HPVA® eNews - Housing Boom Predicted In 2018
As expected, Chinese plywood producers, exporters, and domestic importers have filed appeals at the U.S. Court of International Trade. The appeals challenge both the International Trade Commission's decision finding injury to U.S. producers from these imports and the Commerce Department's final rate determinations. The schedule for filing briefs and oral argument will be announced next. The antidumping and countervailing duties on Chinese hardwood plywood remain in effect.
Millennials struggle to find affordable homes, particularly in expensive markets like New York and San Francisco. The top 13 affordable housing markets for millennials start with Olathe, KS, and include 3 locations in Texas.
Source: Builder, February 1; High Plains, January 29, 2018.
AIA’s chief economist predicts an upturn in construction spending in 2018 and 2019. He lists 5 reasons, including the implications of tax reform and rebuilding from natural disasters.
Source: Builder, February 2; BD+C, January 30, 2018.
Demand for one-story homes is growing from buyers aged 65 and up. Due to growing demand, higher land prices, and a short supply of land, single-story homes are selling at a premium of about 10%.
Current relatively low log prices mean a bargain for those who build with wood. Wood is both relatively cheaper and a lower percentage of total home cost compared to 25 years ago.
A recent sample of single-family homebuilders found about 25% of homes built met the minimum point requirement for National Green Building Standard certification. Currently, though, only 11% of homes are certified.
Outside of the U.S., the list of the top 10 countries and regions using LEED shows China as number 1 and Canada as number 2.
Additional Sources: Builder, February 2; Infographic © USGBC.
Immigrant workers are nearly 25% of the U.S. construction workforce and about 30% of construction trades.
Our new website is ready to go! We'll release the Decorative Hardwoods Association site with the updated eNews in 2 weeks.
Roseburg has finalized its previously announced sale of California timberlands to Shasta Cascade Timberlands.
Plywood sheets 48 feet long by 12 feet wide are almost ready for market. The mass plywood panels are being manufactured by Freres Lumber Co. in a new plant in Oregon.
Additional Sources: See photo gallery of new plant. Photo © Freres Lumber Co.
Chinese buyers are now buying U.S. logs directly from log exporters, bypassing sawmills, and are paying above market prices.
Emma Berglund of the Confederation of European Forest Owners stated that sustainable forest management is crucial to maintaining the carbon cycle. Forests must be kept growing by harvesting old trees and replacing them with faster-growing new trees.
The timber industry joined environmental groupsin lobbying for an expansion of the 44-year-old tax break for timber production in New York.
The decision on the Waters of the U.S. rule has been delayed for 2 years as agencies work to replace the Obama-era regulation with a less broad definition of what constitutes federally protected water sources. The 2015 rule will remain void as updated regulations are written.
HUD will conduct a top-to-bottom review of manufactured housing rules as a broader effort to identify regulations that may be ineffective, overly burdensome, or excessively costly given the critical need for affordable housing.
EPA withdraws the "once in, always in" conceptfor sources of hazardous air pollutants classified as "major sources" under the Clean Air Act.
Associated Builders and Contractors request a rollback of the Obama executive order on project labor agreements that bar nonunion contractors from the bidding process.
Additional Sources: Truth About PLAs.
Assessment of Lawful Sourcing and Sustainability: U.S. Hardwood Exports, 2017 is now available.
The EIA claimed that 2 exhibitors at the London Boat Show built yachts with illegal Myanmar teak.
A supplier of the teak used in the exhibited yachts refuted the charge, stating that all timber imported from Myanmar complies with the EUTR.
The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission cracks down on illegal timber.
French architects design and build a luxury treehouse in a 100-year-old oak tree.
A filmmaker honors his grandfather's woodworking with a documentary.
Officials ramp up efforts to control the pest.
Vote for your favorite owl in this National Geographic poll.
Photo © Dick Daniels.
Watch a master craft and hone a knife out of lignum vitae.