Australia’s unemployment rate was 6.9% in September, up 0.1% on the prior month, but lower than the pandemic peak of just 7.5% in July. This is a weird result, masking an under-story that is lik…

Latest forecasts from ABARES point to a strong December quarter, after the undeniable – and surprising – local softwood sales lift in the September 2020 quarter. In fact, the September lift w…

Monthly sales of locally produced sawn softwood products were above 300,000 m3 for just the third month ever and the second time in three months. At 305,706 m3, sales indicate a local producti…

Defying the orthodox expectations of a decline, June quarter building activity was broadly stable, with the value of new house commencements and completions softening by 0.8% and 0.5% resp…

Australia’s softwood log exports exploded to a monthly record in August 2020. Exports totalled 513,755 m3, up a stonkering 59% on the prior month and exceeding the prior record (May 2017) by 1…

Australians are hammering the housing credit card right now, borrowing at very high levels, supported by the Government’s stimulus measures. However, it isn’t all rosy news, with banks inc…

For all that dwelling approvals are pumping along in Australia right now, there are factors weighing against the sector in 2021 and a few years beyond. One of the most significant is the likeli…