According to the July ADP National Employment Report®, private sector employment increased by 167,000 jobs from June to July.
Wood Markets News
Mortgage Loans in Forbearance Decrease for Seventh Week in a Row
The Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Forbearance and Call Volume Survey for July 26th, reports that the total number of loans now in forbearance decreased by 7 basis points from 7.74% of servicers’ portfolio volume in the prior week to 7.67% as of July 26th, 2020.
Mortgage Applications Decline Week Ending July 31st 2020
According to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Application Survey, for the week ending July 31st, 2020, the Market Composite Index decreased -5.1% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier.
Unusually Wet Summer in North – Central British Columbia Helps to Keep Wildfire Numbers Low
An unexpectedly wet summer, to date, in the North – Central interior of British Columbia has helped to keep wildfires unusually low.
The Spread Between Mortgage Rates and Treasury Notes Increases in July
The 10-year U.S. Treasury note is traditionally a stand-in measure of the risk-free rate that the U.S. government offers on debt. However, although the 10-year U.S. Treasury note experienced a downward trend in July, dipping below 0.6%, mortgage rate through July failed to decrease proportionately.
Resolute Forest Products Announces Plans to Reopen El Dorado Arkansas Sawmill in Early 2021
In their Q-2 Financial Report, Resolute Forest Products announced that they are moving forward with their plans to reopen the El Dorado Arkansas sawmill, which was closed indefinitely in August 2019, due to slumping lumber prices.
Patrick Industries Completes Purchase Of Inland Plywood Company
Patrick Industries has announced that it has completed their acquisition of Inland Plywood Company. Inland is the predominate supplier, laminator, and wholesale distributor of treated and untreated laminated plywood, medium density overlay panels and other specialty products to the marine, recreational vehicle (RV) and industrial markets.
Katerra Becomes North America’s Only End-to-End supplier of Mass Timber
Katerra, has become North America’s only end-to-end supplier of mass timber.
J.D. Irving Completes $1.8 million Energy Efficient Investment at Ashland Maine Facility
In a news release, J.D. Irving is reporting that their sawmill in Ashland, Maine has recently completed a $ 1.8 million dollar energy efficient investment, which includes an upgrade to the boilers and an additional control room.
Construction Output in Second Quarter of 2020 Significantly Slows Due to COVID-19 Pandemic
According to The Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), Chief Economist Anirban Baus, the “ABC’s Construction Confidence Index indicated that a majority of contractors suffered some form of interruption to their activities during the second quarter of 2020, whether due to a lack of available inputs as global supply chains buckled, project postponements or cancellations, jobsite workforce issues or state and local government mandates.”