Realtor.com is reporting that the number of new homes for sale rose in April 2021, compared to last year, when most cites had shelter-in-place orders in effect. Nevertheless, the number of new listing is still nearly 26% below pre-pandemic levels.
Wood Markets News
With Volatility Checks Removed, May CME Lumber Future Contract Moves to Historic Levels
CME Lumber Futures soared to new historic heights on Monday and Tuesday. With the May contract set to expire on Friday, May 14, 2021 at Noon (CDT), the limits on trading, which are set to hold volatility in check, have been removed for the final days of the contract.
Canadian Housing Industry Hits Third Consecutive Month of Record Setting Numbers
Led by a surge in residential building permits, Statistics Canada (StatsCan) is reporting that March 2021 marked the third consecutive month of recording setting numbers in the Canadian housing industry. Building permits rose 5.7% to $ 10.9 billion. The residential sector climbed 15.9%, clearing the $8.0 billion mark for the first time in March.
Shares of Mortgages in Forbearance Decline for Ninth Straight Week in Week Ending April 25, 2021
The latest Mortgage Banker Association’s (MBA) Forbearance and Call Survey reports that the total number of loans now in forbearance decreased by 2 basis points from 4.49% of servicers’ portfolio volume in the prior week to 4.47% as of April 25, 2021. According to MBA’s estimate, 2.23 million homeowners are in forbearance plans.
Weyerhaeuser Completes Purchase of 69,200 of Alabama Timberlands and Announces the Sale of 145,000 Acres in the North Cascade Region of Washington State
Weyerhaeuser Company announced on Friday (4-30-21) that earlier in the week they had completed the acquisition of 69,200 acres of high-quality Alabama timberlands from Soterra, a subsidiary of Greif, Inc., for approximately $149 million. Separately, the company announced an agreement to sell 145,000 acres of timberlands in the North Cascades region of Washington to Hampton Resources for $266 million.
Canadian Wood Council Expert Says Mass Timber Supply Can Keep Up with Canada’s Growing Demand
Canada’s usage of mass timber in construction is continuing to accelerate. That is leading some Canadians to question whether the supply can keep up with the ever-growing demand. Tim Buhler, technical manager for the Canadian Wood Council, Wood WORKS! Ontario is confident that it can.
What Happens When Lumber Shortages Run into Transportation Shortages
The susceptibility of the global supply chain to suffer from major pinch-points and headwinds has never been clearer than during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. There was a significant underestimation of how much products and services would be needed, resulting in major supply chain issues in everything from lumber, to semiconductors, to shipping capacity and labor.
Muskrat Falls Project Whole Logs Sold to Chinese Buyer – Left Over Fiber to be Chipped and Shipped to UK
The estimated 400,000 cubic meters of timber cut between 2013 and 2015 to make way for the Muskrat Falls hydroelectric station in Labrador, Canada, has been sitting there idle ever since. However, that wood will soon be on its way to China. A deal was completed last summer by JP Forestry, a company that specializes in wood chips, and the Innu Nation to sell off timber leftover from the Muskrat Falls project.
Led by Lumber and Other Wood Products, Canadian Industrial Product Price Index Increases 1.6% in March
Statistics Canada (StatsCan) is reporting that in March, the Industrial Product Price index (IPPI) increased 1.6% month-over-month and 10% year-over-year. This marks the fourth consecutive monthly increases in the IPPI.
Total U.S. Construction Spending Slightly Higher in March
The U.S. Census Bureau has announced that total construction spending during March 2021 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of $1,513 billion, 0.2% above the revised February estimate of $1,509.9 billion. The March figure is 5.3% above the March 2020 estimate.