After a Covid-caused drop in 2020, Dodge Data & Analytics forecasts US housing starts to climb 5% in 2021. In related news: could the Biden-Harris administration end the softwood dispute; and how Southern lumber manufactures succeed despite volatility. Companies making headlines include: West Fraser (honouring Bates in Arkansas); Port Hawkesbury (aid package dispute with Resolute); Domtar (Dryden mill viability); Fort Frances Mill (demolition); and Conifex Timber and Cascades Inc. (Q3 earnings).

In Forestry/Climate news: a quiet fire-year in Alberta but 80% were human caused; Maine’s logging industry is suffering and future is unclear; drought key to forest recovery after fire in Montana; and how forests buffer climate change in Oregon. 

Finally, a virtual wood solutions conference and a virtual mass timber building tour.

Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog Editor