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Architecture Billing Index, US : May 2015
Read more: Architecture Billing Index, US : May 2015After experiencing relatively soft business conditions for much of the past winter and spring, many architecture firms saw signs of improvement in May. The AIA’s Architecture Billings Index (ABI) increased by more than three points to a score of 51.9 in May, where any score over 50 indicates billings growth. As a positive sign of…
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Housing Starts, Japan: May 2015
Read more: Housing Starts, Japan: May 2015Total housing starts in Japan for May were 71,720 unit, 5.8 per cent more than May last year, according to the Japan Lumber Reports Friday. On a seasonally adjusted basis Japan housing starts in May were 911,000 units, 0.2 per cent less than April. Japan Housing Starts Japan housing starts for the first five months…
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US Home New and Existing Sales: May and June 2105
Read more: US Home New and Existing Sales: May and June 2105The rate of new single-family home sales, as estimated by the Census Bureau Wednesday, improved to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 546,000 in May, the fastest pace in seven years and a 2.2 per cent increase over April. Meanwhile the National Association of Realtors (NAR) Pending Home Sales Index increased for the fifth straight…
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Canada Lumber Production at Sawmills: April 2015
Read more: Canada Lumber Production at Sawmills: April 2015Compared with April 2014, Canadian lumber production rose by 6.9 per cent, to 5,617 thousand cubic metres. Lumber production by sawmills in Canada decreased 0.7 per cent from March, said Statistics Canada Thursday. Sawmills shipped 5,434 thousand cubic metres of lumber in April, down 0.9 per cent from March.
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US Construction Employment
Read more: US Construction EmploymentA survey of single-family builders conducted by the National Association of Home Builders in June 2015 shows that shortages of labour and subcontractors—already quite widespread in mid-2014—have become even more widespread during the past year. The shortages are most acute for basic skills like carpentry, which are needed during the construction of any home. For…
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Construction Spending US: May 2015
Read more: Construction Spending US: May 2015The Census Bureau reported Wednesday that overall construction spending in the US increased in May: The US Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce announced that construction spending during May 2015 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of US$1,035 billion, 0.8 per cent above the revised April estimate of US$1,027 billion. The May…
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Apartment Vacancy Rate, US: 2Q 2105
Read more: Apartment Vacancy Rate, US: 2Q 2105Reis reported Thursday that the US apartment vacancy rate was unchanged at 4.2 per cent during the second quarter with construction and net absorption effectively in balance. This is compared to 4.2 per cent in 1Q. In 2Q 2014 the rate was also 42 per cent. The vacancy rate peaked at 8 per cent at…
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US ISM Manufacturing Index: June 2015
Read more: US ISM Manufacturing Index: June 2015From the Institute for Supply Management: June 2015 Manufacturing ISM® Report On Business® The ISM manufacturing index suggested expansion in June. The PMI was at 53.5 per cent in June, up from 52.8 per cent in May. The employment index was at 55.5 per cent, up from 51.7 per cent in May, and the new…
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Rayonier Completes
Read more: Rayonier CompletesRayonier Inc. announced Tuesday the company has acquired approximately 18,000 acres of high-quality timberlands in southwest Louisiana and northwest Oregon in two separate transactions from BTG Pactual Timberland Investment Group. Both properties are located near existing Rayonier landholdings.
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Skeena Sawmill Closes
Read more: Skeena Sawmill ClosesHot weather and cool markets in China have resulted in the almost total closure of Skeena Sawmills, Terrace, BC’s, only large sawmill, according to the Terrace Standard Friday. A skeleton crew of 10 people from what was a 90-person workforce is left working. The mass layoff will last at least a month, said Mill official…
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North America Solid Wood Product Exports: 2Q 2015
Read more: North America Solid Wood Product Exports: 2Q 2015Canada posted its second-biggest trade deficit on record in April partly due to a weak performance by nonenergy exports. Canada’s trade deficit for April narrowed to $2.97 billion from a revised $3.85 billion in March, Statistics Canada said Wednesday. The consensus is that the US trade deficit, to be released Tuesday, will be at US$42…
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Housing Analysis: US Home Prices Edge Higher As Supply Declines
Read more: Housing Analysis: US Home Prices Edge Higher As Supply DeclinesThe upward pressure on US home prices is being driven more by supply than demand. And this is lifting the housing sector of late: • Momentum in US sales of both new and existing homes; • Post-bubble burst, price has appreciated much faster than sales improvement; and, • Builders express optimism but are cautious in…
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Railcar Traffic of Forest Products, North America
Read more: Railcar Traffic of Forest Products, North AmericaThe volume of rail freight carried in Canada totalled 30.5 million tonnes in April, up 1.7 per cent from the same month last year, said Statistics Canada Wednesday. Freight originating in Canada rose 2.5 per cent to 27.1 million tonnes. Non-intermodal freight rose 3 per cent to 296,000 carloads. The amount of freight loaded into…
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Canada Investment in Housing Construction: April 2015
Read more: Canada Investment in Housing Construction: April 2015Investment in Canadian new housing construction rose 2.3 per cent to $3.9 billion in April compared with the same month in 2014, according to Statistics Canada Monday. Higher investment in apartment and condominium building construction was responsible for most of the national advance, rising 7.9 per cent to $1.3 billion. Single-family dwellings were the lone…
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Homeownership vs Rental Rates, US
Read more: Homeownership vs Rental Rates, USAmercia’s homeownership rate has been falling for eight years, down to 63.7 per cent in 1Q this year from a peak of over 69 per cent in 2004, according to a new report released by Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies, said the New York Times Wednesday. The flip side of the decline in…
