RIDDLE, Oregon — Roseburg Forest Products laid off approximately 2.5% of its workforce across all North American locations early last month, while 120 positions are slated to be filled at Oregon facilities through 2026. “As we near the end of 2024, soft demand for wood products and broad-based pricing pressure continue to be a drag on our industry,” said Roseburg Forest Products spokesperson Sarah Smith in an email. “Looking into 2025, we do not expect near-term recovery in demand, and as a result, we are positioning to weather another challenging year.” Roseburg Forest Products manages 600,000 acres of timberland in Oregon, Virginia and North Carolina, according to the company website. Through the harvest of these timberlands, Roseburg Forest Products offers a variety of wood products including plywood, fiberboard and laminate products. …Smith said the move to eliminate these positions was a necessary one to cut “unnecessary costs.”
President-elect Donald Trump plans to implement a 25% tariff on all products from Mexico and Canada to target drugs, particularly fentanyl, and illegal immigration… Trump’s announcement of his plans has spurred questions about what tariffs mean for American consumers, as well as the products that may face additional fees. Oil and “billions worth of wood and paper” are imported from Canada to America, USA TODAY reported. …Congress has the authority to make U.S. tariff policy, and the legislative branch usually set tariff rates before the 1930s… However, Congress has “delegated extensive tariff-setting authority to the President” for decades. Through certain statutes, the president can impose or adjust tariffs, such as adjusting tariffs on imports that threaten U.S. national security or raise tariff rates when the U.S. International Trade Commission finds that an import surge has injured an American industry, according to the Congressional Research Service.
The Lane County Board of Commissioners voted Tuesday to approve a property tax exemption for Weyerhaeuser’s planned improvements to its Cottage Grove sawmill, a move officials say will help secure high-paying jobs in the region while ensuring the timber company remains competitive. Weyerhauser, a Seattle-based timber company, applied for the exemption to delay paying taxes on a planned $120 million upgrade to the sawmill, which it says currently employs 225 people. Under the agreement, Weyerhaeuser will save $7.2 million in property taxes over five years, but the company must make a 10% “community benefit payment,” which will be shared by the South Lane School District and the Cottage Grove Community Medical Center Foundation. Additionally, state law mandates Weyerhaeuser pay supplemental fees to the school district in the fourth and fifth years of the exemption.
Policymakers are looking out for indications of what President-elect Donald Trump plans to do to ease housing costs next year. …Trump has spoken frequently of his proposed 60% tariff on goods from China, which he has said would create more manufacturing jobs in the US. …But housing economists and other experts say that could be bad news for building more affordable housing. Selma Hepp, chief economist for CoreLogic, a financial services company, said tariffs are one of her main concerns about the effects of a second Trump term. “One of the biggest concerns is not just lumber [costs], but the overall cost of materials, which have been going up,” Hepp said. Kurt Paulsen, professor of urban planning in the department of planning and landscape architecture at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, said building costs are already high from tariffs on Canadian lumber.
J.P. Morgan Asset Management announced that institutional investors advised by the firm’s wholly-owned timber investment manager, Campbell Global, have led the acquisition of 40,800 productive acres of high-quality, commercial timberland located on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state. The firm has named the property Tyee to acknowledge the Cascadia region’s indigenous Native American history. Campbell Global was acquired by J.P. Morgan Asset Management in 2021 and is recognized as a pioneer in timberland management, having managed more than five million acres worldwide for pension funds, foundations and other institutional investors since inception. Tyee will be continuously managed for both carbon capture and timber production to meet growing demand for sustainable building products and other uses. Some details of the property include 100% certified in accordance with Sustainable Forestry Initiative standards.