Cascadia Wildlands, Oregon Wild, and the Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center, all environmental organizations, filed a lawsuit on February 8, 2022, that challenges the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) post-Archie Creek Fire logging plans. Nick Cady, Cascadia Wildlands Legal Director said on Tuesday that this is the BLM’s first major post-fire salvage logging operation under a relatively new resource management plan.
Wood Markets News
Commercial/Multifamily Borrowing Increases 79% Year-Over-Year in Q4 2021
According to today’s (2-14-22) release of the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Quarterly Survey of Commercial/Multifamily Mortgage Bankers Originations, loan originations in Q4 2021 were 79% higher year-over-year and 44% higher from Q3 2021. The surge in Q4 2021 was led by increases in originations for hotel, office, industrial, and retail properties.
Allowable Annual Cut Reduced on Tree Farm License 8
B.C.’s chief forester, Diane Nicholls, announced on Thursday (2-10-22) that a new allowable annual cut (AAC) level for Tree Farm License (TFL) 8 in the Southern Interior has been set, effective immediately. The new AAC for TFL 8 is 158,400 cubic meters with a maximum of 131,500 cubic meters harvested from terrain of less than 45% slope.
Dequincy, Louisiana Sawmill Back in Operation; Interfor Celebrates First Loads Shipped from the Facility
After being idled indefinitely by Georgia-Pacific Corp. in May 2020 (and only purchased in July of 2021 by Interfor Corporation) the first truckloads of Interfor lumber from its Dequincy, Louisiana sawmill went out for sale on Wednesday February 9.
Timberlink Investing Millions to Upgrade Tarpeena Sawmill and Construct New CLT/GLT Plant
Timberlink’s Tarpeena sawmill, located in South Australia, is undergoing a multi-million-dollar expansion. The project will include an upgrade the existing sawmill and the construction of Australia’s first cross laminated timber (CLT) and glue laminated timber (GLT) manufacturing plant, which will be co-located on the sawmill’s site.
Canadian Investment in Building Construction Up in December and for the Year
Statistics Canada (StatsCan) reported on Thursday (2-10-22) that investment in building construction in December increased by 1.9% to 18.4 billion (CAD). Gains were recorded in both the residential and non-residential sectors. On a constant dollar basis (2012=100), investment in building construction grew 1.2% to $11.5 billion.
Mortgage Payment on a Typical Home Increased 25% Year-Over-Year
According to the latest report (2-10-22) from Redfin, the Seattle-based, technology-powered real estate brokerage, the estimated monthly mortgage payment for a typical home for sale rose 25% year-over-year, or $388, to a record high of $1,931. The figures are based on the all-time high median asking price of $376,000, recorded during the four weeks ending February 6th, and an average 30-year mortgage rate of 3.69%.
University of Michigan Preliminary Consumer Sentiment Index Declined for February 2022
The University of Michigan today (Friday 2-11-22) released its preliminary Consumer Sentiment Index (CSI) for February. The Index of Consumer Sentiment declined to a reading of 61.7 in February, down from 67.2 in January. The decline is a month-over-month decrease of -8.2% and down -19.7% year-over-year (76.8 in February 2021).
Western Forest Products Confirms Chemainus Sawmill Production Has Been Curtailed
Western Forest Products (WFP) has confirmed that their Chemainus Sawmill is under a production curtailment. When at full production, the mill operates with two full shifts, and neither shift is currently working. No timetable as to when the mill might resume operations has been provided at this time.
Canadian Pacific Railway Employees, Represented by Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, Take Strike Vote
If logistics problems aren’t already causing enough headaches and supply chain disruptions, word came this morning (2-10-22) that the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, representing members working for the Canadian Pacific Railway, is in the process of conducting a strike vote among its more than 3,000 Locomotive Engineers, Conductors, Trainpersons and Yardperson’s.