On Tuesday morning (12-14-21), the movement to build large structures from specially engineered wood, frequently called mass timber, got a major boost when George Brown College broke ground on what will be Ontario’s tallest wood building. The building will be called Limberlost Place, after Limberlost Forest and Wildlife Reserve in Ontario’s Muskoka region, and is being funded in part by a $10 million (CAD) donation.
Wood Markets News
Home Price Growth to Slow in 2022, According to Realtor.com
According to economists for Realtor.com, a real estate listing site owned by News Corp., the run-on home prices is almost over. Realtor.com is forecasting that over the next 12-months the median existing home sales prices will rise 2.9%. That would be a substantial slowing, as U.S. home prices year-over-year in September were up 19.5%.
Canada’s Industrial Products Price Index Up 0.8% Month-Over-Month and 18.3% Year-Over-Year in November
Statistics Canada (StatsCan) today (12-14-21) released its Industrial Products Price Index (IPPI) for November 2021. According to the “flash estimate,” the IPPI increased 0.8% month-over-month in November. Year-over-year the IPPI was up 18.3%. Softwood lumber rose 5.3% in November, after an increase of 13.3% in October. Year over year, prices for softwood lumber were up 21.8%.
Producer Price Index for Final Demand Increases 0.8% in November
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today (12-14-21) that the Producer Price Index (PPI) for final demand, seasonally adjusted, increased 0.8% in November. Final demand prices moved 0.6% higher in each of the 3 prior months. On an unadjusted basis, the final demand index rose 9.6% for the 12 months ended in November — the largest advance since 12-month data were first calculated in November 2010.
NFIB’s Small Business Optimism Index Declines Further in November
The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), one of the largest small business associations in the US, reported today (12-14-21) that their NFIB Small Business Optimism Index dropped -0.2 points to a reading of 98.4 in November. Four of the 10 components improved, while 4 declined and 2 remained unchanged. The NFIB Uncertainty Index dropped -4 points to a reading of 63.
Greenlam Industries to Enter Plywood and Particleboard Business and Expand with Third Laminate Plant
Greenlam Industries, Asia’s largest laminate manufacturing company, announced today (12-13-21) that is planning on investing Rs 959 crore over the next 2–3 years to set up a third laminate plant. It will also venture into the plywood and particleboard business. The company says the expansion will help move the company from being a decorative surfacing manufacturer to a leading player in the wood panel industry.
“Canada’s Earth Tower” in Vancouver a Hybrid Building Construction Game Changer
While it is still awaiting neighborhood planning approval and complete design refinements, Canada’s Earth Tower, a proposed 40-story hybrid wood tower in Vancouver, B.C. by the Delta Land Development in collaboration with architectural firm Perkins+Will, has city residents “quite enthusiastic about the project,” especially for its low-carbon and high-performance qualities.
Federal Reserve’s “Flow of Funds” Reports Largest Post-Great Recession Quarterly Increase in Q3 2021
According to the latest from the Federal Reserve’s Z.1 Financial Accounts of the United States, i.e., the “Flow of Funds”, the aggregate value of all home mortgages of households and nonprofit organizations in the United States in the Q3 of 2021 registered the largest post-Great Recession numerical quarterly increase. From $11.3 trillion in Q2 of 2021, household liabilities rose by $230 billion to $11.5 trillion.
Mortgage Lending Experiences Second Consecutive Quarterly Decline
ATTOM’s Q3 2021 U.S. Residential Property Mortgage Origination Report reveals that 59 million mortgages secured by residential properties were developed in Q3. Those figures were up 3% from Q3 of 2020, but down -8% from the Q2 of 2021. This amounted to the largest quarterly decline in over a year.
Shareholders of Canadian Pacific Railway & Kansas City Southern Railroad Approve Proposed Combination
Today (12-10-21), the Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. (CP) moved one step closer in completing their proposed combination with the Kansas City Southern Railroad (KCS), welcoming the results of a vote by KCS stockholders in strong support of the proposed CP-KCS combination. CP shareholders voted in favor of the combination during a special meeting on Wednesday, December 8, 2021.