According to a recently conducted Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) member survey the Construction Backlog Indicator (CBI) rebounded slightly in December to a reading of 7.3 months, an increase of 0.1 months from November’s reading. The ABC Construction Confidence Index (CCI) readings for sales, profit margin and staffing levels also increased in December.
Wood Markets News
Consumer Price Index Moves Higher in December
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is reporting that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for all Urban Consumers (CPI-U) prices increased 0.4% in December on a seasonally adjusted basis, after rising 0.2% in November.
Mortgage Applications Increased 16.7% in Week Ending January 8th, 2021
According to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Application Survey, for the week ending January 8th , 2021, the Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 16.7% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier.
NewLife Forest Products Acquires Large Scale Industrial Manufacturing Site in Bellemont, Arizona
Good Earth Power AZ and its operating entity, NewLife Forest Products, one of Arizona’s leading forest products company, has acquired the former Essity AB., tissue production plant in Bellemont Arizona.
Sealaska To Exit Logging Business
Southeast Alaska’s regional Native corporation Sealaska, one of thirteen Alaska Native Regional Corporations, announced on Monday (1/11) that after 40-years they are transitioning out of the logging business.
U.S. Export of Wood Pellets Tops 6.69 Million Metric Tons \ $905.71 Million in First 11-Months of 2020
According to data released on January 7th, 2021, by United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Service, the U.S. exported 660,312.5 metric tons of wood pellets in November. This is up from 624,212.9 metric tons in October, but down from 777,976.5 metric tons in November 2019.
Job Opening and Labor Turnover Survey for November 2020
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has posted its Job Opening and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) for November 2020. According to the JOLTS report the number of job openings dropped from 6.7 in October to 6.5 million in November, which is a rate of 4.4%, as of the last business day of November.
Shares of Mortgages in Forbearance Declined in Weekending January 3rd, 2021
The latest Mortgage Banker Association’s (MBA) Forbearance and Call Survey reports that the total number of loans now in forbearance decreased from 5.53% of servicers’ portfolio volume in the prior week to 5.46% as of January 3, 2021.
Small Business Confidence Drops in December
The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Small Business Optimism Index declined 5.5 points from November, to a reading of 95.9 in December. Falling below the historical average reading of 98, which was established in 1973.
Limited Seedling Nursery Capacity Has Potential to Slow Oregon’s Wildfire Recovery
The Oregon wildfires of 2020 destroyed nearly 1.2 million acres of forest land. Within days of the wildfires starting, nurseries were receiving calls from frantic foresters wanting to place additional orders for conifer seedlings, above what they already had on order for planned replanting operation, needed to replant areas devastated by the fires.