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Sawmill Fire
A sawmill fire Wednesday at BKB Cedar Manufacturing in McBride, BC, displaced 35 full-time employees. Mayor Loranne Martin Says they acted quickly after the facility went up in smoke, according to My Prince George Now. Regional District of Fraser-Fort George spokesperson Renee McCloskey says multiple re departments were called to battle the blaze. According to…
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Canada Federal Government Lumber Trade Update
Attendees this week at the BC Council of Forest Industries AGM in downtown Vancouver, BC, got an excellent update on Canada-US softwood lumber trade issues from Assistant Deputy Minister at Global Affairs Canada, Kirsten Hillman, and BC Lumber Trade Envoy David Emerson. Robust ongoing demand and looming potentially-retroactive duties on softwood lumber later this month…
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US Apartment Vacancy Rate: 1Q 2017
Reis reported Friday that the US apartment vacancy rate was at 4.3 per cent in Q1 2017, up from 4.2 per cent in 4Q 2016, and unchanged from 4.3 per cent in 1Q 2016. The vacancy rate peaked at 8 per cent at the end of 2009. From Reis: Effective Apartment Rents Decline in 23…
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US Real House Prices, Price-to-Rent Ratio: Jan 2017
The Case-Shiller US National Home Price Index rose at a seasonally adjusted annual growth rate of 7.9 per cent, slower than the 9.2 per cent increase in December, according to the S&P Dow Jones Indices Tuesday. In real terms, and as a price-to-rent ratio, [US house] prices are back to late 2003 / early 2004…
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Softwood Lumber Negotiations Update and NAFTA
The latest movement from the new US Administration on trade issues is this week bringing forward NAFTA discussions to the US Congress. Of most interest to the Canadian and US softwood lumber industry, a component of the Administration’s letter appears related to the softwood lumber dispute with Canada. The draft calls for eliminating a provision…
