A deeper analysis of the U.S. Census Construction Spending data, provided by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), reveals that total private residential construction spending rose 0.4% in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of $786.6 billion. Year-over-year total private residential spending was 24.3% higher.
Wood Markets News
Borrowers Exiting Forbearance Continued to Increase in the Week Ending September 26, 2021
The latest Mortgage Banker Association’s (MBA) Forbearance and Call Survey reports that the total number of loans now in forbearance decreased by 7 basis points from 2.96% of servicers’ portfolio volume in the prior week to 2.89% as of September 26, 2021. According to MBA’s estimate, 1.4 million homeowners are in forbearance plans.
Tree Harvesting Limitations Threaten Yukon Territory’s Local Small-Scale Sawmills
Doug Kerley is the owner of Creekside Wood Supply located in White Horse, the capital of northwest Canada’s Yukon territory. Kerley said the supply of suitable trees — they must be a minimum size for the lumber product — has been exhausted.
Canadian Building Permits Decline in August
Statistics Canada (StatsCan) is reported today (10-4-21) that the nationwide total of building permits decreased -2.1% month-over-month in August to $9.7 billion (CAD). The report notes that while most of the provinces reported increases in building permits, significant declines in British Columbia and Ontario resulted in the lower month-over-month loss.
52 Large Wildfire Continue to Burn Across the U.S. with Only 1 is Listed as Contained
The National Interagency Fire Center reported today (10-4-21) that there are 52 large wildfires burning nationally on over 2,985,979 acres. No new large fires were being reported as of today.
Smith Leonard Reports Residential Furniture Sales Declined -11% Year-Over-Year in July
Smith Leonard’s latest Monthly Furniture Insight® survey of residential furniture manufacturers and distributors reported that for the first time since June 2020, new orders in July 2021 were down compared to the same month of 2020. New orders were down -11% compared to July 2020.
Analysis of Q2 2021 Real GDP at State-Level Released
According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), with analysis provided by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), real gross domestic product (GDP) increased in all 50 states and the District of Columbian in Q2 of 2021, when compared with Q1 of 2021. The increases in real GDP ranged from 9.7% in Nevada to 1.8% in Alaska.
Construction Spending in August Up 8.9% Year-Over-Year — Virtually Unchanged Month-Over-Month
The U.S. Census Bureau has announced that total construction spending during August 2021 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of $1,584.1 billion, virtually unchanged from the revised July estimate of $1,584.0 billion. The August figure is 8.9% above the August 2020 estimate of $1,455.0 billion.
U.S. and Vietnam Reach Agreement Over Illegally Harvested and Traded Timber
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) said in an emailed statement on Friday (10-1-21) that the U.S. and Vietnam have reached an agreement over illegally harvested and traded timber that will see Vietnam avert punitive tariffs in the process.
Canadian GDP Edges Lower in July 2021
Statistics Canada (StatsCan) reported today (10-1-21) the real gross domestic product (GDP) in Canada edged lower -0.1% in July. This follows a 0.6% increase in June. Total economic activity in July was approximately -2% below the pre-pandemic level of February 2020.