 642,000.
GP Lumber Business Collaborating With Mass Timber Industry Leader on New Ponce City Market Loft
Georgia Pacific’s lumber business is collaborating with a leader in the mass timber industry on a new four-story loft office building in Atlanta’s famous Ponce City Market. It will be the first application of southern yellow pine lumber in mass timber construction.
FHFA Reports US Home Prices Rose Month-Over-Month and Year-Over-Year in May 2022
According to the latest Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index released today, nationwide US home prices rose 1.4% month-over-month in May. Year-over-year (May 2021 versus May 2022) home prices have increased 18.3%.
US to Plant More Trees to Offset Impact of Climate Change
As US officials work to counteract the increasing toll on the nation’s forests from wildfires, insects, and other signs of climate change, the Biden administration said the government will plant more than one billion trees across millions of acres of burned and dead woodland in the Western US.
US Home Price Gains Continued to Slow in May 2022
On Tuesday, S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller released its US National Home Price NSA Index for May. The Index, which covers all nine US Census divisions, reported that home prices experienced a 19.7% annual gain in May—down from 20.6% annual gain in April.
The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index Drops for Third Consecutive Month in July
The Conference Board released today their Consumer Confidence Index® (CCI) for July 2022. The CCI eroded further in July, marking the third consecutive monthly decline. The Index now stands at 95.7 (1985=100), down 2.7 points from a reading of 98.4 in June.
Prairie Wood Products Sawmill in Grant County, Oregon, Reopens After 13-Year Closure
Closed in 2008 during the Great Recession, and reopened briefly only to close again in 2009, the Prairie Wood Product Sawmill in Grant County, Oregon, reopened in early July 2022 after sitting idle for more than 13-years.
Japan’s Lumber and Panel Prices Continue to Soar, Pulling Up Home Prices
The shortage of lumber and plywood in Japan that began last year has been further aggravated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Russia has ceased exporting some of its lumber to Japan in retaliation for sanctions. Lumber and panel prices in Japan have increased 10-20% in just the last 3 months.
Biden Administration Takes Steps to Reverse Changes to the Endangered Species Act
On Wednesday, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USF&WS) canceled a policy adopted during the previous administration that weakened its authority to identify lands and waters where declining animal and plants could receive government protection—the latest move to undue changes to the Endangered Species Act.