Pending home sales recorded no change in April, according to the National Association of Realtors. Three U.S. regions posted monthly gains, while the Northeast decreased. All four regions saw year-over-year declines in transactions.

Wood's moisture content makes it difficult to use as load-bearing structures without drying processes, but in a new dissertation in building technology, Winston Mmari studies the interaction between heat, moisture, and transport mechanisms in wood and develops a model to predict the behavior of wood under mechanical load at different moisture and temperature conditions.

Tropical Forest Products announced it has partnered with Logan Lumber Company Inc. to distribute its Black Label brand of premium Ipe and other tropical hardwoods graded to the highest standards.

PPG announced a $44 million investment to upgrade five powder coating manufacturing facilities in the U.S. and Latin America. The projects are part of PPG’s strategic efforts to expand its powder coatings offerings and increase global production to meet growing customer demand for sustainably advantaged products.

Stabilizing mortgage rates and a lack of resale inventory provided a boost for new home sales in April, even as builders continue to wrestle with rising costs stemming from shortages of transformers and other building materials and a persistent lack of construction workers, according to the National Association of Home Builders.

SCHOPFLOCH — The HOMAG Group acquires 26 percent of the shares in the Reutlingen-based software company granIT, thus strengthening its digital expertise in the growth area of timber house construction. To date, SchwörerHaus, one of Germany’s largest prefabricated house manufacturers, holds 76 percent of the shares in granIT GmbH, which was founded in 1995. The remaining 24 percent belongs to granIT’s managing director, Wolfgang Bock. Both shareholders are selling shares.

Supported by the nation’s largest privately held building materials supplier,  84 Lumber, “The People’s Tree” will journey from West Virginia to Washington, D.C. for the 2023 holiday season.

The Great Lakes Woodworking Festival is right around the corner! The event is scheduled for Father's Day Weekend -- June 17 - 18, from 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. each day.

U-C Coatings has acquired the Color Putty product line to bring more solutions to the building products market.

Oak Creek Wood Products in Slinger, Wisconsin, suffered a large fire on Sunday, May 21. The company has made strides toward recovery.