Despite their differences on the forest products industry, Canada and United States have a long and steeped history and tradition of helping each other out when it comes to wildfire and firefighting reinforcements. That will not be case this year, as both countries contended with one of the earliest and most severe wildfire seasons in recent times.
Wood Markets News
Swiss Krono Group Invests $273.5 Million Towards the Construction of Russia’s Largest OSB Plant
The Russian News Agency, TASS, on Wednesday (8-4-21), reported that the Swiss Krono Group is making an investment of approximately 20 billion rubles ($273.5 million) towards the construction of Russia’s largest oriented strand board (OSB) plant in Sharya, located in the Kostroma Region.
Mortgage Rates Move Lower in the Week Ending August 5, 2021
Freddie Mac has released its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) for the week ending August 5, 2021. The PMMS reports that 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.77% with an average 0.6 points, down from last week when it averaged 2.80%. A year ago, at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 2.88%.
Challenger Reports July Job Cuts Down -93% Year-Over-Year in July 2021
According to the latest Job Cut Report released from Challenger, Gray & Christmas (CG&C), Inc, a global outplacement and business and executive coaching firm, U.S. based companies announced 18,942 job cuts in July, down -93% from the 262,649 cuts announced in July 2020. Last month’s total is the lowest since in June 2000, when 17,241 job cuts were announced.
Mortgage Delinquencies Backed by Commercial and Multifamily Properties Dropped in July
According to the latest Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) monthly CREF Loan Performance Survey, delinquency rates for mortgages backed by commercial and multifamily properties declined in July. The survey was created to help better understand the ways the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting commercial mortgage loan performance.
Weekly Jobless Claims Continued to Decline in the Week Ending July 31, 2021
The U.S. Department of Labor is reporting that an additional 385,000 Americans made their initial filing for unemployment benefits during the week ending on Saturday, July 31, 2021, a decrease of 14,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The 4-week moving average was 394,000, a decrease of 250 from the previous week’s revised average.
Total Value of Building Permits in Canada Rose 6.9% in June
Statistics Canada (StatsCan) reported today (8-4-21) that the total value of building permits rose 6.9% to $10.3 billion in June. Seven provinces contributed to the gain, led by Ontario, which jumped 22.7%.
Mercer International Acquires State-of-the-Art CLT Manufacturing Facility in Spokane, Washington
Mercer International, which operates or jointly operates several pulp and paper operations in Canada and Germany and runs a timber service in Germany, announced on Wednesday (8-3-21) that it has received approval from a U.S. bankruptcy court to acquire a state-of-the-art cross-laminated timber (CLT) manufacturing facility in Spokane, Washington.
Volumetric Building Companies to Acquire Former Katerra Headquarters in Tracy, California
Volumetric Building Companies (VBC), the Philadelphia PA-based modular builder, is in the final stages of a completing a $25-million bankruptcy acquisition of Katerra’s former Tracy, California headquarters. VBC has been selected as the final bidder in a deal that will ultimately bring $60 million of manufacturing equipment.
Mortgage Applications Decline in the Week Ending July 30, 2021
According to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Application Survey, for the week ending July 30, 2021, the Market Composite Index — a measure of mortgage loan application volume — decreased -1.7% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased -2% compared with the previous week.