Washington state’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR) recently held a timber auction to sell off part of a 180-acre patch of state forestland where some of the state’s largest Douglas firs have stood through more than a hundred years of logging. The sale netted the state $4.2 million, and the trees were headed for a plywood mill.
Wood Markets News
Washington D.C. First Commercial Building Made of Mass Timber Under Construction
The first commercial office building made of mass timber in Washington D.C. will be leased to the American Trucking Association (ATA). The 80 M Street project was commissioned by Columbia Property Trust and designed by architecture firm Hickok Cole. The project will add 105,000 square feet and two new floors to an existing seven-story office building at 80 M Street.
Existing Homes Sales Drop 6.6% in February but Year-Over-Year are up 9.1%
The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) is reporting that total existing home sales — which are completed transactions for single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops — in February were -6.6% below January to a seasonally adjusted rate at 6.22 million homes.
Canadian Pacific Railway and Kansas City Southern Railroad Agree to Merge – Creating North America’s First Railroad Network to Connect Canada, the U.S. and Mexico
The Canadian Pacific Railway Limited (CP) and the Kansas City Southern (KCS) announced on Sunday, March 21, 2021 that they have entered into a merger agreement under which CP has agreed to acquire KCS in a stock and cash transaction representing an enterprise value of approximately USD $29 billion, which includes the assumption of $3.8 billion of outstanding KCS debt.
Oregon Wildfire Log Salvaging Could Bring Counties Funds and Environmental Challenges
There are 18 counties in Oregon that get a share of timber revenue off Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land known as O & C lands. Those lands are named after the Oregon and California Railroad, which was granted land by the federal government in the 1800s as an incentive to build railroad lines. The federal government later took the land back.
Year-Over-Year Home Prices Post 17% Increase While Active Listings Decline by 42%
Redfin, the Seattle-based technology-powered real estate brokerage company, is reporting that for the 4-week period ending on March 14, 2021, the median home sales price increased 17% year-over-year to $330,250 — an all-time record in this data set, which dates back through 2016.
Building with Mass Timber Will Make the Two New Vancouver B.C. Schools More Earthquake Resistant
The Canadian government has announced that it is investing $1.48 million (CAD) to help in the construction of two schools built with mass timber that will be more resistant to earthquakes. The funding comes from the Department of Natural Resources under a program that encourages the use of wood in innovative construction projects such as tall wood buildings, low-rise nonresidential buildings, and bridges.
Canadian Employment Loses 108,000 Jobs Between January and February 2021
According to the ADP® February 2021 Canada National Employment Report, which is produced by the ADP Research Institute®, employment in Canada decreased by 108,000 jobs from January to February. The report, which is derived from actual ADP payroll data, measures the change in total nonfarm payroll employment each month on a seasonally adjusted basis.
Shortage of Seedlings Leave Oregon Small Landowners in a Bind
As a result of last year’s wildfires, small landowners in Oregon find themselves in a predicament. Oregon law requires replanting after harvesting trees for timber, but there now is a surge in demand for a product that takes two years to grow. Seedlings that will be ready this year already are sold, and those planted because of new demand will take time to grow.
Weekly Jobless Claims Increase in the Week Ending March 13, 2021
The U.S. Department of Labor is reporting that an additional 770,000 Americans made their initial filing for unemployment benefits during the week ending on Saturday March 13, 2021 — an increase of 45,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The 4-week moving average was 746,250, a decrease of 16,000 from the previous week’s revised average.