Blog Archives

Opinion / EdiTOADial

2025 is a supply-side story as demand is weak across all forest product segments

By Kevin Mason, Managing Director
ERA Forest Products Research
July 7, 2025
Category: Opinion / EdiTOADial
Region: Canada, United States, International

Kevin Mason

In looking across the entire forest products space this year, it is abundantly clear that demand is weak across all segments. There is no expectation of an improvement in 2025 as consumption remains poor and restocking efforts are expected to be limited. As such, any hopes of better supply/demand dynamics are going to come down to supply discipline (slowbacks/downtime/closures). We have some thoughts about how this might play out in the various sectors: Timber and Timberland—Timber harvest guidance will naturally follow wood products demand. Finding a home for pulpwood has been problematic for several years and will only become more difficult amid ongoing downstream capacity shuts. New demand is possible over time, but nothing is expected in the near-term.

Solid Wood—A raft of capacity closures in both Canada and the US had brought the lumber market into better balance to begin 2025. However, with demand weakening further through the first half of 20025 (and given a bleak medium-term outlook), further capacity rationalization will be required to restore balance and lift prices (Canada will be the focus, but the US could also see shuts). In OSB, prices are already at cash- cost levels, demand could slip further in the coming months, and new greenfield capacity is slated for late ’25 and early ’26. Accordingly, closures/downtime are sorely needed. For both lumber and OSB, producers may be awaiting the outcome of the Section 232 investigation before making major changes to operations.

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Business & Politics

US Lumber Coalition Calls for Elimination of Expedited CVD Reviews

By Zoltan van Heyningen
TargetedNews Service
July 9, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States

WASHINGTON, July 9 — The U.S. Lumber Coalition (USLC) has submitted a public comment letter to the U.S. Department of Commerce urging the elimination of expedited countervailing duty (CVD). …Zoltan van Heyningen, Executive Director of USLC, emphasized the need to “put American workers, manufacturers, and producers first.” The letter cites the detrimental impact expedited CVD reviews have had on the domestic lumber industry, asserting that these reviews serve as a platform for unfairly subsidized imports. [to access the full story, a TargetedNews Service subscription is required]

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Canada aims for new US trade deal by Aug. 1 as Trump threatens 35% tariffs

By Hunter Crowther
CTV NewsB
July 11, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States

Donald Trump announced Thursday the US will charge a 35% tariff on Canadian imports starting Aug. 1. In an open letter to Prime Minister Carney, he wrote “if you decide to raise your Tariffs, we will be added onto the 35% that we charge.” …“These Tariffs may be modified, upward or downward, depending on our relationship with your Country.” Carney posted on social media that Canada would work towards a revised deadline of Aug. 1 in reaching a new trade deal with the US. “Canada has made vital progress to stop the scourge of fentanyl in North America,” Carney wrote. …Trump pointed to what he called “unsustainable” trade deficits, as well as the Canadian dairy sector. On Wednesday, Trump announced a 50% tariff on copper imports. The US was Canada’s largest copper importer in 2023, accounting for 52% of the total export value. That same year, Canada’s exports of copper and copper-based products were valued at $9.3 billion.

Related coverage in:

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US Homebuilders comment on new tariff deadline, pending Section 232 lumber tariffs

The National Association of Home Builders
July 10, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States

President Trump has announced he will extend the pause on reciprocal tariffs for another three weeks until Aug. 1 and impose a 50% tariff on copper. …The US imports nearly half of its copper. …The timeline for enactment of the copper tariffs is still unclear, but the market has already begun to respond with record-high prices. …Separately, the administration previously launched a Section 232 investigation focusing on whether lumber imports constitute a threat to national security. NAHB strongly disputes this notion and we filed comments underscoring that housing is a critical component of national security. …“Our housing crisis is a bigger threat to national security than imported lumber or timber,” NAHB’s letter to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick stated. “Lumber from Canada simply does not present the same national security threat as oil from the Middle East or steel, aluminum, rare earth minerals, or advanced computing chips from China.”

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Vancouver Fraser Port Authority opens bids for Roberts Bank Terminal 2 build

By Jeremy Hainsworth
Business in Vancouver
July 10, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority is now searching for a construction company to plan and build the Roberts Bank Terminal 2 container port project wharf and landside facilities. The port said the state-of-the-art marine container terminal will unlock over $100 billion in new trade capacity and contributing $3 billion in GDP annually. …Construction is planned to begin in 2028, and the terminal is expected to be in operation by the mid-2030s. …The port authority has signed mutual benefits agreements with 27 First Nations. …Following the federal and provincial governments’ 2023 approval of the project, the port authority submitted a Species at Risk Act-compliant Fisheries Act authorization application in 2024. A decision on that, the final major permit, is expected no later than October 2026, the port authority said. …Pang said the terminal will be a catalyst for economic transformation nationally. He said it aims to support Prairie grain exports and BC’s forestry sector.

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Newfoundland’s Richard Dewey takes on Corner Brook pulp mill over Deer Lake contamination

By Diane Crocker
The Telegram
July 9, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada East

ST. JOHNS, Newfoundland — St. John’s lawyer Bob Buckingham is not sure how an investigation into the illegal burial of hazardous and contaminated materials in Deer Lake will take place, but he’s giving all the credit for it happening to one man. Buckingham represents Richard Dewey, a resident of Deer Lake who, for more than a decade, has worked to bring attention to three separate environmental issues in the town: the burial of the hazardous and contaminated materials, pollution of the town’s drinking water and property damage caused by seepage from the Humber Canal. …Dewey made a complaint to the provincial government claiming that creosote-contaminated soil was trucked from beneath the penstocks on the Humber Canal and buried near the town’s water supply, and that creosote-soaked penstocks were dumped at the closed town landfill.

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US Makes Affirmative Preliminary Determination in Trade Cases on Hardwood and Decorative Plywood from China, Indonesia, and Vietnam

By Wiley Rein LLP
PR Newswire
July 7, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, International

WASHINGTON — In a victory for US producers of hardwood and decorative plywood (HWDP), the US International Trade Commission (ITC) found that there is a reasonable indication that imports from China, Indonesia, and Vietnam are materially injuring the US HWDP industry. The Commission’s vote comes in response to petitions filed on behalf of the Coalition for Fair Trade in Hardwood Plywood. …The cases allege that unfairly dumped and subsidized imports of Chinese, Indonesian, and Vietnamese HWDP are injuring the domestic industry and threaten the industry with further injury. …The ITC’s affirmative preliminary injury determination paves the way for Commerce to move forward with its investigations. Unless extended, Commerce is expected to issue its preliminary CVD determination in August 2025 and its preliminary AD determination in October 2025. If Commerce also reaches affirmative preliminary determinations in these cases, provisional AD and CVD duties will be collected from importers based on the preliminary margins calculated.

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Kruger Products’ Memphis site announces new converting line for bathroom tissue and paper towels

Kruger Inc.
July 9, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, US East

MISSISSAUGA, Ontario — Kruger Products announced today that its subsidiary, K.T.G. (USA) Inc. will be investing approximately $35 million in a new converting line for bathroom tissue and paper towels at its site in Memphis, TN. The installation is expected to be completed in Q2/2026 and will create about 20 jobs. “With the latest technology, this new converting line will allow us to expand our capacity and produce a wide range of high-quality tissue products for our customers and our White Cloud® brand”, said Gordon Goss, SVP & GM, U.S. & Mexico Consumer Business. “This new line is also part of our plan to reinvest and refocus our Memphis site on driving efficiency for our growing U.S. business.” [END]

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Hardwood Forestry Fund voluntarily dissolves operations; passes ‘torch’ with final distribution of $190,000

By Larry Adams
Woodworking Network
July 8, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, US East

After funding 5 million seedlings for 289 projects, in 38 states and 4 foreign countries, the Hardwood Forestry Fund (HFF) has decided to voluntarily dissolve its operations.  The Board announced its final distribution of $190,000 to the Arbor Day Foundation and One Tree Planted to implement Hardwood Tree plantings in line with the HFF’s mission and goals. The Hardwood Forestry Fund promoted hardwood timber growth, management, education, and environmentally sound uses of renewable forest resources by providing grant funding to partnering organizations. …The HFF was formed in 1990 by members of the Hardwood Plywood and Veneer Association, which eventually became the Decorative Hardwoods Association. …During its 35 years of operation, the HFF funded projects that used seedling planting, direct seeding, and forest management techniques to promote natural regeneration and create sustainable forests on suitable and quality public sites. 

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Chillicothe Paper Mill: Potential Buyers, Shutdowns, Rumors, Reminiscences…

By Kevin Coleman
Sciotopost.com
July 7, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, US East

CHILLICOTHE, Ohio — Possibly 18 potential buyers have looked at the Pixelle facility before Thursday’s deadline to make offers. And again, the weekly Monday meeting of the ‘paper mill response team’ was in executive session to be free to hash out plans – as reminiscences from employees, as well as rumors about what is happening there and what is being removed, fill the internet. Mill operator Pixelle – based in Pennsylvania, and owned by H.I.G. Capital of Miami, Florida – has been cooperative with corporate tours of the facility that has been largely shut down. …“The deadline set by HIG for purchase offers to be submitted – July 3 – has passed. To date, no information has been shared with local leaders or regional economic development partners regarding a sale or the future of the mill.

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Sumitomo launches its first ‘timber industrial complex’ in the US

By Larry Adams
The Woodworking Network
July 6, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, US East

Sumitomo Forestry, a prominent Japanese timber and construction firm, completed July 1, 2025, the acquisition of Teal Jones Louisiana Holdings and plans to launch its first timber industrial complex in the US. This complex may also include taking wood waste and turning it into mass timber. …In addition to outside purchasers, Teal Jones-Plain Dealing (TJPD) plans to supply product to its group operations, such as the Fully Integrated Turn-key Provider operations and its residential property and real estate development operations. Furthermore, the company plans to utilize the approximate 40 hectares of unused land on the site to manufacture and sell mass timber and wood products in preparation for future increased demand. “We are also considering processing wood chips and lumber residue generated from the manufacturing process into biomass power generation fuel, bio-refineries and other,” the company said.

See Sumitomo Press Release: Launch of our first overseas timber industrial complex with the group integration of a major US lumber company 

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Shaping the future of forestry through new Timber Fibre Strategy

By Julie Collins, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
The Government of Australia
July 7, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: International

The Albanese Labor Government released a Timber Fibre Strategy which sets out a pathway for the future growth of Australia’s proud forestry industry. The Timber Fibre Strategy sets out 128 ambitious actions for industry and governments to help build a sustainable, world leading sector. …A key opportunity identified in the Strategy is for the forestry sector to play a bigger role in tackling Australia’s housing challenges and delivering on the Government’s ambitious housing agenda. The Albanese Labor Government is investing $300 million in the future of the forestry industry, which includes:

  • Over $100 million for transformative research, development and innovation through Australian Forest and Wood Innovations,
  • Over $100 million to support the medium and long-term sustainability of our wood processing sector through the Accelerate Adoption of Wood Processing Innovation program,
  • Over $73 million to expand Australia’s future wood supply through the Support Plantation Establishment program, and $10 million in the industry’s training needs through the Forestry Workforce Training Program.

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Metsä readies Kemi mils to resume production after maintenance shutdown

By Igor Dugandzic
EUWID Pulp and Paper
July 3, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: International

FINLAND — Metsä Group announces that the Kemi pulp mill and the adjacent Kemi paper mill will resume production on July 4 after several weeks of maintenance and repair-related downtime. Production will be resumed in stages. …The group’s subsidiary Metsä Fibre has used the five weeks of annual maintenance shutdown to replace the pulp mill’s evaporation plant that was damaged in March 2024 explosion and had been only provisionally repaired in order to return to production as quick as possible. Other extensive maintenance work has also been carried out at the site, enabling the Kemi site to resume stable and continuous production and return to full production capacity again. The new Kemi pulp mill has a total production capacity of 1.5 million tpy, of which approximately 1.1 million tpy is market pulp. At the Kemi paper mill, Metsä Board produces coated and uncoated white top kraftliner with a capacity of 465,000 tpy.

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Finance & Economics

Canada’s economy added 83K jobs in June, muting chance of a BoC rate cut

By John MacFarlane
Yahoo! Finance
July 11, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada

Canada’s labour market defied expectations in June, adding a net 83,100 jobs while the unemployment rate dropped to 6.9%, according to Statistics Canada data released on Friday. The figures make a Bank of Canada interest rate cut less likely, economists say, and will likely move the focus to upcoming inflation data. Financial industry experts had expected the job market to stay essentially flat last month, forecasting a net loss of 3,000 jobs, according to consensus estimates published by the Bank of Montreal. Expectations were for the unemployment rate to increase 0.1 percentage point to 7.1%. The results show the “resilience” of Canada’s labour market, which will be noted by the Bank of Canada, CIBC economist Katherine Judge writes following the release. “While the unemployment rate is still elevated, the strength in other measures in this report clearly diminishes the odds of a BoC cut” at the July 30 interest rate announcement, she says.

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BC/Canada’s dilemma in the US and export markets

By Russ Taylor, Russ Taylor Global
Truck LoggerBC Magazine
July 3, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada, United States, International

Russ Taylor

Today’s lower prices put BC Interior SPF mills back near break-even levels at current lumber prices and with 14.4% duties, with other Canadian regions looking to be marginally profitable. …In August, Canadian lumber will be subject to elevated US import duties (~34.5%). This factor alone will require Canadian lumber prices in the US market to rise by another 10% – 20%. Any tariffs imposed on Canada and/or other countries will only increase lumber prices further to attract enough imports into the US market. If prices do not rise enough, then expect mill curtailments in BC. …No one knows if or when tariffs could be applied to timber and wood products as well as derivative products from the US Section 232 investigation and what the tariff levels might be by country. If tariffs are applied, that will cause some major dislocations to the BC and Canadian lumber industry, as higher costs for imported lumber will ultimately cause US lumber prices to rise. 

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US Remodeling Market Sentiment Dips in Second Quarter

By Eric Lynch
The NAHB Eye on Housing
July 10, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: United States

In the second quarter of 2025, the NAHB/Westlake Royal Remodeling Market Index (RMI) posted a reading of 59, down four points compared to the previous quarter. While this reading is still in positive territory, some remodelers, especially in the West, are seeing a slowing of activity in their markets. The second-quarter reading of 59 marks only the second time the RMI has dipped below 60 since the survey was revised in the first quarter of 2020. Higher interest rates and general economic uncertainty have affected consumer confidence and are headwinds for remodeling, but not to the extent that they have been for single-family construction, as is evident in June’s negative reading from the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Marketing Index (HMI). As a result, NAHB is still forecasting solid gains for remodeling spending in 2025, followed by more modest, but still positive, growth in 2026. …The Current Conditions Index averaged 66, down five points from the previous quarter.  

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Prices are now starting to rise because of tariffs. Economists say this is just the beginning

By Alicia Wallace
CNN Business
July 10, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: United States

Economists, researchers and analysts have warned that President Trump’s tariffs on most goods will deliver a taxing blow to consumers via higher prices. However, recent months’ economic data has shown that overall inflation has remained fairly tame. Trump touts the positive economic reports as signs that tariffs are working. However, the chorus of concern is growing: Prices are moving higher, and economists say this is just the beginning. Here’s a look at the mechanisms behind why price hikes, and hotter inflation, are a slow burn: Tariffs have been applied in a staggered manner; …Trade policy and tariffs are in flux; …Shipping takes time; …Domestic supply chains take time, too; …Inventories were loaded up before tariffs hit; …Some costs are being eaten; …Businesses are hesitant to pass on higher prices; …Awareness of goods prices is lower in summer than fall and winter; …Economic data is often lagged; …Inflation indices are comprehensive.

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Confused about where things stand with Trump’s tariffs? Here’s a handy primer

By Scott Horsley
NPR – National Public Radio
July 9, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: United States

This week was supposed to mark the deadline for other countries to strike trade deals with the US — or face tariffs of up to 49% on the goods they sell in the United States. President Trump is still threatening sky-high import taxes, but he has pushed back the effective date to Aug. 1, sowing even more uncertainty. Here’s an update on where Trump’s tariff policy stands, from which tariffs he has in place to which countries are currently affected. A 10% tariff applies to just about everything the US imports. …Higher tariffs on tap for other countries — maybe. …China already has a higher tariff after tit-for-tat retaliations. …The European Union could also face stiffer tariffs. …Mexico and Canada face special scrutiny. …The U.K. and Vietnam are the only two countries with deals in place. …Separate tariffs apply to steel, aluminum and autos. …But tariffs also face a legal challenge.

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Tariffs to push new home construction costs up 3% by year-end, Bank of America warns

By Candyd Mendoza
Mortgage Professional America Magazine
July 8, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: United States

The cost of building a new home in the US could rise by 3% by the end of 2025, driven by tariff pressures, according to a new report from Bank of America. The bank reports that despite price growth slowing since its pandemic-era peak, new home prices remain elevated relative to income. Average prices jumped from $371,100 in Q2 2020 to $525,100 in Q4 2022. …While the average size of US homes has declined by 12% over the last decade, the cost of building materials has continued to climb. “We estimate the value of content in an average US new single-family home was $102k in 2024,” the report said. “We estimate the bill of materials to build a house has increased at a 3.6% CAGR from $23K in 1982, consistently outpacing overall inflation over the last 40+ years.” …One of the key drivers of rising construction costs is tariffs.

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Fannie Mae Publishes June 2025 National Housing Survey Results

Fannie Mae
July 7, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: United States

WASHINGTON, DC – Fannie Mae published the results of its June 2025 National Housing Survey® (NHS), which includes the Home Purchase Sentiment Index® (HPSI), a measure of consumer sentiment toward housing. Month over month, the HPSI decreased 3.7 points to 69.8. Year over year, the HPSI is down 2.8 points.

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Top Ten Builder Share Rises Again in 2024

By Sarah Caldwell
NAHB Eye on Housing
July 8, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: United States

The top ten builders captured a record 44.7% of all new US single-family home closings in 2024, up 2.4 percentage points from 2023 (42.3%). This is the highest share ever captured by the top ten builders since NAHB began tracking BUILDER magazine data on new single-family home closings in 1989. The 2024 share constitutes 306,932 closings out of 686,000 new single-family houses sold in 2024. However, closings by the top 10 builders only represent 30.1% of new single-family home completions, a wider measure of home building that covers not-for-sale home construction. Also of note, the top 15 builders accounted for more than half of all closings (51%) for the first time ever in 2024.

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Trump says US nears trade deals as tariff deadline delayed to August 1

By Andrea Shalal and Nathan Howard
Reuters
July 7, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: United States

The United States is close to finalizing several trade pacts in coming days and will notify other countries of higher tariff rates by July 9, President Donald Trump said on Sunday, with the higher rates set to take effect on August 1. Since taking office, Trump has set off a global trade war that has roiled financial markets and sent policymakers scrambling to protect their economies, through efforts such as deals with the United States and other countries. In April Trump unveiled a base tariff rate of 10% on most countries and additional duties ranging up to 50%, although he later delayed the effective date for all but 10% until July 9. The new date offers countries a three-week reprieve. …Bessent told CNN the Trump administration was focused on 18 important trading partners that account for 95% of the US trade deficit. 

In related News:

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2024 Multifamily Construction: Units Completed Reaches 38-year High

By Jesse Wade
The NAHB Eye on Housing
July 7, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: United States

Multifamily units completed in 2024 recorded their highest level since 1986 at 608,000 units, according to NAHB analysis of the Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction. For the eighth consecutive year, most multifamily units were in buildings with 50 or more units (these will be labeled as high-density buildings). This trend is relatively new. Dating back to the earliest estimates in the series (1972), most multifamily units were historically located in buildings with less than 50 units (low-medium density buildings). Of the total 608,000 multifamily units completed in 2024, 330,000 (54%) were in high-density buildings while the remaining 278,000 (46%) were in low-medium density buildings. …Among multifamily units completed in 2024, 95% were built-for-rent at a level of 580,000. …The number of multifamily units built-for-sale rose from 20,000 in 2023 to 29,000 in 2024. 

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From lumber to lighting: How Trump’s tariffs drive up home construction costs

By Alex Ford and Jiachuan Wu
NBC News
July 6, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: United States

Lumber from Canada? That will be another $534. Major appliances from China? Add a cool $445. New homes in the United States are set to get more expensive thanks to President Donald Trump’s tariff agenda, which is expected to raise the costs of a wide variety of materials that go into building houses. An NBC News analysis of building materials and import data found that the total cost of building a mid-range single-family home could rise by more than $4,000 — an estimate that industry experts who reviewed the analysis called conservative. An April survey from the National Association of Home Builders estimated tariff impacts at $10,900 per home. Neither analysis included labor costs. Robert Dietz, chief economist at the National Association of Home Builders, said the tariffs have an impact beyond their direct cost as they send uncertainty rippling through the supply chain and leave builders unsure how to plan for the future.

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What’s in Trump’s big bill that passed Congress and will soon become law

By Kevin Freking and Lisa Mascaro
The Associated Press
July 3, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: United States

WASHINGTON — Republicans muscled President Donald Trump’s tax and spending cut bill through the House on Thursday, the final step necessary to get the bill to his desk by the GOP’s self-imposed deadline of July 4th. At nearly 900 pages, the legislation is a sprawling collection of tax breaks, spending cuts and other Republican priorities, including new money for national defense and deportations. Democrats united against the legislation, but were powerless to stop it as long as Republicans stayed united. The Senate passed the bill, with Vice President JD Vance casting the tiebreaking vote. The House passed an earlier iteration of the bill in May with just one vote to spare. It passed the final version 218-214. Republicans say the bill is crucial because there would be a massive tax increase after December when tax breaks from Trump’s first term expire. The legislation contains about $4.5 trillion in tax cuts.

Related coverage in CNBC: What the Senate Republican tax-and-spending bill means for your money

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Tariffing New Zealand Timber And Lumber Products To The US Would Be Troublesome

By Mark Ross, Wood Processors and Manufacturers of NZ
Scoop Independent News
July 4, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: United States, International

New Zealand has a strong story to tell about free trade, farming and renewable forestry resources. …Given the healthy relationship between the US and New Zealand on the trade front, the temporary relief of tariffs on timber and lumber imported into the US has been welcomed. Though we realise that this tariff exemption could be short lived based on the outcome of the Section 232 investigation aimed at determining the global effects imports of timber, lumber and their derivative products have on the US supply chain. As a small niche supplier of wood products that are needed by the US domestic building market, there is a strong argument for keeping New Zealand timber and lumber imports tariff free to avoid any additional price hikes and further supply chain disruptions. …Like many, we now wait for completion of the section. 232 Investigation.

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UK Softwood Update: June sees cracks in structural softwood demand

By Stephen Powney
The Timber Trades Journal
July 10, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: International

UK softwood traders enjoyed a period of strong trading through the first two months of Q2, supported by a rise in demand gaining momentum through both April and May. This followed on from a stable Q1 when imports increased by just under 2% against the same period in 2024. Since the beginning of this year, a number of Nordic producers were short of spruce logs for structural grades, and in many cases switched to pine. That move had a knock-on effect on the amount of redwood available for production at some mills. With good demand and some shortages, Q2 prices moved upwards, not only to the UK but other markets in Europe and the US as well. However, the UK merchants adopted a more sceptical and cautious approach. Many held back from making longer-term commitments on the forward market to ensure the recovery and stability in the market was sustainable.

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Metsä Group’s comparable operating result for April–June 2025 will be clearly negative

Metsä Group
July 7, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: International

In its January–March 2025 interim report published on 29 April 2025, Metsä Group estimated that the company’s comparable operating result in April–June 2025 will be weaker than in January–March 2025. The comparable operating result for January–March 2025 was EUR 81 million. Metsä Group now estimates that the company’s comparable operating result in April–June 2025 will be approximately EUR -35 million, which is significantly lower than the company’s previous estimate. The negative comparable operating result was caused particularly by the weak demand for market pulp in Europe and China. The uncertainty caused by US import duties has had a negative impact on the purchasing behaviour of paperboard customers in particular. 

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Wood, Paper & Green Building

Is mass timber worth the risk? ‘It’s a birch of a problem’

By Peter Caulfield
The Journal of Commerce
July 9, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada West

Although mass timber is widely praised for speedy, low-carbon construction, not everyone has boarded that train yet. Many people in construction still believe the risks of using mass timber outweigh the benefits. To shed some light on the subject, Urbanarium and the UBC School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture recently sponsored a debate in Vancouver on the proposition: “Mass timber is not worth the risk(s).” On the pro side (not worth the risk) were Adam Rysanek, an associate professor at SALA, and Graham Brewster, the senior director of development at Wesgroup Properties. On the con side were Shawn Keyes, the executive director of WoodWorks BC, and now VP strategic growth and development at Intelligent City, and Jana Foit, a principal and higher education practice lead in the Vancouver studio of Perkins&Will. …“Everybody came in wanting mass timber to work. What they heard were practical arguments that showed that it’s not that easy.”

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Prefabricated Timber Structure Advances at Hälsa on Royal York

By Anthony Teles
Urban Toronto
July 9, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada East

Toronto development is currently defined by concrete-and-steel high-rise construction, but Hälsa at 230 Royal York Road stands out as a rare and sustainable alternative. A 9-storey purpose-built residential rental project rising in Mimico, Hälsa is being built using a prefabricated mass timber system. Designed by LWPAC Architects for Leader Lane Developments in partnership with Windmill Development Group, the mid-rise building is being assembled from robotically manufactured panels that are craned into place onsite. The project targets LEED Platinum certification and Tier 2 of the Toronto Green Standard. Located on the northwest corner at Drummond Street, the development just south of the Mimico GO station is part of Leader Lane’s Mimico Collection, a trio of mass timber infill buildings that seek to address Toronto’s housing crisis through more accessible and sustainable construction. …Once complete, Hälsa will rise 31.79m, delivering 60 new rental homes to South Etobicoke.

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Ireland’s Minister Healy-Rae launches new report on timber construction research needs

By Michael Healy-Rae, Minister for Forestry
The Government of Ireland
July 8, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: International

GALWAY, Ireland — Minister of State with responsibility for Forestry, Michael Healy-Rae, announced a new report “Research and Development Needs for Timber in Construction in Ireland”. The report forms part of the work carried out by the Interdepartmental & Industry Working Group on Timber in Construction, which aims to increase the use of wood in construction while maximising the use of Irish-grown timber. The Minister also visited the facilities in the University of Galway and saw firsthand the research in timber currently taking place. Emphasising the role of research in driving low-carbon construction, Minister Healy-Rae said: “With the construction sector seeking more sustainable alternatives, it is vital we recognise the role our forests can play in shaping the future of our built environment. The report… sets out priority research and development actions to support greater use of timber in construction, sustainable building and carbon reduction.

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Forestry

Wisconsin and Minnesota Republicans call on Canada to curb wildfire smoke

By Kelly Malone
The Canadian Press in CTV News
July 9, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, United States

Six Republican lawmakers have sent a letter to Kirsten Hillman, Canada’s ambassador, calling for action on the wildfires sending smoke billowing across the international border into their states. Representatives Tom Tiffany, Brad Finstad, Tom Emmer, Michelle Fischbach, Glenn Grothman and Pete Stauber of Wisconsin and Minnesota said their constituents are coping with suffocating smoke from Canadian wildfires. “We would like to know how your government plans on mitigating wildfires and the smoke that makes its way south,” the letter said. The lawmakers said successive years of wildfires in Canada have undermined air quality in their states and robbed Americans of their ability to enjoy the summer. They pointed to forest management and arson as possible factors behind the fires. They did not mention climate change. …Canadian officials warned last month that this year’s wildfire season could shape up to be the second-worst on record… although the threat appears to have eased somewhat recently.

Related coverage in:

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BC Timber Sales plans logging, wildfire mitigation in Bonnington area

By Bill Metcalfe
The Nelson Star
July 8, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

NELSON, BC — BC Timber Sales is talking to residents about logging and wildfire protection planned for the Falls Creek watershed in the Bonnington area. In a June 6 letter to residents posted on social media, Mark Tallman, planning forester for BCTS, said the agency is beginning a community watershed planning process that will include local residents. …Will BCTS have already decided which trees will be cut before the watershed plan is created? …A Ministry of Forests spokesperson said potential cut blocks have not yet been mapped. “The project is being designed to use early engagement with interested parties to help guide BCTS planning around forest harvesting, road construction, and wildfire risk reduction.” …An initial draft of the watershed forest plan is expected to be completed by “early winter 2026” and the “timing of the timber sale is anticipated to be around 2028-29 at the earliest.

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US Forest Service to cut $391M

By Andrew Rice
The Center Square
July 10, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States

The U.S. Forest Services plans to cut its budget by $391 million for fiscal year 2026, according to a proposed budget request. A large portion of the cuts to the forest services budget are expected to be implemented into the new U.S. Wildland Fire Service within the Department of the Interior. Tom Shultz, chief of the U.S. Forest Service, laid out plans to integrate fire service operations within the department and highlighted its focus on a “back-to-basics approach” at a Senate Energy and Natural Resources hearing on Thursday. “The fiscal year 2026 President’s budget refocuses forest service efforts on active forest management, critical minerals permitting, recreation [and] energy development,” Shultz said. Some senators on the committee criticized the forest service’s plans to consolidate fire operations in the Department of Interior.

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Trump administration wants to increase logging on federal land to reduce fire risks. Not everyone agrees.

By Seiji Yamashita
CBS News
July 10, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States

OREGON — Jeff Brink takes pride in working on the same land his father did, in the national forests surrounding Oakridge, Oregon. But in the decades since, less and less timber has been harvested, and more and more megafires have threatened his hometown. “There needs to be some active management, because no management has given us this result,” he said. When the Trump administration announced executive actions aimed at increasing timber production on federal lands, Oregonians had mixed responses. Loggers and timber towns celebrated the attention, while environmentalists sounded the alarm over fears of deregulation and environmental harm. Local stakeholders wonder what forest management will look like in practice. …The timber industry and environmentalists still have questions as to the actual implementation of policy and changes in practices by federal agencies. Oregon Wild is one of many environmental groups that believe the new executive actions threaten landmark environmental laws.

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Colorado’s beetle battle: Forest Service combats mountain pine beetle surge with fake pheromones

By Mary Shine
The Gazette
July 6, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

Don Hardin’s hillside was largely cleared of trees killed by the mountain pine beetle. Some of the trees have died in just a few weeks with Ips beetles munching their tops and mountain pine beetles coming through their bark in large visible holes. …Across Colorado, mountain pine beetles also are on the rise in Douglas, Jefferson and Gilpin counties, among other areas, said Dan West, forest entomologist with the State Forest Service. The agency’s annual aerial survey shows the number of infected acres increasing from less than 2,000 acres in 2021 to nearly 6,000 acres last year. …To combat the beetle, the State Forest Service is putting small packets on trees to send the message to mountain pine beetles to seek a home elsewhere, West said. The message will be sent through a synthetic replication of beetle pheromones that sends a “no-vacancy signal” to adult pine beetles looking for a healthy tree to infest.

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A look at Louisiana’s timber industry 2 years after wildfires

By Colin Vedros
KALB News
July 10, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US East

ALEXANDRIA, Louisiana — Wildfires and drought destroyed over 60,000 acres of trees in the summer and fall months of 2023 and costing the state $71 million in timber loss. …The wildfires came from record-breaking high temperatures and little to no measurable rainfall that summer. Now, as Louisiana continues to revive its timber industry, there is a renewed interest in the Virginia pine trees that are across the state. But that is also being facilitated by the potential for tariffs on Canadian and Chinese wood and wood products. “The issue has been of Canada and China flooding our markets with their products,” Dr. Mike Strain, the commissioner of Louisiana’s Department of Agriculture and Forestry said. “So, all of that together, I think we’re going to see a strengthening in the timber industry.” …Strengthening the timber industry also calls for more paper mills. “We really need a mill in the Florida parishes,” he said.

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Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy

‘It’s too late’: David Suzuki says the fight against climate change is lost

By David Legree
iPolitics.ca
July 8, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada, International

David Suzuki

“Public concern in the late 1980s was right at the top and we had the first international conference on the atmosphere in 1988, where there were over 40 governments, environmentalists, scientists, private sector people. At the end, they said global warming represented a threat to humanity, second only to global nuclear war. If the world had followed the conclusions from that conference, we would not have the problem we face today and we would have saved trillions of dollars and millions of lives. Now, it is too late. I’ve never said this before to the media, but it’s too late. I say that because I go by science and Johan Rockström, the Swedish scientist who heads the Potsdam Institute, has defined nine planetary boundaries. …As long as humans, like any other animal, live within those nine constraints, we can do it forever, and that includes the amount of carbon in the atmosphere.”

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Health & Safety

Workplace Safety and Insurance Board Ontario reaches tentative agreement to end labour disruption

WSIB Ontario
July 5, 2025
Category: Health & Safety
Region: Canada, Canada East

TORONTO – The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) announced a tentative agreement has been reached with the Ontario Compensation Employees Union (OCEU). The organization looks forward to welcoming back its full team within 24 hours of a successful ratification vote. …As normal service resumes, people can continue to log in to the WSIB’s website anytime, 24/7 to: Report an injury or illness; Submit documents for an existing claim; See claim, payment, and health benefit information in real time; Register a new business; and Access clearances. “We thank Ontarians for the patience they’ve shown us during the labour disruption,” said Jeff Lang, President and CEO. …The WSIB provides workplace injury and illness insurance to more than 5.3 million people in more than 300,000 workplaces across Ontario. 

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Exoskeletons may help curb high injury and fatality rates in forestry

Safety and Health Magazine
July 8, 2025
Category: Health & Safety
Region: United States, US East

COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Forestry workers could benefit from the use of exoskeletons that support their back and upper limbs, results of a study show. Researchers from Texas A&M University and Oregon State University used sensors on 10 forestry workers to determine what type of exoskeleton may help them. The workers, along with 12 other foresters, completed a survey that assessed how much they knew about exoskeletons, their level of acceptance, and their perceived barriers and risks of using the technology. The results indicated that the workers experienced musculoskeletal pain in the neck, shoulders, lower back, wrists/forearms, knees, legs and feet/ankles. “This finding suggests that back-support and upper-limb support exoskeletons may be suitable to the forestry industry,” study co-author Jeong Ho “Jay” Kim, an associate professor at Texas A&M, said. “Forestry is vitally important but its workers pay a high price, with an injury rate that is 40% higher than the average.”

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