CME lumber futures zoomed limit up yesterday, shortly after trading began. Trading was muted in other building materials.
Construction jobs in Metro Atlanta’s fell 22 percent (27,800 jobs) to 125,900 in September. From a broader perspective, Georgia saw a decline of 19 percent (38,800 jobs) to 201,200 construction jobs, according to data published Tuesday by the Associated [...]
Monthly Archives: October 2009
Lumber Futures Limit UP? Atlanta Loses 27,800 Construction Jobs in September
October 30, 2009 – 6:12 am
September New Home Sales and November Lumber Futures Lower
October 29, 2009 – 5:35 am
New homes sold and for sale September 2009
According to estimates released on October 28 by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, sales of new single-family houses in September 2009 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 402,000. This is 3.6 percent below the revised August rate of 417,000 [...]
Building Material Prices Stable while Home Prices Trend Up
October 28, 2009 – 5:58 am
According to the S&P/Case-Schiller Home Price Index, August home prices were up in 17 of the 20 MSA’s and both composites. Annual rates of return increased in 19 of the 20 MSA’s. This is the third straight month of increases in these indices. Many economists indicated that they thought prices would resume their [...]
Mid-October Lumber and Plywood Mill Closures, Lumber and OSB Prices Remain Near Lows
October 25, 2009 – 8:09 pm
Georgia Pacific announced last week that the plywood mill in Fordyce, Arkansas will be shut down for at least 6 months.
Boise Cascade announced last week that their plywood plant in Florien, LA will be down in November.
International Paper announced mill closures in Virginia, Lousiana and Oregon.
Norvell & Wallace, a 129 year old lumber company in Nashville, [...]
Thoughts about the New Residential Construction Report
October 25, 2009 – 4:58 pm
Single family housing permits show that future construction activity will drop 28% nationally as compared to September 2008. This also indicates an unbelievable 74% drop since the top in January 2006. Many economists contend that annual demand for new housing units is around 1.8 million. Some say that 2 million units are required annually, while [...]
Existing Homes Sales Surpass Expectations, Commodity Building Material Prices Drift Sideways
October 24, 2009 – 7:28 am
September Existing Total Home Sales set a new record when they surged 9.4%, according to the National Association of Realtors. The highest rate of sales in over two years exceeded all economists forecast, and reduced the months inventory to 7.8 months, a level we have not seen in several years. Single Family Existing [...]
Housing Starts Disappoint, Nearby Lumber Futures Fall
October 21, 2009 – 6:03 am
In a disappointing release from the U.S. Census Bureau yesterday, we learned that housing starts rose less than expected to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 590,00. Even though starts have been rising in recent months, this is still well below the lowest rate of starts in previous down-turns since the 50’s, when data [...]
October Homebuilder Confidence Index falls
October 20, 2009 – 5:51 am
The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo U.S. Homebuilder Confidence Index fell from 19 to 18 on Monday. Homebuilders are concerned that the expiration of the $8000 First Time tax credit will have a negative impact on sales. The gauge of buyer traffic fell to 14 from 17, probably due to the inability [...]
Lumber & OSB Mills Shut Down
October 19, 2009 – 3:06 pm
Due to log shortage, Shuqualak Lumber will shut down indefinitely
The sawmill division of Shuqualak Lumber Co. in Shuqualak, Miss., has announced that due to a lack of Pine logs resulting from extremely wet weather, they will be shut down until further notice. – Random Lengths WoodWire 10/14/2009
Louisiana-Pacific shuts down OSB mill in Dawson Creek for [...]
Housing recovery underway, foreclosures fall for second straight month!
October 18, 2009 – 6:54 am
Housing Market in U.S. Gains Steam from Homes Sold!
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga.–(Business Wire)–
We have not been hearing that 13,698 homes are sold every day! – That translates to every hour of every day, 570 HOMES ARE SOLD! Even though this has been a year of challenging market conditions and economic turmoil, top real estate agents continue [...]
