The Conference Board, which was founded in 1916 as a non-partisan, not-for-profit think tank, released today (3-18-22) their February 2021, Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for the U.S. According to the release, the LEI which is based on ten separate components increased 0.2% in February, following a 0.5% increase in January and a 0.4% increase in December.
Wood Markets News
30-Year Mortgage Rate Ticks Higher in the Week Ending March 18, 2021
Freddie Mac has released its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) for the week ending 18th March 2021. The PMMS reports that 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.09% with an average 0.7 point, up from last week when it averaged 3.05%.
Higher Interest Rates Will Eliminate Many Would be Home Buyers from the Marketplace
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) 2021 Priced-Out-Estimates reports that 75.1 million U.S. households are unable to afford a median priced new home and that an additional ~154,000 would be priced out if the price of a home were to go up by $1,000.
Industry Veteran Helps to Turn Potential into a Reality at Northern Ontario Sawmill
Despite having ‘retired’ in 2005, Frank Dottori, the founder of Tembec Inc., continues to pursue opportunities in the forest products industry. His most recent as the CEO of White River Forest Products (WRFP) located in White River Ontario and WRC Timber — the mills parent company. The WRFP mill was shut down for seven years before WRC Timber bought the mill in 2013.
Capesize Vessels Pressed into Service to Transport Logs and Save Shippers Money
Lumber traders in an attempt to keep their freight cost under control have started using Capesize vessels. Capesize vessels are the largest class of bulk ships and typically carry cargo such as iron ore, coal, and grain. The name Capesize comes from the fact that they are so large that they cannot pass through the Panama Canal and thus have to sail around the Cape of Good hope to sail between the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean.
Weyerhaeuser Devotes All Logging Resources to Wildfire Salvage Operations in Oregon
Weyerhaeuser continues to concentrate all of its logging resources into fire salvage. As an example, the Weyerhaeuser Santiam Lumber Mill is busily producing lumber from logs salvaged from the wildfires last summer — the Holiday Farm Fire that burned along the McKenzie River and into the Mohawk and upper Calapooia areas, and the Santiam Canyon fires, which damaged timber in the Snow Peak area.
Northern Ontario Lumber Producers Struggle to Keep Up with Surging Demand
Northern Ontario lumber producers are struggling to keep up with surging demand as lumber prices in North America are reaching all-time highs. After a difficult year in 2020 for sawmill operations, leading some producers in Northern Ontario to ask for government assistance to remain in operations, the industry experienced a real turn around thanks to rising prices.
Canadian Consumer Price Index Rises at a Faster Pace Year-Over-Year in February
Statistics Canada (StatsCan) is reporting the Canadian Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose at a faster pace year-over-year in February (+1.1%) than in January (+1.0%). The increase in gasoline prices (+5.0%) led to consumer price growth in February. Excluding gasoline, the CPI rose 1.0% in February, down from a 1.3% increase in January.
Mortgage Applications Decrease -2.2% in the Week Ending March 12, 2021
According to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Application Survey, for the week ending March 12, 2021, the Market Composite Index — a measure of mortgage loan application volume — decreased -2.2% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased -2% compared with the previous week.
Housing Starts and Permits Down but Housing Completions were Up in February 2021
The U.S. Census Bureau has reported that privately‐owned housing starts in February were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 1,421,000. This is -10.3% below the revised January estimate of 1,584,000 and is -9.3% below the February 2020 rate. Single-family housing starts in February were at a rate of 1,040,000; and this is -8.5% below the revised January figure.