by Web Editor | Feb 1, 2017 | News
Market participants in the North American wood products market are once again cautiously optimistic as they look to 2017. This caution continues to pervade the wood products markets as uncertainty from the ongoing softwood lumber trade negotiations between the USA and Canada, the uneven U.S. housing recovery and the potential for further OSB restarts stifle optimism.
Market participants seem to be gearing up for what they believe will be yet another year of modest demand growth with ample supply availability. This will likely result in cautious inventory buying behavior early in the year. However, 2017 could easily surpass these cautious expectations, which could result in an insufficient inventory buffer as demand powers higher both cyclically and seasonally in late spring and throughout the summer.
Buyers adopted a conservative inventory strategy in 2016 in response to recent market performance and restrained expectations. Unmet price expectations in the North American OSB market in 2013 and more recently in the softwood lumber market in 2015 translated into debilitating inventory losses.
Fresh memories of inventory losses combined with guarded optimism about housing (traders fully in the show-me mode), the OSB industry still acclimating to the startup of over 4.5 BSF of OSB capacity, and the uncertainty surrounding the outcome of the softwood lumber trade negotiations between the USA and Canada drained enthusiasm for building inventories in 2016.
From Building-Products.com: https://www.building-products.com/January-2017/2017-Good-Signs-in-Wood-Products/
by Web Editor | Jan 30, 2017 | News
Weyerhaeuser has upgraded its Trus Joist Eastern Parallam PSL beams and columns with a new unique exterior coating. The patent-pending proprietary surface modification technology reduces the rate of moisture absorption during yarding and construction, and delays the effects of UV penetration.
“The new coating is uniformly sprayed on to both the narrow edge and wide face of Eastern Parallam PSL at our manufacturing facility and chemically modifies the outside wood surface of the beam or column,” said Barry Viviano, engineered lumber products regional manager in New England. “The protective surface covering resists thickness swell from exposure to both moisture and UV conditions during construction.”
Manufactured in Buckhannon, W.V., Eastern Parallam PSL is available east of the Mississippi River, and is intended for interior use applications, such as open concept floor plans and great rooms.
From Building-Products.com: https://www.building-products.com/January-2017/Weyerhaeuser-Upgrades-PSL/
by Web Editor | Jan 27, 2017 | News
President Trump issued an Executive Order over the weekend that freezes all recently published EPA regulations for a 60-day review period. This review period delays the initial effective date for the EPA formaldehyde rule, pushing it from February 10 to March 21, 2017, according to the Composite Panel Association.
This change in effective date will only impact the deadline for accrediting bodies and third-party certifiers to register with the EPA. The December 12, 2017 implementation date for all panel producers and fabricators to comply with the regulation’s emissions and other requirements remains unchanged.
Since the formaldehyde rule was published in the Federal Register, it cannot be changed without further action by the Congress through the Congressional Review Act, which is highly unlikely, or through rulemaking by the EPA. At this point, there is no clear indication that EPA will open the docket for further comment or initiate a rulemaking to make changes to the existing regulation.
CPA will continue its advocacy efforts with EPA during this implementation delay to seek changes to the final regulation that address a handful of editorial and/or substantive issues, such as the restriction on labeling TSCA Title VI compliance until December 12, 2017.
From Woodworking Network: https://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/news/woodworking-industry-news/trump-administration-issues-regulatory-freeze-epa-formaldehyde
by Web Editor | Jan 25, 2017 | News
The Georgia Dome hosted the NFC championship game, the last football event held at the venue. Several other events are planned in the coming weeks. Then the Georgia Dome will be razed and replaced by the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, now under construction just south of the current building.
The Georgia Dome was located just steps from the Georgia World Congress Center, the home of the International Woodworking Fair in downtown Atlanta. This past August, the Georgia Dome hosted an opening night reception for IWF attendees that was on the playing surface.
The dome also hosted actual IWF exhibits during the 1998 event, when there wasn’t room in Hall A and B.
The Falcons played at the Georgia Dome for 25 years, since it opened in 1992. It also hosted college football games, including the SEC Championship and Peach Bowl, college basketball games, wrestling and events at the Olympics.
If you’re planning to go to the next IWF, which will be August 22-25, 2018, you’ll be able to see the completed Mercedes-Benz Stadium just south of the GWCC.
From Woodworking Network: https://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/news/woodworking-industry-news/soon-close-georgia-dome-also-hosted-woodworking-events?ss=news,news,woodworking_industry_news,news,almanac_market_data,news
by Web Editor | Jan 23, 2017 | News
Composite Panel Association Reports Panel Shipments End Year Slightly Below 2015
The Composite Panel Association’s December Industry Snapshot Report indicates that North American composite panel shipments of particleboard and MDF totaled 5.511 billion square feet for the year 2016, a slight decrease of 0.9 percent below 2015.
December shipments totaled 412 million square feet (MMSF) (3/4-inch basis), down 1.5 percent compared to the same month a year ago.
Particleboard shipments totaled 236 MMSF (3/4-inch basis) in December, and were 3.305 BSF for the year 2016, coming in 1.4 percent below 2015. MDF shipments totaled 176 MMSF (3/4-inch basis) for the month and 2.206 MMSF for 2016, essentially flat compared to 2015.
Capitalization rate for particleboard production was primarily in the 65 to 75 percent range for 2016. Particleboard shipments for both the United States and Canada have remained about the same for the past four years. Shipments are extrapolated based on data received from 95.2 percent of the U.S. industry and 100 percent of Canadian industry.
The Industry Snapshot Report is published by the 15th of each month and is available to members on CPA’s web site. The 2016 North American Shipments and Downstream Market Report will be published in May and provide a comprehensive analysis of industry shipments.
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