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US Architecture Billings Index
After nine consecutive months of growth, January’s Architecture Billing Index (ABI) reported a “softening” in US design activity. According to the American Institute of Architects (AIA), the January ABI score was 49.9, down from a mark of 52.7 in December. This score reflects a “very modest decrease” in design services (any score above 50 indicates…
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Home Building, Canada and US
In a shiny fresh new year, home building activity in Canada and the US continues along the waffly path each experienced in 2014. Curiosity about where home building will be through this year abounds. Much of the growth in multi-residential starts came from a jump in construction of rental apartments in Edmonton, which hit a…
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Rail Transportation Labour Dispute
After a long period of difficult negotiations, the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference union this week said if a deal can’t be reached by midnight Saturday, Canadian Pacific Railway will face job action by 3,300 locomotive engineers, conductors, and train and yard workers across Canada. In addition, Unifor, which represents 1,650 workers who perform safety inspections,…
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Madison’s Forest Pulse 4Q 2014 — Out Now!
Important Lumber Production and Export Data: • US sawmill products exports to China by VALUE are up +20%, to US$1,199 million, Jan to Nov 2014 compared to US$959 million the previous year; • US sawmill products imports from Canada by VALUE are up +9%, to US$4,939 million, Jan to Nov 2014 over US$4,498 million in…
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US Forest Service Wood Pellet Report
In December 2014 the US Forest Service Southern Research Station released A Technical Document Supporting the Forest Service Update of the 2010 RPA Assessment, “Effect of Policies on Pellet Production and Forests in the US South,” which examines the most recent “key drivers of US pellet feedstock supply include both the age structure of current…
