The Build-in-Wood project Consortium, which consists of 21 partners from 11 different countries, covering the entire wood value chain from factory to final construction, announced on Tuesday (8-31-21) that Stora Enso, a leading provider of sustainable wood-based solutions for the construction industry, was joining the Build-in-Wood Consortium.
Wood Markets News
Canadian Total Value of Building Permits Drop -3.9% in July
Statistics Canada (StatsCan) is reporting that the total value of building permits in Canada decreased 3.9% to $9.9 billion (CAD) in July. All provinces except British Columbia and Newfoundland and Labrador posted lower values, with the majority of the national decline reported in Alberta (-23.4%). Building permits fell -3.1% in the residential sector and -5.6% in the non-residential sector.
Members of the European Parliament View New Green Forest Strategy as Vague and an Overstep of EU Remits
During the European Parliament’s agriculture meeting held on Wednesday (9-1-21), EU Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski presented one of the main initiatives of the Commission’s Green Deal. However, EU lawmakers from across all of the political spectrums have united in their criticism against the EU’s new flagship Forestry Strategy.
U.S. Regulator’s Rejection of Canadian National Railway’s Bid to Purchase Kansas City Southern Railroad Opens Door, Again, for Possible Canadian Pacific Railway Take Over
With U.S. regulators rejecting a key part of the Canadian National Railway Co’s (CN) bid, the Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. (CP) has approached the Kansas City Southern Railroad (KCS) board asking them to reaffirm the CP’s interest in taking over the railway. CP Rail has maintained that its $31-billion offer, while worth less than CN’s $33.6-billion proposal, has less regulatory risk.
30-Year Mortgage Rates Unchanged in the Week Ending September 2, 2021
Freddie Mac has released its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) for the week ending September 2, 2021. The PMMS reports that 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.87% with an average 0.6 point — unchanged from last week. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 2.93%.
Weekly Jobless Claims Decline in the Week Ending August 28, 2021
The U.S. Department of Labor is reporting that an additional 340,000 Americans made their initial filing for unemployment benefits during the week ending on Saturday, August 28, 2021. This is a decrease of 14,000 from the previous week’s revised level and the lowest level for initial claims since March 14, 2020, when it was 256,000.
Challenger Reports August Job Cuts -86% Lower Year-Over-Year and the Lowest Level Since June of 1997
According to the latest Job Cut Report from Challenger, Gray & Christmas (CG&C) Inc., a global outplacement and business and executive coaching firm, U.S. based employers announced 15,723 job cuts in August, down -17% from the 18,942 cuts announced in July. August 2021’s total is the lowest since in June 1997, when 15,091 job cuts were announced.
U.S. Regulators Reject Canadian National Railway’s Voting Trust to Buy Kansas City Southern Railroad
On Tuesday, August 31, 2021, the U.S. rail regulator rejected a voting trust structure that would have allowed the Canadian National Railway Co. (CN) to proceed with its $29 billion proposed acquisition of U.S.-peer Kansas City Southern Railroad (KCS). The regulator said that the decision was based on antitrust concerns and is a major setback to the deal that would have created the first direct railway linking Canada, the United States, and Mexico.
MTI Researchers to Seek Answer: Can Ontario’s Wood Supply Keep up with Growing Mass Timber Usage?
The up-and-coming new material for sustainable building is mass timber. Mass timber could be part of the climate change solution and become the cornerstone of the Province of Ontario’s economic and environmental future. The question now is can supply keep up with the rising demand? Researchers at the University of Toronto’s Daniels Faculty’s Mass Timber Institute (MTI) are about to go in search of that answer.
Total U.S. July Construction Spending 0.3% Higher Month-Over-Month and 9.0% Higher Year-Over-Year
The U.S. Census Bureau has announced that total construction spending during July 2021 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of $1,568.8 billion, 0.3% above the revised June estimate of $1,563.4 billion. The July figure is 9.0% above the July 2020 estimate of $1,439.6 billion.