Demand For Engineered Wood Products To Grow Through 2020
Engineered wood product output will grow between 25% and 33% by 2020, according to the Fall 2015 Forecast by APA – The Engineered Wood Association. That should bode well for LBM dealers as the housing market continues its gradual recovery.
APA’s 2015-2020 Market Outlook for structural panels and engineered wood products forecasts that demand for North American-made structural panels will increase 21% by 2020, from 31.5 billion square feet to 38 billion, largely in response the increase in housing starts to 1.5 million units by the end of the decade.
APA’s forecast for an uptick in demand for structural panels and engineered wood doesn’t surprise J.D. Saunders, the 2014-2015 chairman of the National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association (NLBMDA) and vice president of Economy Lumber in Campbell, Calif. “We’ve already experienced an increase in demand, and part of that is attributable to the recovery of the housing market,” he says.
In fact, APA’s Market Outlook notes that although the U.S. homeownership rate is expected to trend lower through 2020 as interest rates rise, the improving economy could push household growth as high as 1.3 million per year over the next three to five years.
Several factors are dampening the potential for stronger growth in homebuilding. Young would-be homeowners are delaying marriage as they pay off historically high levels of student debt and their projected incomes are unlikely to keep pace with the rise in mortgage payments as home prices and interest rates rise. In addition, first-time home-buyers continue to struggle to meet strict mortgage lending standards to qualify for home loans. Many of the households they form in the near future are likely to be living in rented apartments, as described in the APA report.
From LBM Journal: lbmjournal.com.
RELATED ARTICLES
2020 APA SAFETY AND HEALTH AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED
APA NAMES NEW DIRECTOR OF QUALITY SERVICES
Latest News
Tolko Names New Chief Operating Officer
Brad Thorlakson, President and CEO of Tolko Industries, has announced that Pino Pucci, Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Logistics will assume a newly created interim role as Tolko’s Chief Operating Officer. “This role has been created to support our succession planning process, as Pino will eventually succeed me as President & CEO,” Thorlakson says. “Pino’s proven leadership experience, significant focus on people and culture, and his alignment with our values make him the perfect…
RoyOMartin Employees Better Themselves
The RoyOMartin University (ROM-U) program identifies emerging leaders and develops their potential to ensure that the company maintains a pipeline of leaders prepared to take the next step in their careers. Recently, Louisana-based RoyOMartin recognized Luke Briley, dry end manager, RoyOMartin-Plywood; Brett Danzy, mechanical maintenance superintendent, RoyOMartin-Plywood; Jermaine Davis, corporate purchasing coordinator, corporate office); and…
GP Donates $100,000 To Volunteer Fire Department In Corrigan, Texas
The Corrigan Volunteer Fire Department, which has close to 25 active volunteers and answered more than 150 emergency calls in 2022, has kicked off a capital campaign to build a new fire station, which will cost $400,000. In support of this campaign, and in recognition of the three major facilities Georgia-Pacific operates (and the 1,000 people employed) in Polk County, Texas, the company has donated $100,000 to the effort…
Dieffenbacher Emission Control Systems
Dieffenbacher’s emission control solutions include emission measurements and dryer and press emission control systems. Emission measurements help plant operators understand which emissions are present and determine the type and amount of emissions. For example, using state-of-the-art methods, uncomplicated in-house emission measurements can be taken on stacks downstream of the dryer or the press exhaust system…
Find Us On Social
Newsletter
The monthly Panel World Industry Newsletter reaches over 3,000 who represent primary panel production operations.
Subscribe/Renew
Panel World is delivered six times per year to North American and international professionals, who represent primary panel production operations. Subscriptions are FREE to qualified individuals.
Advertise
Complete the online form so we can direct you to the appropriate Sales Representative. Contact us today!