Marc Carney
Canada is making progress on “small” tariff deals with the US for key sectors, Prime Minister Mark Carney said after revealing he’d had a recent phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump. Carney said he spoke with Trump “at length” Monday on a wide range of issues, including trade, geopolitics and employment. He described it as a “good conversation” but also warned there is no guarantee Ottawa will secure any of the deals under discussion as the Trump administration works to squeeze the Canadian economy to obtain trade concessions. …While Carney did not specify which key sectors are the subjects of trade talks, the sectors targeted by US tariffs include steel, aluminum, forestry products and automobiles. …Carney’s cabinet met behind closed doors Wednesday at a Toronto hotel — part of its preparations for the upcoming fall sitting of Parliament and for continuing negotiations with the Americans on tariffs.
Lumber prices that have dropped more than 20% over the past month are prompting one of North America’s largest producers to throttle back output by 12%. Interfor said Thursday that it would reduce hours and reconfigure shifts as well as lengthen holiday breaks and maintenance shutdowns at its mills in Canada and the US to reduce output by about 145 million board feet through year-end. Lumber futures, which had fallen 18 of the past 22 trading sessions rose in response. …Interfor, which has headquarters in BC, is among the big Canadian sawyers that have shifted operations into the US as duties and diminished log availability have put sawmills out of the money back home. About 50% of Interfor’s capacity these days is in the US South. Another 12% is Washington and Oregon, where mills compete fiercely with Canadian rivals to sell the same species of wood. [to access the full story a WSJ subscription is required]
BURNABY, BC — Interfor Corporation announced plans to reduce its lumber production by approximately 145 million board feet between September and December of 2025, representing approximately 12% of its normal operating stance. The temporary curtailments will be through a combination of reduced operating hours, prolonged holiday breaks, reconfigured shifting schedules and extended maintenance shut-downs. The curtailments are expected to impact all of Interfor’s operating regions, with both the Canadian and US operations expected to reduce their production levels by approximately 12% each. The curtailments are in response to persistently weak market conditions and ongoing economic uncertainty. The Company will continue to monitor market conditions across all of its operations and adjust its production plans accordingly. [END]
SHERIDAN, Oregon — The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has fined a Yamhill County wood treating company $1,055,825 for numerous violations of environmental regulations for water quality, hazardous waste and spill response and cleanup. 
LEBANON COUNTY, Pa. — A large fire at Weaber Lumber comes just over a month after the company filed for bankruptcy. Weaber, Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Aug. 1, according to online records. The company also filed a WARN notice in July at its distribution center on 25 Keystone Drive. In that notice, the company said 145 people would be laid off from July 26 through Sept. 9 of this year. The fire broke out Monday night around 10 p.m. at the company’s headquarters at 1231 Mt. Wilson Road, and it took firefighters until Tuesday morning to bring the blaze under control over eight hours later.
BEMIDJI, Minnesota — The West Fraser wood engineering plant west of Bemidji was one of three companies to receive part of $4.2 million in business expansion grants from the state. The state’s Department of Employment and Economic Development stated in a news release that the three projects are expected to create or retain 587 jobs and leverage more than $270 million in private investment. West Fraser plans to renovate an existing building and improve the operating site in the small community of Solway. The operation there produces engineered wood products, such as OSB or particle board, that are used widely in construction and other industries. The project will receive more than $1 million in financing from the state’s Job Creation Fund, with the company expected to invest $137 million. The project is expected to retain 132 jobs.
SOUTH ANNVILLE TOWNSHIP, Pa. — A three-alarm fire ripped through Weaber Lumber in Lebanon County. Crews responded to the fire in South Annville Township around 10 p.m. on Monday. Flames could be seen leaping from the burning building. The blaze was upgraded to the third alarm, prompting a large firefighter response. According to Lawn Fire Company Chief Dillon Wilson, approximately 1.1 million gallons of water have been used from the on-site hydrant system to combat the fire. Tankers also brought in additional water to the scene. Chief Wilson said most of the building was engulfed in flames when crews arrived. “It got ahead of us,” Wilson said. The chief believes this building might have the most combustible materials under one roof in the state. Weaber Lumber has experienced multiple fires over the years. …For 80 years, Weaber has been proudly committed to the lumber industry and is one of the nation’s leading hardwood manufacturers.
A “normal” annual softwood lumber price cycle sees prices dropping from Labour Day until early in the new year when buying starts again for the spring construction season. We are also expecting three interest rate cuts this year from the US Federal Reserve. With lower mortgage rates expected, will we see increasing demand for lumber? …The short term outlook for lumber prices continues to see weakness with price projections as low as US$450 per thousand board feet until the spring construction season. Looking into 2026 and 2027, prices are expected to recover to the mid-US$500 to low-US$600 per thousand board feet range. Ongoing duties, the upcoming court rulings on tariffs and the protracted housing shortage will all impact the price of lumber over the next two years. [to access the full story, a Globe & Mail subscription is required]
Falling lumber prices are sounding an alarm on Wall Street about potential problems on Main Street. Wood markets have been whipsawed of late by trade uncertainty and a deteriorating housing market. Futures have dropped 23% since hitting a three-year high at the beginning of August and ended Friday at $535 per thousand board feet. The price drop might have been greater—but two of North America’s biggest sawyers said last week that they would curtail output, slowing the decline. Crashing wood prices are troubling because they have been a reliable leading indicator on the direction of the housing market as well as broader economic activity. …Analysts and traders say there will have to be further cuts to ease the glut of wood. That might not be a problem, given how higher duties have pushed up Canadian sawmills’ break-even prices while demand wanes. “We anticipate further closures or curtailments,” said Truist Securities analyst Michael Roxland. [to access the full story a WSJ subscription is require]
Lumber futures fell again Wednesday, dropping to their lowest prices since last autumn. …Futures for September delivery shed $6 or about 1.1%, to end at $524 per thousand board feet. Futures have now declined 18 of the past 22 trading sessions. The selloff—about 25% over the past month—is reminiscent of the wild trading in lumber during the Covid-19 pandemic [but this time] …the continuing gyrations have been driven by trade policy. Lumber buyers stocked up ahead of a big increase in the duties levied on Canadian imports. …President Trump’s threats for additional tariffs on imported wood added incentive to hoard lumber. …The $54 difference in price between lumber futures for delivery this month and those for November in midday trading was well above the cost of warehousing wood for two months and a sign that traders’ demand outlook is bleak, Stinson Dean said. [to access the full story a WSJ subscription is required]
After years of wildland firefighters developing cancer, lung disease and other health issues while not being allowed to wear masks as they work, the US Forest Service will now allow these crews to wear masks. The policy turnaround comes as the Forest Service posted new guidance on Monday “acknowledging for the first time that masks can protect firefighters against harmful particles in wildfire smoke,” per 
National forests and wildfire will return to the congressional agenda this week with a pair of House subcommittee hearings on Forest Service programs. The Trump administration’s challenges in managing the 193-million-acre forest system with a sharply reduced workforce — and a big agency reorganization still to come — are likely topics for both the Agriculture and Natural Resources subcommittees. In the Natural Resources hearing, the Subcommittee on Federal Lands will take testimony on the state of national forests, picking up on a hearing that was initially scheduled for July 9. In the Agriculture hearing, the Subcommittee on Forestry and Horticulture will focus on improved active forest management, such as increased thinning of national forests to reduce potential wildfire fuel. [to access the full story an E&ENews subscription is required]
The western United States is facing another destructive wildfire season. …As US forests burn, Congress and federal agencies are asking an important question: What role should federal land management play in reducing fire risk? …Several of the current federal proposals for managing fire risk focus on increasing timber harvesting on federal lands as a solution. They also propose speeding up approvals for those projects by limiting environmental reviews and public oversight. As experts in fire science and policy, we see some useful ideas in the proposed solutions, but also reasons for concern. While cutting trees can help reduce the severity of future fires, it has to include thinning in the right places to make a difference. Without oversight and public involvement, increasing logging could skip areas with low-value trees that need thinning and miss opportunities for more effective fire risk-reduction work. 
Today’s Lookout 
STEVENS POINT, Wisconsin — The Trump administration blitzkrieg on the environment is rumbling along, and 45 million acres of remote national forest lands are in their sights. These are areas protected by the Roadless Rule, adopted in 2001. …The administration is rushing the public comment period, with a deadline of Sept. 19. …There’s a good chance the administration has already made up its mind. But there’s something to say in this moment about being on the right side of history. …Why should Wisconsin care about the Roadless Rule, which is a huge deal in the West? Mike Dombeck, a Wisconsin native, was chief of the USDA Forest Service when the rule was adopted.” …It’s an important niche between wilderness and development. …It took a long time for us to recognize that suppressing fire actually contributes to uncontrollable wildfires. Fire has been a forest management tool for eons.
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced it would invest more than $8 million in five new projects, including one in North Carolina. These projects will improve forest health by reducing wildfire risk and improving water quality. …North Carolina has two primary wildfire seasons, one in the spring and one in the fall. …The five new projects include efforts across several states to restore and protect essential landscapes. The National Forest is launching the “Alabama Chattahoochee Fall Line Restoring Longleaf” project in Alabama. Colorado and Wyoming will see work in the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest through the “Headwaters of the Colorado” initiative. Montana’s Lolo National Forest is beginning the “Blackfoot River Valley Landscape Mosaic” project, while North Carolina’s National Forests are moving forward with “Uwharries to Sandhills, Phase 2.” Finally, Oregon’s Mt. Hood National Forest will focus on “Hood River Wildfire and Watershed Resilience.”
