Wood Markets News


Idaho Forest Group Announces Plans to “Indefinitely” Suspend Operations at their St. Regis, Montana Sawmill

Idaho Forest Group (IFG), a private company based in Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho, announced on Monday, August 30, 2021 that it intends to indefinitely suspend operations at its St. Regis, Montana operation by late November. The St. Regis mill employs 99 people and has contracts with loggers and haulers, some of whom may continue delivering logs to other IFG mills in Northern Idaho.

Canadian Real GDP Declines in Q2 2021, Ending Three Consecutive Quarters of Growth

Statistics Canada (StatsCan) reported on Tuesday (8-31-21) that a substantial decline in home resale activity and exports pushed the real gross domestic product (GDP) in Canada down -0.3% in Q2 2021. This marks the end of three consecutive quarterly increases that followed the sharp decline of -11.3% caused by pandemic-related business shutdowns and travel restriction in Q2 of 2020.

Mortgages in Forbearance Numbers Unchanged in the Week Ending August 22, 2021

The latest Mortgage Banker Association’s (MBA) Forbearance and Call Survey reports that the total number of loans now in forbearance remained unchanged relative to the prior week at 3.25% as of August 22, 2021. According to MBA’s estimate, 1.6 million homeowners are in forbearance plans. The share of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans in forbearance remained the same relative to the prior week at 1.66%.

Pending Home Sales Decline Slightly in July

The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) has reported their Pending Homes Sales Index (PHSI) — which is based on signed real estate contracts, not actual closings, for existing single-family homes, condos, and co-ops — declined -1.8%, in July 2021 to a reading of 110.7. An index of 100 is equal to the level of contract activity in 2001.