While the Forestweb North American Pulp Index continues to sit right below the five-year trendline, it has eclipsed the 5-year average of 141.87 (Figure 1). Registering at 148.58 in the first month of the fourth quarter, the Forestweb index gained 1.8 percent from September.
Over the course of the last year, stumpage prices-the price paid to landowners for standing timber-in the US South have pushed higher. Pulpwood prices appreciated by more than 20 percent during this period, and sawtimber saw more modest increases.
The debate over the health of the housing market continues. Optimists point to a significant rise in housing permits over the past month while pessimists express concern over declining home sales and rising interest rates.
Despite manufacturing industrial production posting only modest growth, more manufacturing businesses surveyed by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) indicated their activity expanded in October than during any month since April 2011
The St. Joe Company has agreed to sell approximately 382,834 acres of its Northwest Florida timberland and rural land to Utah-based AgReserves, Inc. The $565 million deal is for the majority of The St. Joe Company's timberland
The General Services Administration recently recommended agencies within the Federal government have the option to use either the US Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) or the Green Building Initiative's Green Globes certification systems for green-building projects.
