According to a recent survey conducted by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), which happens to coincide with start of National Remodeling month in May, confidence in the remodeling market continues to increase. In the survey, 5% of remodelers reported that more than half of their projects in 2020 were a direct consequence of the pandemic.
Wood Markets News
30-Year Mortgage Remains Below 3% for Third Consecutive Week, in the Week Ending May 6, 2021
Freddie Mac has released its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) for the week ending May 6, 2021. The PMMS reports that 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.96% percent with an average 0.6 point, down from last week when it averaged 2.98%.
Challenger Reports Job Cuts in April 2021 at Lowest Monthly Total Since June 2000
According to the latest released Job-Cut Report from Challenger, Gray & Christmas (CG&C), Inc, a global outplacement and business and executive coaching firm, planned job cuts announced by U.S.-based employers fell 25% in April to 22,913 from the 30,603 announced in March.
Weekly Jobless Claims Drop in the Week Ending May 1, 2021
The U.S. Department of Labor is reporting that an additional 498,000 Americans made their initial filing for unemployment benefits during the week ending on Saturday, May 1, 2021 — a decrease of 92,000 from the previous week’s revised level. This is the lowest level for this average of initial claims since March 14, 2020, when it was 256,000.
Oregon Judge Rejects Injunction Request to Halt Post-Fire Logging in Santiam Canyon, But Wider Legal Battles are Emerging
Multnomah County circuit court judge Jerry Hodson last Friday (4-30-21) rejected a request by seven environmental groups for an injunction to halt post-fire logging in the Santiam Canyon, the result of last year’s Labor Day fires. In his decision, Judge Hodson found the lawsuit filed by the conservation groups last month was unlikely to prevail in court and ruled that Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) could move forward with its plan to harvest and remove hazardous trees on the 3,000 acres of fire-burned Santiam State Forest.
After Sixteen Months, Australia Bushfires Sawlog Salvage Operations Coming to an End
The COVID-19 pandemic has created a housing construction boom in Australia. As a result, demand for Australian timber has soared. Much of the timber needed to meet that the growing housing demand came from sawlogs that were burnt during the summer bushfires of 2019–2020.
National Nonresidential Construction Declines 1.1% in March
According to Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) analysis of data published by the U.S. Census Bureau, national nonresidential construction decreased 1.1% in March. On a seasonally adjusted annualized basis, nonresidential spending totaled $778.5 billion in March.
ADP Reports Private Sector Employment Increased by 742,000 Jobs in April
According to the April ADP® National Employment Report™, nonfarm private sector employment private sector employment increased by 742,000 jobs from March to April. The ADP National Employment Report is produced by the ADP Research Institute® in collaboration with Moody’s Analytics.
Mortgage Applications Decline for Second Consecutive Week in the Week Ending 30th April 2021
According to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Application Survey for the week ending April 30, 2021, the Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased -0.9% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased -1% compared with the previous week.
Wildfire Timber Salvage Operation Winding Down in NSW Australia
State-owned Forestry Corporation of NSW Australia has announced that starting July 1, 2021, there will be a ‘significant’ decrease in the volume of timber it can supply to AKD and Hyne timber mills. There will be no change to what is supplied to Visy, due to the age profile of what was affected by the fire.