Canada’s first robotic roof-truss line has opened in Ontario, while JD Irving opened its prefabricated building-components facility in Maine. In related news: US off-site built housing opportunity is small but growing; and Ontario’s housing market is forecast to rebound in 2027. In Business news: Ottawa announced $463M for the Saint John Trade Corridor; an Ontario NDP official calls for public ownership of Interfor’s Ear Falls mill; a Virginia sawmill reopening faces opposition; and Century Sunshine is building a new pulp mill in China.

In Forestry news: Ottawa announced new funding for Yukon’s bioenergy sector; the US Endowment committed $5M to a forest-sector venture fund; US utilities want the Fix Our Forests Act passed; and the US Forest Service is being sued over wilderness protection. Meanwhile, Europe’s worsening wildfires are linked to rural abandonment; and UK lawmakers call for dedicated firefighting aircraft. In Wood Products news: South Korea is expanding domestic timber use; and an Australian CLT school building won the country’s top timber design award.

Finally, the UN says a new El Niño foreshadows more extreme weather to come.

Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog News Editor