New due diligence checks to ensure timber and timber products have not been illegally harvested will be required by UK.
Wood Markets News
Mortgage Bankers Association Expects Purchase Originations to Grow Further in 2021
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said that they expect purchase originations to grow 8.5% to a new record of $ 1.54 in 2021.
U.S. Forest Service is Accepting Application for Grants for Community Wood Energy and Wood Innovation Program
The 2018 Farm Bill established and authorized funding for the Community Wood Energy and Wood Innovation Program. Grants awarded through the program help fund the capital costs for installing wood energy systems or building an innovative wood product facility.
Weekly Jobless Claims Increased in the Week Ending 17th October 2020
The U.S. Department of Labor is reporting that an additional 787,000 Americans made their initial filing for unemployment benefits during the week ending on Saturday, October 17th. A decrease of 55,000 from the previous week’s revised level.
Canada’s Inflation Rate up in September but Retail Sales Remain a Concern
According to a report from Statistics Canada, Canada’s annual rate of inflation accelerated in September. The annual rate of inflation to 0.5% in September, up from 0.1% in August and just ahead of analyst expectations of 0.4%, driven by transportation, recreation and higher prices for new housing.
Mortgage Rates Hit New Record Lows in Week Ending 22nd October 2020
Freddie Mac has released its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) for the week ending 22nd October 2020. The PMMS shows that 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.80% with an average 0.6 point, down from last week when it averaged 2.81%.
FEA’s Weekly Orders Survey Participants Encouraged by Another Increase in Builder Confidence and Strong September Housing Starts and Permits
Dealers responding to FEA’s Weekly Orders Survey could not help but comment favorably on the Builder Confidence report for October, with the reading moving to a new record high of 85.
Existing-Home Sales Climb 9.4% in September to 6.5 Million
The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) is reporting that total existing-home sales, completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, increased 9.4% from August to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 6.5 million in September.
Swedish Sawmilling Group Ramps Up Production to Meet Global Demand and Product Shortages
To meet growing global demand and product shortages, Swedish sawmilling group Setra, announced in their Q3 results publication, that they plan to fully ramp up production during the fall.
Significant Improvements to New Brunswick Wood Market Benchmark Announced
According to Auditor General Kim Adair-MacPherson, a major irritant that helped to provoke US tariffs has been fixed and with it a potential lifeline to the New Brunswick (NB) forest industry. Her report released on Tuesday (10/20) says the province now has a better system for accurately calculating sales to mills from private woodlots, a benchmark that helps set royalties paid for timber from publicly owned Crown lands.