June 2011 B.C. Economic Fundamentals

[Ally]

Williams Lake rides forest industry's ups and downs





The Williams Lake Stampede gives this central Interior city its nostalgic western reputation but it's the 10 sawmills, wood manufacturing plants and the enormous piles of logs that feed them -all within walking distance of the downtown core -that truly define it.




The mills and their log yards are a constant reminder that Williams Lake thrives or falls in lock-step with the provincial forest industry.




And for the past few years, Williams Lake, population 11,000, has been ailing. Now it is beginning to come out of it, with new lumber markets in Asia, new investment in mining and record-high prices for the region's cattle, bringing more economic diversity to this forestry-dependent region.




Williams Lake was at ground zero of the mountain pine beetle that swept through the lodgepole pine stands of the Cariboo plateau, turning the surrounding hills the colour of rust. The beetle created a temporary rush to turn the timber into lumber before it deteriorated. But the collapse of the U.S. housing market killed much of the demand for lumber.




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[Ally]

B.C. economic snapshot for June 24, 2011




VANCOUVER, BC, June 25, 2011/ Troy Media/ ` The slumbering consumer re-awakened in April, pushing retail sales volumes up 1.3 per cent from March to a seasonally-adjusted $4.96 billion.





This was the third consecutive monthly gain and pushed monthly sales to the highest level since November, and back to near pre-recession peaks. An approximation of constant dollar sales suggests that April`s gains reflected an increase in goods sold rather than price increases.





Based on data adapted from Statistics Canada, monthly gains were broad-based among retail sectors with motor vehicle and parts (2.6 per cent), furniture and home furnishings (5.1 per cent), and sporting goods and other hobby items (2.8 per cent) leading the way.





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[Ally]

Research dollars start flowing again in forest industry





VANCOUVER - Buoyed by near-record pulp prices, the Canadian forest industry has embarked on a research and development program that is being described as second to none in Canada.




The Canadian forestry sector has built and is now implementing a strong innovation strategy that includes developing new bioproducts from pulp, said Jim Dangerfield, president of the co-operative forest research group FP Innovations.




Dangerfield said in an interview that 12 major forest products research programs are underway valued at $110 million. Much of the money is going into pulp research. The numbers are significant, Dangerfield said, but he preferred the way an American papermaker described Canada`s pulp industry after attending a recent conference on nanotechnology:






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[Ally]

Vacancy rate shows increase




Summerlanders looking for a place to rent received some good news in a new report tracking vacancy rates.










The vacancy rate for all types of private rental apartments in Summerland rose to 6.3 per cent from three per cent during the period running from April 2010 to April 2011, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).










Paul Fabri, CMHC`s senior market analyst for Kelowna and the Southern Interior, said this increase in the vacancy rate for Summerland reflects a regional trend.










`We have seen rising vacancy rates throughout all centres in the South Okanagan,` he said. Consider Penticton. In that city, the rate rose to six per cent from 4.1 per cent.





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