Wood Markets News


Huber Engineered Wood Submits Revised Environmental Assessment Worksheet to the Cohasset, MN City Council

Huber Engineered Woods of Charlotte, NC submitted a revised Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW) on Tuesday (1-18-22) to the City of Cohasset, Minnesota. Huber is hoping to win the city’s approval to construct a 750,000 square-foot mill on about 400 acres adjacent to Minnesota Power’s Boswell Energy Center in Cohasset, which was originally announced in June of 2021.

Al Talah Board Company Producing OSB from Recycled Date Palm Tree Waste in the UAE

Al Talah Board Company, with headquarters in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), produced its first branded “Desert Board” OSB on December 14th, 2021. The Desert Board was produced in a new Dieffenbacher plant, which is using recycled date palm tree waste to manufacture the OSB boards. Al Talah Board contracted with Dieffenbacher in 2019 to create the unique OSB plant.

B.C. Becomes Mass Timber Hub of North America — How it All Began

According to Nate Bergen, project development manager at Kinsol Timber Systems, “British Columbia is currently seen as the hub of North America when it comes to mass timber architecture, engineering, and installation.” Bergen goes onto say in his interview with the Daily Hive, that “Aside from all the performance advantages of mass timber, some of the biggest benefits come from the ability to pre-plan and prefabricate mass timber buildings…”

Americans Continue to Place Homeownership on Hold

According to the National Association of Home Builders’ Q4 2021 Housing Trends Report (HTR), the share of U.S. adults planning a home purchase within the next 12 months has fallen for the second consecutive quarter. The share fell from 17% in Q2, to 16% in Q3, to 15% in Q4. The HTR sees more Americans postponing their homeownership plans due to higher home prices and low housing availability — relative to demand.

U.S. to Close Borders to Unvaccinated Canadian and Mexican Truckers Effective Saturday, January 22, 2022

In a statement released on Thursday (1-20-22) Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas, said, “Starting on January 22, 2022, the Department of Homeland Security will require that non-US individuals entering the United States via land ports of entry or ferry terminals along our Northern and Southern borders be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and be prepared to show related proof of vaccination.”

Leading Economic Index® for U.S. Increases in December

The Conference Board, a non-partisan, not-for-profit think tank founded in 1916, released today (1-21-22) the Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for the U.S. in December. According to the report, the LEI for the U.S. increased by 0.8% in December to 120.8 (2016 = 100), following a 0.7% increase in November, a 0.7% increase in October, and a 0.3% increase in September. The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index® (CEI) for the U.S. increased by 0.2% in December.

New Home Mortgage Applications Drop Both Month-Over-Month and Year-Over-Year in December

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) December Builder Application Survey (BAS), mortgage applications for new home purchases declined -7.1% year-over-year. Compared to November 2021, applications decreased by 5%. This change does not include any adjustments typical seasonal patterns. The BAS tracks application volume from mortgage subsidiaries of home builders across the country.

Canadian Unemployment Dips in November

Statistics Canada (StatsCan) reported on Thursday (1-20-22) that in the week ending November 13, 2021, approximately 692,000 Canadians were receiving regular Employment Insurance (EI). This is down 50,000 (-6.7%) from October. There were -1.0 million fewer regular EI beneficiaries in November than in May 2021, when the number of regular EI beneficiaries reached its COVID-19 pandemic peak.