Region Archives: United States

Opinion / EdiTOADial

Supply chain pressures surge to four-year high — weak demand continues to test forest product markets

By Kevin Mason, Managing Director
ERA Forest Products Research
June 2, 2026
Category: Opinion / EdiTOADial
Region: Canada, United States, International

Kevin Mason

The Global Supply Chain Pressure Index, which provides a gauge of global supply chain conditions, spiked in April and currently sits at its highest level in almost four years. Several other measures, including the World Bank’s Supply Chain Stress Index are hovering around all-time highs as well. The conflict in the Middle East and resultant spike in energy prices has clearly driven some of the recent increase in supply chain pressure, and the logjam in the Strait of Hormuz, along with some ongoing challenges in the Red Sea, have forced many vessels to take longer routes, adding travel time, increasing fuel costs, and stretching capacity. 

However, the situation in Iran is not the sole driver of recent supply chain pressure: In the US we are seeing an acute shortage of truck drivers following a government crackdown on driver qualifications and after a wave of trucking-firm bankruptcies. As a result, the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis’ long-distance trucking price index has recently jumped from a reading of 181 in January to 210 in April (also approaching all-time highs last seen during the pandemic). Similarly, overland freight pricing data from DAT Freight and Analytics shows that flatbed truck rates have surged since the onset of the Iran war—the national average spot rate for flatbed trucks was $2.72 per mile in February and has rocketed to $3.64 by May. DAT’s national load-to-truck ratio (the number of loads posted for every available truck posted on the DAT load board) sat at an eye-watering 72 in April, up from 35 in April 2025 and just 19 in April 2024. 

A deal with Iran may be in the works, but as we learned after the COVID pandemic, it can take months (if not years) for supply chains to normalize. Buckle up. 

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Business & Politics

Canada Makes New US Trade Proposals, Warns of ‘Turbulence’

By Brian Platt, Thomas Seal and Josh Wingrove
Bloomberg in Yahoo! Finance
June 2, 2026
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States

Dominic LeBlanc

Canada made new and detailed proposals on trade to the US based on negotiating progress in recent weeks, said Canadian cabinet minister Dominic LeBlanc. “A strong, prosperous Canadian economy is good for North America, and we discussed how we can work together on a number of issues that strengthen the competitiveness of the North American economy,” he said. …LeBlanc refused to share details of the proposals but downplayed suggestions that Canada was being left behind Mexico. …Hours after LeBlanc’s news conference, the US proposed new tariffs on imports from 60 trading partners after an investigation into how countries handle goods allegedly produced by forced labor. …However, the new tariff won’t apply to USMCA-compliant goods from Canada and Mexico, according to the notice from the US Trade Representative. That mirrors an earlier exemption to Trump’s so-called IEEPA tariffs — the ones that were thrown out by the high court.

 

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Canada tells U.S., Mexico it wants CUSMA renewed

CBC News
June 2, 2026
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States

Canada has given the US and Mexico official notice that it wants the free trade deal between the three countries to be renewed. In a letter to his American and Mexican counterparts, Canada-US Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc said the country is seeking renewal of CUSMA when it comes up for review on July 1. LeBlanc is in Washington Tuesday for a meeting with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. All the signals from the White House over the past year and a half indicate that the Trump administration does not want a straightforward renewal of CUSMA and instead wants significant changes to its terms. …LeBlanc calls CUSMA “highly beneficial to each of our countries and to the integrated North American economy,” but goes on to acknowledge that the other countries may want to propose “improvements.” …Whatever happens on July 1, CUSMA is slated to remain in effect until 2036. 

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‘Worth repeating’: U.S. ambassador welcomes PM Carney’s offer to ‘help make America great again’

By Rachel Aiello
CTV News
May 28, 2026
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States

Employing U.S. President Donald Trump’s marquee slogan, Prime Minister Mark Carney told a New York City business crowd on Thursday that “Canada strong will help make America great again,” a remark the U.S. envoy to this country said was “worth repeating.” Speaking at the Economic Club of New York, the prime minister detailed his economic diversification strategy, and his plans to recalibrate Canada’s relationships and reputation. “We’re focused on what we can control, and that means weaving a dense web of international partnerships abroad. That’s making us a much stronger, more resilient, more independent country,” Carney told the business crowd. Touting some key areas where the federal Liberals have made progress, Carney sought to make the case for why Canada and the U.S. should continue to co-operate in key sectors. … Business Council of Canada CEO Goldy Hyder said he thought Carney was “pitch perfect” in acknowledging the areas where Canada needs to do better.

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EU trade lawmakers back compromise on trade deal with Trump

By Camille Gijs and Carlo Martuscelli
Politico EU
June 2, 2026
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, International

BRUSSELS — The European Parliament’s trade committee approved by a wide majority a compromise struck with EU governments and the Commission on legislation to implement a trade deal with the United States. Lawmakers backed, by 31 votes to six, with three abstentions, changes to legislation under which the EU agreed to eliminate tariffs on US industrial goods and some agricultural products — a key pillar of the agreement struck last summer. European institutions are now racing to complete the legislative process before July 4, when Trump has threatened to impose higher tariffs. Tuesday’s vote follows months of internal EU wrangling, as lawmakers slowed their deliberations after Trump threatened to seize Greenland in January and the U.S. Supreme Court struck down much of his tariff agenda in February. Overall, the European Parliament pushed to secure more guardrails against the risk that Trump again threatens the EU.

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Trump signs proclamation amending tariffs on steel, aluminum and copper imports

By Christian Martinez and David Lawder
Reuters in CTV News
June 2, 2026
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States

LOS ANGELES – U.S. President \ Trump on Monday signed a proclamation amending his Section 232 national security tariffs on some aluminum, steel and copper imports, the White House said. The proclamation lowers tariffs on some steel and aluminum derivative products, including certain types of agricultural machineryand residential heating, air conditioning and ventilation equipment to 15% from 25% previously. It makes mobile industrial equipment, such as bulldozers and forklifts, subject to a 15% tariff “when imported from trade deal countries that are entitled to such treatment,” the White House said in a statement. The order also allows foreign companies to qualify for a 10% tariff if “their capital equipment includes at least 85% U.S. melted and poured or smelted and cast steel or aluminum by weight.” …The changes will remain in place until Dec. 31, 2027 “to spur near–term investments that will rebuild the Nation’s industrial base,” the White House said.

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Trump plans to appeal ruling letting importers seek refunds of paid struck-down tariffs

By Anne D’Innocenzio and Lisa Leff
PBS News
May 30, 2026
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States

Businesses big and small have started receiving tariff refunds after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that President Donald Trump lacked the constitutional authority to impose higher import taxes on goods from nearly every other country. The process could grind to a halt, however, after the Trump administration said Friday that it intended to appeal a federal judge’s order to allow all companies that paid the invalidated duties to seek refunds, not just the ones that filed lawsuits. Until the Department of Justice informed the judge of its planned appeal, the refund system overseen by U.S. Customs and Border Protection had been working fairly smoothly. Refunds reached the bank accounts of the first successful applicants on May 12. …Applications for refunds totaling $85 billion — more than half of the $166 billion the agency estimated the government owes to companies that paid the tariffs on imported goods — were accepted for processing as of May 22

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A mill town in mourning: Nippon Dynawave cleanup and questions continue

By Katie Pyzyk
Packaging Dive
June 2, 2026
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, US West

LONGVIEW, WASHINGTON — Travelers near Nippon Dynawave Packaging Co.’s pulp and paper mill in Longview can smell freshly cut wood from the multiple nearby businesses that produce lumber, paper and packaging. Absent is the recognizable odor emitted during wood pulping, due to the mill’s nearly complete shutdown since a deadly white liquor tank implosion there. The May 26 implosion is being called one of the deadliest US workplace incidents in decades. …The Washington National Guard is among the local, state and federal crews assisting at the NDP facility, which has largely ceased operations. …The pain and sense of loss is palpable in this 38,000-person community in Southwest Washington, as well as in the surrounding areas of the state and neighboring Oregon. Gov. Bob Ferguson called for Washington state agency buildings’ flags to remain at half staff through sunset on June 7. Tears and stoic, strained faces were visible on those near the NDP site over the weekend.

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Robbins Lumber resumes operations after deadly explosion

News Center Maine
June 1, 2026
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, US East

SEARSMONT, Maine — Robbins Lumber has resumed full mill operations less than two weeks after an explosion at its Searsmont facility killed one person and injured 12 others, company officials announced. The company said it resumed full operations and began processing orders again on May 26 after employees and industry partners worked to restore the facility. …”We have worked quickly to restore operations safely and efficiently,” the company said. Robbins Lumber said its coatings facility was not affected by the explosion and has continued normal operations. The company is also using its Sanford location for warehousing, while its East Baldwin mill has increased production. …Robbins Lumber also provided an update on three family members injured in the explosion. James Robbins and Alden Robbins, along with Alden’s daughter, Lily Robbins, remain hospitalized at Massachusetts General Hospital. The company remains encouraged by their progress and looks forward to welcoming them back.

In related news in LBM Journal: NELMA raises $100K for Maine Strong Foundation following fire at Robbins Lumber

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In Memoriam

Dr. Michael Kocurek, Professor Emeritus at North Carolina State University, Has Passed Away at 83

PaperAge
June 1, 2026
Category: In Memoriam
Region: United States, US East

Michael Kocurek

Dr. Michael J. Kocurek passed away on May 26, 2026, surrounded by his family and under the care of hospice. Founder of the Paper Science Department at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point in 1970 and Professor Emeritus of Paper Science and Engineering at North Carolina State University, Michael was one of the world’s most recognized educators in the pulp and paper industry. …Michael received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in Chemical Engineering with a specialization in Paper Science and Engineering at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry and at Syracuse University. During his illustrious career, Michael taught over 6,500 industry operators and professionals across more than 200 paper mills and 50 organizations. …His honors include TAPPI Fellow, TAPPI Distinguished Service Award, TAPPI Paper and Board Division Technical Achievement Award, and induction into the prestigious and exclusive Paper Industry International Hall of Fame. …Michael’s full obituary can be found at Legacy

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Finance & Economics

Lumber market overview prices shift amid shipping delays

RISI Fastmarkets
May 29, 2026
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada, United States

Framing lumber sales were slow to get started after the long holiday weekend in the US in most markets. Many buyers paused early to assess market conditions – especially prospects for shipping any new orders – before resuming moderate replenishment as the week progressed. Prices shifted modestly. Recent trends in sales of western S-P-F were little changed. Discounts grew increasingly tougher for buyers to procure as order files lengthened and mills cleared existing accumulations. …Lumber futures were little changed week to date, with the front month trading near par with the cash market in most deliverable species. …Southern pine mill sales outpaced producers’ ability to ship the loads, and backlogs of sold lumber continued to accumulate throughout the distribution pipeline. Prices shifted mildly with sales frequently reported on both sides of last week’s reported levels. …In the Inland market, prices were predominantly flat, or mildly higher in a few cases.

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U.S. softwood lumber imports fall by nearly 2 million m3 in the first quarter

The Lesprom Network
May 28, 2026
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada, United States, International

Global softwood lumber imports in the 10 largest import markets by volume contract from a year earlier in January to March 2026, led by a 1.94 million m3 decline in the US, a 1.19 million m3 decline in Germany, and a 775 thousand m3 decline in China. Total imports across the 10 largest softwood lumber import markets by volume fall by 3.9 million m3 to 12.6 million m3 over the quarter. In the US, the decline comes as high import duties on Canadian softwood lumber restrain shipments and homebuilding stays weak as home sales remain soft and home prices stay elevated. Canada records the largest supplier volume decline in the quarter at 1.52 million m3. …Across suppliers in the period, volumes fall most for Canada at 1,516 thousand m3, Russia at 743 thousand m3, and Austria at 680 thousand m3, while Belarus records the largest increase at 15.7 thousand m3.

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Economic Uncertainty Slows Single-Family Construction Across All Geographies

By Catherine Koh
NAHB Eye on Housing
June 2, 2026
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: United States

Single-family construction declined across all geographies in the first quarter of 2026, according to the latest Home Building Geography Index (HBGI), as elevated interest rates, rising material costs, and labor shortages slowed home building activities at the start of the year. Meanwhile, multifamily construction remained broadly resilient, posting growth in most markets. The pullback in single-family activity was sharpest in large metro core counties, which recorded a 16.0% year-over-year decline — a deterioration of 3.2 percentage points from the prior quarter. …These declines are part of a longer-term structural shift away from dense population centers. …Multifamily construction told a different story in Q1 2026, expanding across most geographies. Large metro core counties led the way with 20.8% growth, picking up pace after returning to positive territory in the prior quarter. …The first quarter of 2026 HBGI data along with an interactive map can be found here.

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US Structural Lumber: Capital Flows Shift to the South

By Felipe Martinez
Mexico Business News
June 1, 2026
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: United States

The US commercial construction and wood products landscape has been undergoing a noticeable geographic realignment. …At the center of this transition are two powerhouse species that help define the market: Douglas Fir and Southern Yellow Pine. Understanding how manufacturers are positioning themselves around these distinct timber baskets might offer valuable insight into where resources are building the critical infrastructure for the next decades of commercial, agricultural, and residential construction in the United States. …While the West Coast navigates these supply bottlenecks, the American South seems to be experiencing a sustained wave of modernization and investment, capitalizing on robust regional resources. …Take for example the recent investments made by companies like Canfor. …The company opened a cutting-edge sawmill complex in Axis, Alabama, an endeavor that highlights the industry’s shift toward high-tech manufacturing.

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US New Home Sales Down in April on Affordability Concerns

By Robert Dietz, Chief Economist
NAHB Eye on Housing
May 28, 2026
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: United States

Elevated mortgage rates, higher inflation and economic uncertainty kept more buyers on the sidelines in April as ongoing affordability challenges continue. Sales of newly built single-family homes fell 6.2% in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 622,000, according to data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. The pace of new home sales is down 11.3% from a year earlier. Mortgage interest rates increased from a monthly average of 6.18% in March to 6.33% in April per Freddie Mac, dampening homebuyer demand. Rates moved higher again in May to just above 6.4% as oil prices and short-term inflation expectations increased. New home sales are on track to decline in 2026 as mortgage rates are expected to remain elevated in the months ahead.

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US GDP increased at an annual rate of 1.6% in Q1, 2026

US Bureau of Economic Analysis
May 28, 2026
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: United States

Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 1.6 percent in the first quarter of 2026, according to the second estimate released today by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the fourth quarter of 2025, real GDP increased 0.5 percent. The contributors to the increase in real GDP in the first quarter were exports, investment, consumer spending, and government spending. Imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, increased. Real GDP was revised down 0.4 percentage point from the advance estimate, primarily reflecting downward revisions to investment and consumer spending.  Real final sales to private domestic purchasers, the sum of consumer spending and gross private fixed investment, increased 2.4 percent in the first quarter, revised down 0.1 percentage point from the previous estimate.

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Wood, Paper & Green Building

Understanding the differences between old-growth and modern managed-forest lumber.

By Justin Fink
Fine Homebuilding Magazine
June 2, 2026
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States

If you’ve ever spent some time amongst old-house lovers, and especially the craftspeople who work on them, you’ll no doubt have heard mention of “old-growth lumber.” It’s a material that’s spoken of with reverence, usually as supporting evidence for the “they don’t build ’em like they used to” argument, and always contrasted with today’s lumber, which is deemed comparatively subpar. So what is it about old-growth lumber that makes it so legendary, and if it’s so great, why don’t we use it anymore? …So yes, the trees are generally between 100 and 150 years old, but old-growth lumber is also characterized by competition to survive and disturbance history. In other words, if the forest is left alone for long enough, and no natural disasters reset the clock, you end up with old-growth trees. So it’s not that we can’t produce old-growth lumber now, it’s that it doesn’t fit our production needs.

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Mass timber legislation reintroduced to Congress

By Larry Adams
The Woodworking Network
June 1, 2026
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Representatives Glenn Thompson (R-PA) and Andrea Salinas (D-OR) introduced the Mass Timber Federal Buildings Act. This marks the third consecutive year that legislation promoting mass timber for federal contracts has been introduced. This bipartisan legislation provides incentives for the use of mass timber building materials in federal contracting, giving timber and other forest products companies the ability to compete for construction, renovation, or acquisition of public buildings, and for military construction. The bill creates a two-tier contracting preference for mass timber and other innovative wood projects. The first-tier preference applies to mass timber that is made within the U.S. and responsibly sourced from state, federal, private, and Tribal forestlands. The optional second tier applies to mass timber products that are sourced from restoration practices, fire mitigation projects, and forest owners. Additionally, this bill contains a reporting requirement for a whole building lifecycle assessment. 

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AF&PA survey reveals decline in recovered paper consumption

By Deanne Toto
Recycling Today
June 1, 2026
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States

The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA), Washington, has released its 66th Annual Paper Industry Capacity and Fiber Consumption Survey. …The report shows that fiber consumption declined by 3.5% in 2025, with recovered fiber consumption decreasing by 4% and wood pulp consumption falling by 3.2%. The printing-writing paper operating rate improved, reaching 82.8% in 2025, while containerboard operating rates remained steady at 91.9%. Packaging paper production also increased by 1.7%, while boxboard production essentially was flat at 12.4 million tons and tissue production remained near 7.8 million tons. Despite the resilience shown by these sectors, US paper and paperboard production declined 3.7% last year, to 66.3 million tons, AF&PA says. …Containerboard production fell 4.4% to 36.1 million tons, and containerboard capacity declined 5.1% in 2025. …Printing-writing capacity fell 13.9% last year to 7.7 million tons. …Tissue production declined 0.8% in 2025 to 7.8 million tons, though, over time, it has represented a growing share of total US paper and paperboard capacity.

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Softwood Lumber Board: The Next Phase of Lumber Demand Growth Starts Here

The Softwood Lumber Board
May 29, 2026
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States

In this month’s Softwood Lumber Update:

The SLB’s “From Niche to Mainstream” strategy offers a clear roadmap to 2.9 BBF of incremental annual lumber demand by 2035. With market dynamics evolving, the SLB’s approach is changing too. The SLB and its funded programs are concentrating investments in high-growth segments, prioritizing geographies with the strongest potential, and leveraging new AI and digital tools to increase precision and efficiency without increasing overall spend.

Leadership Lessons from the Mass Timber Movement: Changing the narrative around mass timber from being a risky, experimental material to a vehicle for a new type of building has helped drive adoption, he writes, as has the work of leaders who embrace change.

Program Updates:

  • WoodWorks K–12 Project Support Shifts Schools to Wood
  • The SLB Immerses Future Architects in Mass Timber at Conference
  • The AWC Safeguards Lumber’s Competitiveness Through Engagement in Wood Standards
  • Office Project Case Studies Inspire Architects and Developers
  • WoodWorks Helps Secure Approval for Light-Frame Active Adult Project

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Forestry

Lawmakers delve into Forest Service shake-up

By Marc Heller
E&E News by Politico
June 1, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: United States

Tom Schultz

Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz returns to Capitol Hill to field questions from House and Senate lawmakers on his agency’s policies and direction. …Schultz can expect questions on the Forest Service’s plans to consolidate research facilities and on the Trump administration’s proposal to move wildfire management out of the forest agency and into the Interior Department’s U.S. Wildland Fire Service. That’s not all that’s confronting Schultz, a former timber industry executive. Schultz is tasked with the administration’s top forestry goal of increased logging on public land to reduce the nation’s dependence on imported wood. He is managing those objectives while aiming to reduce the 193-million-acre national forest system’s wildfire risks, which officials say goes hand in hand with forest thinning and commercial logging. [to access the full story an E&E News subscription is required]

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Why Wildfire Experts Are So Worried About This Year’s Fire Season

By Peter Aldhous
Inside Climate News
May 31, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: United States

As bad as things got in Los Angeles in January 2025, when 31 people died and more than 16,000 buildings were destroyed by wildfires roaring into residential neighborhoods, many wildland firefighters look back on the rest of last year as a dodged bullet. Across the nation, according to the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC), which coordinates the federal wildfire response, the total area burned in 2025 was about two-thirds of the average over the past 10 years. This year is shaping up to be a very different prospect, wildfire experts warn. Key environmental indicators show that the nation is a tinderbox, gripped by widespread drought and with a light snowpack in the mountains that will offer little relief as its remnants melt away. At the same time, upheaval in the federal wildland firefighting effort and the loss of many staff qualified to join wildfire incident teams since Donald Trump took power for the second time have left firefighters deeply concerned about their ability to mount an effective response.

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Trump repeals rules governing off-roading on public lands

Center for Western Priorities
June 1, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: United States

President Donald Trump rescinded two executive orders on Friday evening that aimed to balance off-road vehicle (OHV) use on public lands. The 1972 and 1977 orders, signed by Presidents Richard Nixon and Jimmy Carter, required federal agencies to minimize ecological damage, harassment of wildlife, and recreational conflicts due to OHV use on public lands. Repealing the orders prioritizes motorized recreation and resource extraction over conservation, increasing the risk of widespread environmental degradation. The White House called the rescinded orders “outdated and burdensome” hurdles to energy and timber production. Without this guidance, fragile ecosystems—including national parks—are at risk of unmitigated OHV use, which can degrade streams, displace wildlife, and significantly damage soil and vegetation. …“Rescinding guidance meant to reduce conflicts in the backcountry and protect wildlife habitat isn’t popular; that’s why Trump tried to bury it by putting this order out on a Friday evening,” Center for Western Priorities Communications Director Kate Groetzinger said.

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Savannah Bound: EXPO 2027 is Open for Business

2027 Forest Products Expo
May 29, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: United States

There is something fitting about bringing the forest products industry together in Savannah, Georgia. The city sits at the intersection of timber country and global commerce, flanked by working forests to the north and west, and by one of the nation’s busiest container ports to the east. For an industry that turns trees into the materials that build homes, frame walls, and move goods across the world, Savannah is not just a backdrop. It is a statement. This month, SFPA officially launched exhibit space sales for EXPO 2027, and it is worth taking a moment to appreciate how far this event has come. …This year’s theme, Industry in Motion, captures where the forest products trade finds itself today. Mills are modernizing. Supply chains are adapting. Wood products are showing up in new applications, new markets, and new conversations about sustainable building. …75 years is a remarkable run for any industry event. EXPO 2027 in Savannah is the next chapter, and it is one worth being part of. Exhibit space is available now, and the best locations will go quickly.

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Improve County and Forest Service Wildfire Plans in Montana

By Mike Bader, natural resource consultant
The Missoula Current
June 1, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

MONTANA — The US Forest Service and the timber industry have effectively lobbied Congress to enact laws based on fire paranoia that cut the public owners of these forests out of the process. They want the government to build roads at taxpayer expense to while compromising the best remaining fish and wildlife habitat and quiet spaces. Upon a molehill of truth they have constructed a mountain of disinformation. Claiming an emergency, the Forest Service is fast-tracking commercial timber sales in ways that severely limit and exempt them from environmental analysis. …They are removing the administrative review and public objection process. The bad stuff for wildlife, fish and people including ugly clearcuts, road construction and reduced water quality are being frontloaded. The good stuff including stream restoration and road reclamation are back ended. If past is prologue, the latter will not be funded or implemented as the Forest Service shifts its priority.

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Let’s Work Together For Oregon’s Forest

By Greg Ellison
NR Today
June 1, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

OREGON — When I arrived in Roseburg, Oregon in 1975, Douglas County was Timber Capital of the world. Four out of ten employable adults were employed directly in the timber industry. …Fast forward fifty years. Four in one hundred people in Douglas County are directly employed by the timber industry. Fifty percent of the Umpqua National Forest has now burned. Sixty five percent loss of the spotted owl. The County literally did not have enough money to keep the Cartels from moving in and trashing our watersheds. Instead of ever coming close to any level of the mandated timber harvest allowed, all logging plans are automatically challenged legally. Since 1991 environmental groups have filed over 2,000 lawsuits. …There is good news! Eleven timber companies, thirteen conservation groups, and the State of Oregon Fish and Wildlife, have joined into an agreement known as the Private Forest Accord. Everybody is working together to improve watersheds.

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Logging Project Near Yellowstone Could Threaten Wildlife Habitat and Tourist-Dependent Businesses

By Mosabber Hossain
Inside Climate News
June 1, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: US West

©NationalParkService

A proposed federal logging project in the forests bordering Yellowstone National Park is drawing growing concern from local residents, business owners and conservation advocates who fear it could have lasting impacts on wildlife habitat, recreation and tourism in one of Montana’s most iconic landscapes. The U.S. Forest Service is using emergency authority to speed the approval of the project, for which public comment closed Monday. Opponents say the agency hasn’t explained what the emergency is. Yellowstone National Park is more than a world-famous tourist destination. Established in 1872 as the first national park in the United States, it serves as the core of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, one of the largest nearly intact temperate ecosystems on Earth. The park and the surrounding public lands provide critical habitat for grizzly bears, wolves, lynx, elk, bison and many other species, as well as reducing the impact of climate-damaging emissions by storing carbon. 

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New report shows pine beetle devastation surging in Colorado’s forests

By Lucas Boland
Rocky Mountain PBS
May 31, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

DENVER — A longstanding specter of the Colorado mountains is gaining ground in a new conquest of ponderosa pine forests. An outbreak of the mountain pine beetle is spreading quickly and expected to continue this summer under “prime conditions,” according to a 2025 forest health report and pine beetle article by the Colorado State Forest Service. Survey flights over parts of nine Colorado counties showed a 148% increase in beetle-impacted acreage from 2024 to 2025. Observers recorded 5,544 acres of dead or dying trees during flights last year, up from 2,236 acres the year prior. …Victimized trees were observed at nearly every Colorado latitude, from the northern border to Pueblo in the Front Range, and Grand Junction to the southern border on the Western Slope. …As of May 29, the state’s snowpack stood at 15% of median, depriving forests of moisture needed to prevent both wildfires and the spread of the pine beetle.

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The US Forest Service is too important to be a political pawn

By Dan Glickman and Ann Veneman
The Los Angeles Times
June 1, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

While most folks think that the US Department of Agriculture focuses on farm policy, the largest agency within USDA is the Forest Service. As secretaries of Agriculture during the Clinton and Bush administrations, we spent years getting to know what this agency does: not only timber management but also stewardship of the 193-million-acre National Forest System. But now, the Trump administration has taken significant steps to dramatically change the agency, to consolidate the firefighting work of USDA and Interior. …While some changes to the service appear warranted and well-intentioned, others have been criticized as seemingly intended to dismantle this storied institution. …During our tenures leading USDA, we both worked to streamline various programs and to right-size the workforce. …When leaders undertake significant changes, they need to be driven by data, based on compelling evidence and carefully reviewed facts — not based on ideology or simply meant to “shake things up.”

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The world’s largest fungus is hiding in Oregon’s Blue Mountains — and its really big

By Rebecca Shavit
The Brighter Side of News
May 29, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: US West

©NRCan

In Oregon’s Blue Mountains, patches of dying trees once looked like separate outbreaks, scattered across ridges and drainages as if disease had struck at random. Instead, scientists found something far stranger beneath the soil: many of those distant pockets belonged to the same fungus. That fungus, Armillaria ostoyae, covered about 9.65 square kilometers, making it the largest known individual fungus on Earth at the time of the study. It had likely been growing there for at least 1,900 years, and possibly as long as 8,650. For researchers, the discovery did more than set a record. It challenged a basic biological idea: what counts as an individual. “It’s one organism that began as a microscopic spore and then grew vegetatively, like a plant,” said Dr. Catherine Parks, a research plant pathologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service and coordinator of the team.

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Forest Service and state of South Dakota sign agreement to work together on forest management

By Joshua Haiar
South Dakota Searchlight
May 29, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: US West

©USForestService

The U.S. Forest Service announced Friday that it has signed a five-year agreement to work with the state of South Dakota to carry out projects on national forest and adjacent land, possibly including timber harvesting, prescribed burning, forest thinning, grazing, and habitat and watershed restoration. …The shared stewardship agreement is between the state Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources and the Forest Service. It follows similar agreements in other states and comes after President Donald Trump’s executive order last year calling for an “immediate expansion” of American timber production. Following the initial five-year term, the agreement may be extended in increments of three years. …Specific projects involving money, services, property or other resources would require separate agreements and approvals. …“I’m suspicious that the primary reason for it is to help the Forest Service get more trees cut,” Dave Mertz, a retired Black Hills National Forest natural resource officer, said.

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University of Montana ecologist: Western forests need high-severity fire

By Laura Lundquist
Missoula Current
May 28, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

Richard Hutto

UM ecologist Richard Hutto frowns every time he hears U.S. Forest Service managers and others make the black-and-white comparison of wildland fire as “good” if it’s low intensity and “bad” if it’s high intensity. The Trump administration is also using those reasons to justify the elimination of the 2001 Roadless Rule. …(They say) there’s ‘good’ fire and ‘bad’ fire,” Hutto told a crowd supporting the Roadless Rule a few weeks ago. “But I’m here to tell you, they’re wrong. The story is misleading. Most western conifer forests have always harbored mixed- to high-severity fire. And by most, I mean 85%, according to Land Fire database. Only 15% – mostly in Arizona and New Mexico – is low severity.” …The wide variety of species that can be found in forests prove that wildfires of all severities have burned across the landscape for centuries, creating the ecosystems that exist today.

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Why Procter & Gamble, maker of Bounty and Charmin, hired a forester

By Heather Clancy
Trellis (formerly GreenBiz)
June 1, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: US East

Chris Reeves

When Procter & Gamble adopted an ambitious new pulp and paper pledge in early 2021, it hired a forester to convince suppliers to get on board. Officially, Chris Reeves is director of scientific communications for P&G’s family care business, which makes Charmin toilet paper, Bounty paper towels and Puffs facial tissues. That title downplays his master’s degree in forestry and 12 years of experience managing Kentucky forests, but Reeves spends at least one-third of his time among the trees with land owners or in meetings with the Society of American Foresters and nonprofits with big forestry practices. …In particular, Reeves is responsible for helping suppliers see value in becoming certified by the Forest Stewardship Council …Reeves’ first corporate job was for IKEA, where he was responsible for wood purchasing processes. …“This is a new thing in that world,” said Sarah Billig, president of FSC’s U.S. operation. 

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More than $4 million is going toward protecting Maine’s oldest trees

By Katie Delaney
News Center Maine
June 1, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: US East

NAPLES, Maine — The New England Forestry Foundation (NEFF) is giving out grants to landowners to help preserve some of Maine’s oldest trees. The organization got $4.3 million from the U.S. Forest Service in 2024 to pay loggers to put off cutting late-successional and old-growth forests, which are typically over 100 years old. The first grant was awarded to Chaplin Logging Inc. in Naples to conserve 23 acres of late-successional forest and improve other parts of their land. This type of forest is rare for southern Maine. The one on the Chaplins’ property has been mostly untouched for likely more than a hundred years. According to Brian Milakovsky, senior forester of NEFF, these trees provide a unique habitat for many important species and they’re good for the atmosphere. …Since these trees are being taken out of production, part of the grant is going toward timber stand improvement, removing undesirable trees in landowners’ other, younger forests.

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Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy

Louisiana lawmakers approve incentives for controversial wood pellet industry

By Tristan Baurick
Verite News | Deep South Today
May 28, 2026
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: US East

A bill aimed at making Louisiana more enticing to the wood pellet industry has sailed through the state Legislature. House Bill 670 won unanimous approval in the Louisiana House and Senate and was granted final passage on Wednesday (May 27). It would ease regulations for pellet manufacturers while directing state support toward workforce development, financial incentives and infrastructure improvements designed to meet the industry’s needs. The industry has come under fire for repeatedly breaking air pollution rules in Louisiana and Mississippi and contributing to greenhouse gas emissions in the United Kingdom, where most of the pellets are burned to produce energy marketed as “sustainable biomass.”  The bill’s supporters admitted they knew little about the industry but backed the measure in hopes of reviving the state’s struggling logging sector. …“This bill uses taxpayer money to support a foreign industry and makes it easier for them to pollute Louisianians’ air and water,” said the Dogwood Alliance. 

Additional coverage in Biomass Magazine, by Erin Krueger: Louisiana Senate approves wood pellet bill

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Health & Safety

Officials monitor Longview water supply, wildlife after industrial disaster that killed 11

KOMO News
May 31, 2026
Category: Health & Safety
Region: United States, US West

LONGVIEW, Washington — Recovery crews on Friday located the ninth and final person missing at the site of the Nippon Dynawave industrial incident, bringing the death toll from the tragedy to 11. …The ruptured tank spilled up to 570,000 gallons of white liquor, a strong alkaline liquid made mostly of sodium hydroxide and sodium sulfide used in the papermaking process to dissolve wood chips. Officials said the liquid made it into the nearby Columbia River and several nearby ditches, sloughs, and dikes. …Longview city officials reassured residents on Thursday that the city’s water was safe, and the Washington State Department of Ecology stated that the water treatment plant would shut down automatically before contaminated water could enter the public water system. …Response crews have documented some impacts to fish and wildlife in drainage systems adjacent to the incident area. Officials said approximately 200 dead fish have been collected.

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Longview mill tragedy highlights dangerous nature of wood product manufacturing

By Kyra Buckley
Oregon Public
May 29, 2026
Category: Health & Safety
Region: United States, US West

This week’s chemical blast that killed at least eight workers at Longview’s Nippon Dynawave Packaging highlights the potential dangers in the timber and paper manufacturing industries. …“We work in a highly hazardous atmosphere, in a highly hazardous industry,” Brian Wood, director of support services for Nippon Dynawave, said. …The industries involved in the range of economic activities from cutting timber to manufacturing paper have shed jobs in recent decades, yet this sector continues to have some of the deadliest occupations. The disaster in Longview highlights the dangerous chemicals used in paper making. In 2024, 13 people were killed while working at their paper manufacturing job, according to the US Bureau of Labor and Statistics. Across the country jobs in the sector have plummeted. In the last quarter century, BLS figures show paper manufacturing employment fell by 230,000 jobs to sit around 355,000 across the country. Industry researchers estimate as many as 45 mills closed last year.

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Confirmed death toll climbs to 8 in Longview paper mill disaster

By Courtenay Sherwood
Oregon Public Broadcasting
May 28, 2026
Category: Health & Safety
Region: United States, US West

Recovery efforts are continuing at the Nippon Dynawave Packaging, where a tank holding hundreds of thousands of gallons of a caustic chemical ruptured. Crews recovered six bodies from a Longview paper mill Thursday as they continued the response to a massive chemical tank rupture earlier this week. That brings the confirmed death toll from the Tuesday disaster to eight. Three more people remain unaccounted, and are presumed dead. The fatal release of a highly caustic liquid is Washington state’s deadliest workplace tragedy in 96 years. Here’s some of what we know about the disaster and ongoing recovery efforts. The death toll is likely to climb. …Recovery crews are navigating a challenging scene. …The danger appears contained — mostly, but tens of thousands of gallons of the caustic chemical known as white liquor escaped. Some reached a storm drain system that flows to the Columbia River. …The paper mill is shut down for now.

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How a tank rupture disrupted life in a tight-knit Washington town that has lived with pulp mills for generations

By Ray Sanchez
CNN
May 28, 2026
Category: Health & Safety
Region: United States, US West

©Wiki

It was not the typical morning banter at the bustling Pancake House in the mill town of Longview, Washington. “We’ve actually just been sick to our stomach,” said Julie Oliver, 60, taking a moment from serving breakfast to speak on the phone. “We realize how many of the ones that are still missing are our customers, and very close family, and people that we’ve known for many years.” The talk in Longview – an industrial and shipping hub along the Columbia River in southwestern Washington, roughly 50 miles north of Portland, Oregon – on Wednesday centered on the search for those missing and presumed dead a day after a chemical tank rupture at a popular paper plant. Eleven people are believed to have died in the tragedy. …The rupture took place during a shift change, and the bodies of the workers were found in an area where they would gather in the morning before getting their assignments for the day, officials said.

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First responders continue recovery two weeks after deadly Robbins Lumber explosion

By Drew Peters
News Center Maine
May 29, 2026
Category: Health & Safety
Region: United States, US East

LIBERTY, Maine — Two weeks after the deadly fire and explosion at Robbins Lumber in Searsmont, many of the first responders who rushed to the scene are still carrying the physical and emotional effects of the disaster. While no members of the Liberty Volunteer Fire Department suffered serious injuries, department leaders said the experience left lasting scars that will take time to heal. Veteran firefighter Bill Gillespie, who has served for more than 30 years, said the response was unlike anything he had experienced before. …Meanwhile, firefighters with the Liberty Fire Department are collecting donations, which will be distributed equally among victims of the explosion and their families by the Waldo County Firefighters’ Association. According to a statement from the Robbins family, mill owners Alden Robbins and Jim Robbins continue to receive treatment at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

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