Wood Markets News


Home Sales Decline Month-Over-Month and Year-Over-Year in December

Redfin reported on Friday (1-14-22) that there were fewer homes than ever available for sale in December. This drove seasonally adjusted home sales down -3.6% from November and -11% when compared to December 2020 — the largest month-over-month sales decline since May 2020. On the other hand, home prices surged 15% higher year-over-year, marking the 17th consecutive month of double-digit home price increases.

HS Timber Group GmbH Announces the Restructuring of its Romanian Operations in the Suceava Region

Parts of the operations in Rădăuți, specifically the sawmilling operations, will cease. However, the production of posts and beams at the site will remain in operation. The panel plant in Siret, which processes sawn timber from the Rădăuți mill, will be closed down in its entirety. With this step, the cutting capacity of HS Timber Group’s sawmills in Romania will be reduced by 30%.

Canadian Home Sales and Prices Push Higher in December

According to statistics released on Monday (1-17-22) by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), home sales recorded over Canadian MLS® Systems edged up 0.2% between November and December 2021. The small increases in November and December followed on the heels of a 9% increase in activity in October. This places sales in Q4 2021 between the highs and lows seen earlier in the year. The actual (not seasonally adjusted) number of transactions in December 2021 came in -9.9% below the record for December, which was set in December of 2020.

Builder Sentiment Declines in January on Inflation Concerns

On Tuesday (1-18-22), The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) reported that builder sentiment in the market for newly built single-family homes edged 1-point lower in January to a reading of 84. The HMI has hovered between 83 and 84 for the past three months, the same rate it was at in the spring of 2021. Builder confidence topped at a level of 90 in November 2020.

B.C. Secondary Forest Products Sector Getting Hit Hard by Old Growth Forest Deferrals

Doing more with less and concentrating on high value-added products is the focus of B.C.’s NDP government officials, as they face a shrinking supply of harvestable timber, and the need to protect more old growth forests. However, the secondary sector is more frightened than enthused by the plan: to protect up to an additional 2.6 million hectares of old growth, about half of which the government says is in the timber harvesting land base.

Monthly Construction Input Prices Rise in December

According to analysis provided by the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) regarding the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) December Producer Price Index, construction input prices rose 0.6% in December when compared to November. Nonresidential construction input prices also increased 0.6% for the month.

IKEA Announces Purchase of 3,264 Acres in Florida

Ingka Group, the owner of most IKEA furniture stores worldwide, announced that it has purchased more land in the United States, as part of a long-term commitment to responsible forest management. “The new forests will support increased biodiversity, help ensure sustainable timber production from responsibly managed forests, and recover land damaged by Hurricane Michael in October 2018.”