According to the “second” estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 6.6% in Q2 of 2021. In Q1 of 2021, the real GDP increased 6.3%.
Wood Markets News
30-Year Mortgage Rates Inch Higher in the Week Ending August 26, 2021
Freddie Mac has released its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) for the week ending August 19, 2021. The PMMS reports that 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.87% with an average 0.6 point — up slightly from last week when it averaged 2.86%.
Weekly Jobless Claims Increase in the Week Ending August 21, 2021
The U.S. Department of Labor is reporting that an additional 353,000 Americans made their initial filing for unemployment benefits during the week ending on Saturday, August 21, 2021. This is an increase of 4,000 from the previous week’s revised level.
Canfor Corporation Announces Production Cuts at B.C. Sawmills Starting Week of August 30, 2021
Canfor Corporation announced on Tuesday (8-24-21) that it will be implementing operation reductions at its BC sawmills, with the exception WynnWood, commencing the week of August 30, 2021. As a result, Canfor’s BC mills are expected to operate at approximately 80% of production capacity and operating schedules may continue to vary as economic conditions warrant.
LP Peace Valley OSB Facility Back in Production and Shipping Product
LP Chair and CEO Brad Southern announced during LP’s Q2 2021 earning call, which was held on Tuesday, August 3, 2021, that their Peace Valley OSB facility located in Fort St. John, B.C. had officially pressed its first board on June 22, 2021 after restarting earlier in the year.
Scotland Ready to Help UK with Fluctuations in the Global Timber Market
The UK as whole, according to Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS), is ‘far too vulnerable’ to fluctuations in the global timber market. However, the FLS says that Scotland is well placed to ‘mitigate’ the risk by stepping up its commercial forestry sector.
Mortgage Applications Increased in the Week Ending August 20, 2021
According to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Application Survey (WMAS), for the week ending August 20, 2021, the Market Composite Index (a measure of mortgage loan application volume) increased 1.6% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 1% compared with the previous week.
July New Home Sales Up 1.0% Month-Over-Month but Down Year-Over-Year
The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development jointly reported that new residential single-family home sales for July 2021 were at a SAAR of 708,000, according to estimates. This is 1.0% above the revised June rate of 701,000 but is -27.2% below the July 2020 estimate of 972,000.
Multifamily Starts Remained Elevated in Q2 of 2021
Quarterly U.S. Census Bureau data, with analysis provided by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), reveals that the market share of rental units of multifamily construction starts remained elevated at a reading of 95.2% during Q2 of 2021.
Michigan State University STEM Complex First Building in Michigan to use CLT as its Load-Bearing Structure
Michigan State University, located in East Lansing, Michigan, has taken a former 1940’s power plant and integrated with two laboratory wings to create an Innovation Center for Learning and Technology. The 176,000gsf teaching facility was the first building in Michigan to use cross-laminated timber (CLT) as its load-bearing structure.