Has the long awaited lumber cycle finally arrived? Speaking at last week’s NAWLA meeting in Vancouver, Russ Taylor (FEA/Wood Markets) says “maybe/probably” due to the interaction of an almost perfect storm of factors. In other Business news: Hakan Ekstrom (Wood Resources Int.) says US softwood demand will peak in 2030; and Paul Whittaker (AFPA) says problems with rail service are hurting Alberta’s lumber industry.

In other news: Climate change-induced forest fires are threatening conifers in western US; climate models are predicting large scale changes in rainfall in the Amazon and across Asia; and an outbreak of toxic caterpillars is causing havoc in the UK.

Finally, the oak tree planted by French President Emmanuel Macron and Donald Trump is gone – at least temporarily. It was quarantined.