In the March issue of The Softwood Forest Products Buyer, learn more about the housing growth in 2021, the GBM virtual event, NKBA's 2021 market outlook and much more.
The Softwood Forest Products Buyer - March/April
TheForestProducts www.softwoodbuyer.com Vol. 36 No. 2 TheSoftwood Industry’s Only Newspaper...Now Reaching 36,034 firms (20,000 per issue) March/April2021 Housing Growth Continues in 2021: Headwinds Loom National Association of Home Builders’ Chief Economist Shares Insights By Dr. Robert Dietz Chief Economist and Senior Vice President, NAHB Washington, DC www.nahb.org email: rdietz@nahb.org Twitter: @dietz_econ Blog: eyeonhousing.org The U.S. economy contracted at its steepest pace since the Great Depression in the second quarter of 2020, as a result of the widespread shutdowns across the country due to COVID-19. In the following quarter, led by the gradual reopening of business and revitalized spending activity, U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rebounded at a record 33.1 percent annualized pace. The U.S. economy grew at an annualized rate of 4 percent in the fourth quarter and NAHB is forecasting an annual growth rate of 3.6 percent in 2021. With a recovering economy and renewed interest in housing, the residential sector will lead the economic recovery. Though the pandemic resulted in a record 20.5 million jobs being lost in April, 12.3 million new jobs have been created since May and the unemployment rate declined to 6.7 percent in December. The improvements for the past seven months reflect that the economy is recovering from the pandemic, albeit gradually. And BC Wood’s 17th Annual Global Buyers Mission (GBM) custom “live” virtual event was held recently and featured opportunities to meet and interact with pre-qualified international buyers from around the world, as well as attend educational offerings. The virtual event allowed attendees to meet one-on-one with buyers from the United States, Japan, Korea, China and Taiwan, as well as 20+ other countries. Also available were interactive booths with space for product brochures, information, product displays, videos and a link to their websites, along with “live video meetings” direct from the booth space during the show. Additionally, GBM featured WoodTALKS, which was designed to enlighten, while broad-based economic distress continues, we expect the unemployment rate to fall back to approximately 5.0 percent by the end of 2021. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve pledged to keep interest rates near zero and will likely not raise interest rates until the economy has recovered and the inflation rate reaches 2.0 percent. These economic conditions are not likely to be met until 2022 or beyond, indicating accommodative monetary policy that will “The COVID-19 pandemic not only shut down the economy but changed housing preferences. The NAHB Home Building Geography Index (HBGI) found that residential construction activity expanded at a more rapid pace in lower density markets, such as smaller cities and rural areas since the first quarter of 2020, and this suburban shift continued in the third quarter. This change is expected to continue on a partial basis in the post-vaccine economy.” support housing, home building and the overall economy for years to come. The 30-year fixed mortgage rate is now at record low levels, and we expect mortgage rates to stabilize around 3.25 percent due to Fed actions in the medium-term. Continued on page 24 GBM Welcomes Virtual Attendees for 17th Annual Event PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID JEFFERSON CITY. MO PERMIT NO. 303 Change Service Requested TheSoftwoodForestProductsBuyer P.O. Box 34908 Memphis, TN 38184-0908 inform and inspire on the use of wood in design and construction. This two-day event was full of opportunities for architects, designers, contractors, developers, public officials and other wood products specifiers to see first-hand what is current in British Columbia’s wood industry, learn and network with colleagues. WoodTALKS’ topics included: Commercial/Multi-Residential Mass Timber Projects Community Mass Timber Projects Small Mass Timber/Residential Projects Health + Cultural Heritage Projects Tall Timber Seismic And Passive House Projects Timber Advancements and Characteristics in Projects There were also 16 live 30-minute industry mini-webinars that were available in Exhibitors’ booths. Each carried AIBC 0.5 Core LUs and AIA 0.5 LUs which amounted to another possible 6 LUs for a total of 12 LU’s that could be earned. Included among these webinars were: • Appearance Glulam Beams, which was presented by Kurt Westerlund of Continued on page 24
