Statistics Canada (StatsCan) is reporting that Canadian lumber production by sawmills decreased -8.2% from March 2021 to 5170.3 thousand cubic meters in April 2021. However, production was 45.4% higher than in April 2020.
Wood Markets News
Interfor Corporation Completes Purchase of 4 Georgia-Pacific Sawmill Operations
Interfor Corporation announced on Friday (7-9-21) that it had completed the purchase transaction to acquire four sawmill operations from Georgia-Pacific, which was originally announced on May 27, 2021. The mills are located in Bay Springs, Mississippi, Fayette, Alabama, DeQuincy Louisiana, and Philomath Oregon.
Consumer Price Index Increased 0.9% in June, 5.4% Year-Over-Year
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is reporting that the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.9% in June on a seasonally adjusted basis after rising 0.6% in May. This is largest 1-month change since June 2008 when the index rose 1.0%. Over the past 12-months, the all-item index has increased 5.4% before seasonal adjustment.
Shares of Mortgages in Forbearance Decline for 19th Week in a Row for the Week Ending July 4, 2021
The latest Mortgage Banker Association’s (MBA) Forbearance and Call Survey reports that the total number of loans now in forbearance decreased 11 basis points from 3.87% of servicers’ portfolio volume in the prior week to 3.76% as of July 4, 2021. According to MBA’s estimate, 1.9 million homeowners are in forbearance plans.
Wildfires Rage in Russia, Spain, the U.S. and Canada
While we read and hear about forest fires in the U.S. and Canada, the same unusually hot weather is taking its toll around the globe. In Russia, forest fires have broken out in the Chelyabinsk region close to the border with Kazakhstan, as well as in north-eastern Siberia. The Ministry of Emergency Situations said it has deployed aircraft and a helicopter to fight the fires, as well as 240 personnel to Chelyabinsk where two large villages have been evacuated.
Mosser Leimholz Selects Ledinek to Supply Complete Cross-Laminated Production Line
Mosser Leimholz GmbH has announced that they are making a pioneering investment and have placed an order with Ledinek for a complete cross-laminated timber production line for their Randegg site in Austria. Ledinek will deliver everything from the raw wood input to the handover of the formatted and sanded CLT elements to the CNC machining centers – including the master computer “X-Lam Manager.”
Wisconsin DNR Selects “New Wood Technology” to Rebuild Eagle Tower Observation Deck
At a ribbon cutting ceremony held on Friday (7-9-21), the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources officially opened the new Eagle Tower Observation Deck in Door County, Wisconsin. Eagle Tower is 60 feet high. The DNR says the tower was built using “new wood technology.” Construction included glulam, which is described as a “stress-rated engineered wood beam.”
Canadian Investment in Building Construction Declined 1.9% in May
Statistics Canada (StatsCan) is reporting that investment in building construction modestly slowed in May, declining -1.9% to $19.4 billion (CAD). This was the first drop in building construction since April of 2020. Residential construction investment was down -2.7% to $14.8 billion in May, with declines in both single and multifamily construction.
Commercial and Multifamily Mortgage Delinquencies Hold Steady in June
According to Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) latest monthly CREF Loan Performance Survey, the delinquency rates for mortgages backed by commercial and multifamily properties held steady in June. The MBA developed the survey to better understand the ways the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting commercial mortgage loan performance. The survey reveals that 95.2% of outstanding loan balances were current, unchanged from May.
Weyerhaeuser Company Completes Sale of 145,000 Acres of Timberlands in Washington State to Hampton Resources
Weyerhaeuser Company announced on Thursday (7-8-21) that they have completed the sale, originally announced in April 2021, of 145,000 acres of timberlands in the North Cascades region of Washington state to Hampton Resources for $266 million.