The City of New Westminster, British Columbia has joined 20 other B.C. communities — along with the City of Vancouver, which has its own similar initiative — in participating in the province’s Tall Wood Initiative.
Wood Markets News
Home Sales and Economic Growth Continue to be Slowed by Labor and Supply Chain Limitations
According to the September 2021 commentary from the Fannie Mae Economic and Strategic Research (ESR) Group, for the second month in a row, expectations for near-term real GDP growth were revised downward-and-outward due to persistent supply chain disruptions and labor market tightness.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Releases State-by-State Unemployment and Employment Report for August
According to the latest U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) state-by-state unemployment and employment report for August, unemployment rates were lower in 15 states and D.C. and stable in 35 others.
Log Yard Fire at West Fraser Sawmill in Chetwynd, B.C. Destroys Thousands of Logs
News 1130, a Vancouver based AM radio station, is reporting a major fire at the West Fraser Sawmill in Chetwynd, British Columbia (northern) on Thursday. According to Chetwynd Mayor Allen Courtoreille, the wind carried sparks from one pile to another.
Södra Expands into Denmark with a Complete Line of CLT Panels and Accessories
Södra, a forestry cooperative based in Växjö, Sweden, has announced that its complete offering of CLT panels for frame assembly with complementary products and services will now be available in the Danish market starting in September. This is the first step of Södra’s plan to expand their business into Europe.
Ikea’s Owner Purchases 5500 Hectares of New Zealand Farmland with Plans to Plant it into Forestland
Ingka Group, which owns retail giant Ikea, has purchased 5500 hectares of Otago, New Zealand farmland that it plans to plant into forest. In August, the Overseas Investment Office approved the purchase of Wisp Hill buy the Ingka Group.
Share of Custom Home Building Declines in Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction for 2020
Data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction (SOC), with analysis provided by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), reveals that the custom home share decreased to 17.8% of all single-family homes started in 2020. That is the lowest annual custom home share has been since the redesigning of the SOC in 2005.
Housing Market Goes from White Hot to Red Hot just as Fall Buying Season Starts
Zillow Group, Inc., the Seattle-based real estate marketplace company, in their latest Zillow® Market Report revealed that the runaway monthly increases in home values and rents slowed in August. This paves the way, Zillow says, for a strong but more manageable housing market for this coming fall.
University of Michigan Releases Preliminary Consumer Sentiment Index for September
The University of Michigan today (Friday 9-17-21) released its preliminary Consumer Sentiment Index (CSI) for September. The Index of Consumer Sentiment increased to a reading of 71.0 in September, up from 70.3 in August — a month-over-month increase +1.0% but -11.7% year-over-year (80.4 in September 2020).
Hurricane Ida Hits the Louisiana Timber Industry
Unlike with Katrina, during Ida a lot of small, scattered trees as well as big ones went down. “Anything 15 years and up that was on commercial forest land that was planted and thinned before Ida hit, those stands have been pretty much totally devastated.”