Freddie Mac has released its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) for the week ending May 5, 2022. The PMMS reports that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.27% with an average 0.9 point, up from last week when it averaged 5.10%. A year ago, at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 2.96%.
Wood Markets News
Job Cuts Increased, Hiring Decreased in April 2022
According to the latest Job Cut Report from Challenger, Gray & Christmas (CG&C), Inc, U.S.-based employers announced 24,286 cuts in April 2022. This is a 14% increase from the 21,387 cuts announced in March 2022, and it is up 6% year-over-year from the 22,913 cuts announced in April 2021.
Weekly Jobless Claims Unexpectedly Move Higher in the Week Ending April 30, 2022
The U.S. Department of Labor is reporting that an additional 200,000 Americans (seasonally adjusted) made their initial filing for unemployment benefits during the week ending on Saturday, April 30, 2022. This is an increase of 19,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The 4-week moving average was 188,000.
Northern Pulp Mill Closure Continues to Negatively Impact Sawmill Operations in Nova Scotia
Since the closure of Paper Excellence Company’s Northern Pulp Mill in Nova Scotia in January of 2020, local sawmill operators have seen their steady and ample supply of sawlogs continue to erode. Local sawmill and trucking company owners’ operations stories all have a common theme: The loss of the pulp market has made woodlot harvesting less viable.
HS Timber Group Expands Product Portfolio with Acquisition of Finnish Sawmiller Luvian Saha Oy
HS Timber Group, one of Europe’s leading wood processing companies with exports destinations to over 70 countries, announced it is expanding its product portfolio with its acquisition of 100% of the shares in the Finnish sawmill Luvian Saha Oy, whose products are known under the brand name “Luvia Wood.”
Seventy Percent of U.S. Metro Areas Reached Double-Digit Annual Price Gains in Q1 of 2022
According to the latest National Association of Realtors® Quarterly Report, released on Tuesday (5-3-22), Q1 of 2022 saw more markets reach double-digit annual prices gains than in Q4 of 2021. Seventy percent of 185 measured metros experienced such price gains, up from 66% in the previous quarter.
Mortgage Applications Increase in Week Ending April 29, 2022
According to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Application Survey (WMAS), for the week ending April 29, 2022, the Market Composite Index (a measure of mortgage loan application volume) increased 2.5% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier.
ADP Reports Private Sector Employment Continued to Grow in April but at a Slower Pace
According to the March ADP® National Employment Report™, released today (5-4-22), nonfarm private sector employment increased by 247,000 jobs from March to April. The report, which is derived from ADP’s actual payroll data, measures the change in total nonfarm private employment each month on a seasonally adjusted basis.
Interfor Corporation Acquires 16.2% Interest in GreenFirst Forest Products Inc.
Interfor Corporation announced on Monday (5-2-22) that its wholly owned subsidiary, Interfor East Ltd., had acquired 28,684,433 common shares in the capital of GreenFirst Forest Products Inc. (GreenFirst) from Rayonier A.M. Canada G.P., which represents approximately 16.2% of GreenFirst’s issued and outstanding common shares.
Lumber Demand Expected to Remain Strong, Even in a Recessionary Period
At last Thursday’s Council of Forest Industries conference, analysts and economists speaking at the forum began using the dreaded “R” word. Some speakers said openly that by end of 2022 or early 2023, at least Europe, and potentially North America, could be in a recession due to run-away inflation, the war in Ukraine, and rising interest rates.