MANUFACTURED HOME NEWS Lower Lumber Prices And Enhanced Builder Efficiencies Will Spur Growth In 2022
Administration Moves to Lower Lumber Tariffs – The Commerce Department has issued its third administrative review to reduce duties on shipments of Canadian lumber into the United States from 17.99% to 11.64% This action follows a congressional letter sent to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo from 84 members of Congress in late December expressing urgent concern regarding the Department’s recent decision to double tariffs on softwood lumber products from Canada. The letter also calls on the United States to resume talks with Canada to negotiate a new softwood lumber trade agreement. Along with other residential building trade associations, MHI continues to advocate to the U.S. Department of Commerce, the White House, and Congress for federal intervention and necessary action to support the increased production of lumber. Source: MHI
Housing Manufacturers Level Playing Field With Conventional Builders – College Station, Texas – Manufactured housing production has surged over the past two years, and, according to the latest Texas Manufactured Housing Survey (TMHS), manufacturers expect even faster growth during the first half of 2022. Industry optimism has prompted a flood of capital expenditures and operational expansions.
“Manufacturers are working hard to make improvements to enhance efficiency in their plants,” said Dr. Harold Hunt, a research economist with the Texas Real Estate Research Center at Texas A&M University. “Creativity is the key, and each manufacturer may not attack the problem in the same way. But the end goal is to crank out more units within their capacity constraints.”
The TMHS capital-expenditures index has accelerated in every month since the survey began in June 2020, corroborating the industry’s efforts to expand operations.
“Manufactured housing is centered on driving as much efficiency into the home-building process as possible,” according to Rob Ripperda, vice president of operations for the Texas Manufactured Housing Association. “That means homes from plants get built with less labor and fewer materials wasted. Given widespread inflationary pressures, manufacturers are bullish that their value proposition will only look better as site-built producers get hit harder by rising costs and interest rates.”
The manufactured housing industry is not immune to inflationary pressures, which have accelerated due to supply-chain disruptions and labor supply shortages. While manufacturers have passed some of these costs through consumers, their product remains highly affordable compared with site-built housing, said Ripperda.
“Affordability advantages and robust demand outweighed pandemic related and regulatory uncertainties that have loomed over the industry for nearly two years, and the outlook remains favorable through the first half of 2022,” he said.
Funded by Texas real estate license fees, the Texas Real Estate Research Center was created by the state legislature to meet the needs of many audiences, including the real estate industry, instructors, researchers, and the public. The Center is part of Mays Business School at Texas A&M University.
Source: Texas Border Business
