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Transportation Statistics : North America
Read more: Transportation Statistics : North AmericaThe latest data, to February 2015, shows volumes of Canadian and US forestry and wood products transported as stable — if moderately improving — over last year. As subscribers to the quarterly Madison’s Forest Pulse already know, volumes and values of wood products manufactured, shipped, and transported across North America for full-year 2014 were very…
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US Industrial production and Capacity Utilization – March 2015
Read more: US Industrial production and Capacity Utilization – March 2015Industrial production in the US decreased 0.6 per cent in March after increasing 0.1 per cent in February. For 1Q 2015, industrial production declined at an annual rate of 1.0 per cent, the first quarterly decrease since 2Q 2009. The decline last quarter resulted from a drop in oil and gas well drilling and servicing…
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Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Survey – April 2015
Read more: Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Survey – April 2015The Philadelphia Federal Reserve’s April Manufacturing Survey’s general business conditions index, released Thursday, turned slightly negative for the first time since December, falling 8 points to -1.2 in a sign that the growth in manufacturing had paused.
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US Producer Price Indexes for Building Materials – March 2015
Read more: US Producer Price Indexes for Building Materials – March 2015The Bureau of Labor Statistics released Tuesday the Producer Price Indexes for March, reporting that inflation in prices received by producers increased 0.2 per cent in March after a string of monthly declines. The overall increase was led by increasing prices for energy, mainly gasoline. Prices for services rose 0.1 per cent. As for building…
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National Multi Housing Council Quarterly Survey of Apartment Market Conditions – April 2015
Read more: National Multi Housing Council Quarterly Survey of Apartment Market Conditions – April 2015All four indexes landed above the breakeven level of 50 in the April National Multifamily Housing Council Quarterly Survey of Apartment Market Conditions. The Market Tightness Index increased by 7 points from last quarter (and by 2 points from a year earlier) to 58. Thirty-one per cent of respondents reported tighter conditions than three months…
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US Housing Starts: March 2015
Read more: US Housing Starts: March 2015Groundbreaking on new US homes increased 2 per cent to a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 926,000 units in March, the Commerce Department said Thursday. That left the bulk of February’s decline, which had been blamed on bad weather, intact. New single-family homes building rose 4.4 per cent. Groundbreaking for the multi-family homes segment fell…
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Canada Monthly Survey of Manufacturing
Read more: Canada Monthly Survey of ManufacturingManufacturing sales declined 1.7 per cent to $50 billion in February, the fourth decrease in five months, said Statistics Canada Wednesday. The drop reflected lower sales of motor vehicles and reduced production of aerospace products and parts. Monthly manufacturing sales have fallen 6.8 per cent since their most recent high of $53.7 billion in July…
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New Forestry Funding, Canada and US
Read more: New Forestry Funding, Canada and USRecent announcements by Canadian federal and provincial governments for forestry funding in technology and innovation as well as employment, and by the US Department of Agriculture, will inject much-needed investment into worthwhile timber-related projects, Canada’s federal Government announced the extension of its program to support the growth of overseas markets for Canada’s forest industry, Revenue…
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Western Spruce-Pine-Fir 2×4 Dimension Lumber Price 2015: Steep Drops
Read more: Western Spruce-Pine-Fir 2×4 Dimension Lumber Price 2015: Steep DropsIn a potentially alarming development, benchmark Western Spruce-Pine-Fir KD 2×4 #2&Btr construction framing dimension lumber prices have dropped much farther than similar commodities in the past year. Eastern Spruce-Pine-Fir KD 2×4 #2&Btr prices fell 16.5 per cent since April 2014, from US$437 mfbm to US$365 mfbm this week (net FOB mill). By comparison, Southern Yellow…
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Western Spruce-Pine-Fir 2×4 Dimension Lumber Price 2015: Steep Drops
Read more: Western Spruce-Pine-Fir 2×4 Dimension Lumber Price 2015: Steep DropsIn a potentially alarming development, benchmark Western Spruce-Pine-Fir KD 2×4 #2&Btr construction framing dimension lumber prices have dropped much farther than similar commodities in the past year. Eastern Spruce-Pine-Fir KD 2×4 #2&Btr prices fell 16.5 per cent since April 2014, from US$437 mfbm to US$365 mfbm this week (net FOB mill). By comparison, Southern Yellow…
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B.C. Forest Product Exports – February 2015
Read more: B.C. Forest Product Exports – February 2015Highlight of Exports YTD 2015 (February), compared to YTD 2014 (February): • BC forest product exports totalled $1.96 billion, up 4.8 per cent from $1.88 billion. • Share of export value by market: US (48.2 per cent, up from 42.3 per cent), China + Hong Kong (28.7 per cent, down from 30.9 per cent), Japan…
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NRCan Invests in Cascades’ Quebec Sawmill
Read more: NRCan Invests in Cascades’ Quebec SawmillNatural Resources Canada Friday announced a $10-million investment in innovation at Cascades Canada’s Norampac-Cabano mill in Témiscouata-sur-le-Lac, QC. Under the project, funded as part of NRCan’s Investments in Forest Industry Transformation (IFIT) program, Cascades will extract hemicellulose from hardwood chips through a new, hot water–based pulping process. The naturally occurring hemicellulose — a polymer in…
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Canada Housing Starts: March 2015
Read more: Canada Housing Starts: March 2015Canadian housing starts rose much more sharply than expected in March as groundbreaking on new condominiums and apartments in urban areas surged 48.2 per cent, while February numbers were revised slightly lower, data showed on Friday. The report from the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corp showed the seasonally adjusted annualized rate of housing starts rose…
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February Housing Starts, Japan
Read more: February Housing Starts, JapanTotal housing units built in Japan for February were 67,552, a 3.1 per cent drop compared to February last year, according to the Japan Lumber Reports Friday. On a seasonally adjusted basis, annual starts were 905,000 units, a 4.7 per cent increase over February 2014. Japan Housing Starts The pace of new owner’s units built…
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Building Permits, Canada
Read more: Building Permits, CanadaCanadian municipalities issued building permits worth $6.1 billion in February, edging down 0.9 per cent from the previous month, said Statistics Canada Thursday. This was the second consecutive monthly decline. Lower construction intentions in Quebec, Ontario and Alberta were responsible for the decrease at the national level. Canada Building Permits The value of permits in…
