by Web Editor | Aug 5, 2016 | News
From: Panel World Staff
While housing starts in the U.S. ran at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.17 million units in the second quarter, and Canadian housing starts ran at 198,000 units, North American structural panel production and apparent consumption rose 6% and 6.6%, respectively, in the second quarter compared to the first quarter. Relative to the second quarter of 2015, North American structural panel production was up 6.5%, and consumption increased 8.1%, according to data reported by APA—The Engineered Wood Assn.
Compared to the first quarter of 2016, North American glulam production rose 4.7% in the second quarter. I-joist production increased 4.1% and LVL output rose 3.9%. On a year ago quarter basis, glulam production was up 6.7%, while I-joist and LVL production increased 4.5% and 9.4%, respectively.
OSB production in North America increased 6.5% in the second quarter versus the first quarter, and was up 7.8% from the second quarter of 2015. First half production totaled 10.775 billion SF, up 7.5% from the first half of 2015.
North American plywood production was up 4.9% in the second quarter versus the first quarter, and was up 3.9% from the
second quarter of 2015. Plywood production in the first half of 2016 was 1.2% greater than the first half of 2015. Led by a 7.4% increase in the South, U.S. plywood production jumped 5% in the second quarter versus the first quarter, and was up 4.6% from the second quarter of 2015. Canadian production increased 4.9% in the second quarter, and was up 0.6% from the second quarter of 2015.
Read more on this in the July 2016 issue of Panel World…
by Web Editor | Jul 8, 2016 | News
On Dec. 26, 2015, the first EF4 or stronger tornado ever recorded in December in Texas made landfall in Garland and Rowlett, suburban towns near Dallas. APA sent a damage assessment team to the area immediately following the storm. The damage assessment team found numerous examples of severe damage, not just in the area most intensely affected by the storm, but also in areas where the tornado winds were not as intense, with damage indicators pointing to wind speeds well below the EF4 rating.
Building failures were attributed to several common structural weaknesses, including poor performance of laminated-fiber sheathing, missing metal connectors, and poor attachment of wall systems to both the roof and the foundation.
While it is challenging to design homes to withstand the most intense tornadoes, there are cost-effective design details that builders and designers can implement to significantly mitigate storm damage in less powerful winds along the edge of the storm’s path. By continuously sheathing walls with plywood or OSB and playing close attention to all connection details, builders can significantly increase the strength and resilience of their homes.
Download Texas Tornado Damage Assessment Report, Form SP-1177, including general findings, 50 images of tornado-damaged homes, and wind-resistant construction recommendations. The report is also available to purchase in print for $2.00.
From Woodworking Network: https://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/wood/apa-wood-panel-group-issues-study-how-super-strong-tornados-damage-homes
by Web Editor | Mar 18, 2016 | News
The Engineered Wood Construction Guide, APA’s comprehensive and widely recognized guide to engineered wood construction systems, has been updated and is now available on the APA website.
The 92-page guide features information on engineered wood products and recommendations for their use in a wide range of applications in residential and commercial construction. It includes information on plywood and oriented strand board (wood structural panels), glulam, I-joists, structural composite lumber, typical specifications, and design recommendations for floor, wall, and roof systems, diaphragms, shear walls, fire-rated systems, and methods of finishing.
The guide can be downloaded free of charge in PDF format or purchased in printed format for $12 at www.apawood.org/resource-library. The online offering has been enhanced with this edition to simplify the options for downloading selected chapters of the guide or the complete publication.
First published in 1962, this is the 33rd printing of the popular guide.
by Web Editor | Jan 25, 2016 | News
Demand For Engineered Wood Products To Grow Through 2020
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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.
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by Web Editor | Jul 6, 2015 | News
APA – The Engineered Wood Association has released its 2015 Market Outlook report.
Similar to 2014, extremely harsh weather caused home building to stall in the eastern half of the U.S. during the first quarter of 2015. However, with mortgage rates below 4 percent, new home sales rose 9 percent versus the fourth quarter of 2014, an indication that new home demand is improving. Brighter employment prospects for young adults is leading them to head out on their own, adding to the strength in the demand for new apartment buildings. These forces point to the recovery in residential construction getting back on track in the second half of this year.
“The biggest changes in the economic environment since a year ago are the strength of the U.S. dollar, the drop in oil and gasoline prices, and efforts by central bankers to stimulate their economies by driving down long-term interest rates,” said Joe Elling, market research director for APA. “This mix of events is likely to support lower interest rates in the U.S. than what was expected a year ago at this time. We are still in an unprecedented situation with respect to Federal Reserve policy though, and I remain concerned about the ability of the Fed to return its balance sheet to a more normal state without a major disruption in financial markets here and abroad.”
Critical to the strength in the demand for new housing is the ability of young adults to have the economic wherewithal to be on their own and, ultimately, to be able to own a home. Despite very favorable affordability conditions from a monthly standpoint, tight lending standards and heavy student debt burdens are constricting that group’s home-buying power. These conditions are expected to persist through the rest of the decade; thus, as housing starts return to their anticipated 1.5 million level by 2018-2019, multifamily starts are expected to account for roughly 36 percent of the total.
Housing starts in Canada totaled just over 198,000 units in 2014. Canada did not experience a housing bubble like the U.S did, but, similar to the States, multifamily unit structures are accounting for a greater share of new residential construction compared to 10 years ago. The forecast calls for starts in Canada to run in the 180,000-190,000 unit range, with multifamily units accounting for around 40 percent of the starts.
From APA – The Engineered Wood Association: https://www.apawood.org/market-outlook-2015
