No News today as Monday (Sept 30) is Canada’s National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (also known as Orange Shirt Day), recognizing the history and ongoing impacts of the Canadian Indian residential school system.
Hurricane Helene is lashing the US east coast as millions are without power. In related news: the looming east coast port strike could paralyze half of US trade, scramble the US election, and hit Canada hard. In other Business news: Canfor Pulp’s CEO Kevin Edgson is stepping down; BC Conservatives promise forest regulatory change; and the latest news from Softwood Lumber Board.
In Forestry news: Canada’s Guilbeault says his ministry not to blame for the Jasper fire devastation; Jeff McWilliams and Albert Koehler opine on the future of BC forestry; Nick Smith says US old growth requires active stewardship; and the US Hardwood Federation pushes back on Biden’s old-growth plan.
Finally, Oregon’s record wildfire season is expected to last into mid-October.
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog Editor
VANCOUVER, BC – John Baird, Chairman of Canfor Pulp Products Board of Directors announced today that Kevin Edgson will be leaving the role of President and Chief Executive Officer on October 31, 2024. “On behalf of the Board of Directors, I would like to thank Kevin for his significant contributions in the role of President and CEO since 2022,” said John Baird. “Kevin has worked through a number of challenges including a reduction in fibre supply in BC and fluctuating market conditions while transitioning Canfor Pulp to a smaller operational footprint. We are grateful for his leadership and appreciate his efforts to transform the company during his tenure.” The Board is in the process of selecting a successor and will share more details in the coming weeks. [END]
NEW YORK — Mercer announced that its Peace River mill has taken downtime to complete necessary repairs to the mill’s digester after experiencing a mechanical failure. The Company currently expects the repairs and related assessments will be completed in mid-October 2024, and anticipates that NBHK production at the mill will be reduced by approximately 45,000 tonnes during such period. The Company maintains property and business interruption insurance for the Peace River mill and expects the repairs and business interruption will be covered by such insurance, subject to customary deductibles and limits. …Mercer’s consolidated annual production capacity of 2.1 million tonnes of pulp, 960 million board feet of lumber, 210 thousand cubic meters of cross-laminated timber, 45,000 cubic meters of glulam, 17 million pallets and 230,000 metric tonnes of biofuels.
Due diligence requirements under the Regulation on Deforestation-Free Products (EUDR) will apply starting on December 30, 2024, setting in motion a landmark regulation to prevent products linked to deforestation and forest degradation from being placed on the EU market. …As described in further detail below, the EUDR will impact US companies that export covered commodities to the EU – either directly or indirectly through an EU supplier. …The EUDR gives companies 18 months from the date of its adoption to prepare for and implement the new rules, with large businesses – those with more than 250 employees – expected to be in compliance as of December 30, 2024 (smaller and micro enterprises have additional time to comply). In the meantime, the EU Commission is developing guidelines to clarify the EUDR’s requirements and published a nonbinding FAQ document to assist the regulated community in preparing for compliance. The final guidelines are expected to be adopted before the December 30, 2024 compliance date.
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Four Research and Development scientists were honored Sept. 23 with a Deputy Chief Award, all cited for their excellence in the science, innovation and service that plays an integral role in driving the Forest Service forward as a science-based agency. …Collectively, the honorees contributed directly to work addressing issues like climate change, wildfire risk and the need to protect biodiversity. Their work is critical not only to the health and resilience of our forests and grasslands but also to the well-being of the communities that depend on these ecosystems. About the honorees:
LONDON — British power generator Drax could invest up to $12.5 billion developing biomass plants with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) in the US over the next decade. Drax, which generates around 6% of Britain’s electricity, said it is still committed to the UK but sees opportunities in the US for its technology. Its 
The world’s top container carrier is urging customers to move US cargo through East and Gulf Coast ports before the planned start on Tuesday of a dockworker strike. MSC Mediterranean Shipping said the talks “may not be resolved” by the Sept. 30 deadline, resulting in closures at terminals starting Oct. 1. That would delay the shipping of containers — both imports and exports — on trucks and railroads through ports from Boston to Houston. …The Geneva-based company said that it will continue to accept requests for dry cargo services while reserving the right to “not accept new refrigerated bookings.” Hapag-Lloyd cautioned that industrial action would will raise freight rates. …Oxford Economics estimated that a strike would cost the US economy $4.5 billion to $7.5 billion a week. …But the fallout of even a short strike would be costly for many retailers, manufacturers and other importers trying to ensure timely shipments.
SAVANNAH, Georgia — The chief executive over Georgia’s two booming seaports said Tuesday that a strike next week by dockworkers across the U.S. East and Gulf coasts appears likely, though he’s hopeful the resulting shutdown would last only a few days. …U.S. ports from Maine to Texas are preparing for a potential shutdown in a week, when the union representing 45,000 dockworkers in that region has threatened to strike starting Oct. 1. That’s when the contract expires between the International Longshoremen’s Association and the United States Maritime Alliance, which represents the ports. Negotiations on a new contract halted in June. A strike would shut down 36 ports that handle roughly half the nations’ cargo from ships. …There hasn’t been a national longshoremen’s strike in the U.S. since 1977. …A prolonged strike would almost certainly hurt the U.S. economy.
It’s here-we-go-again time in Canada-US trade relations on softwood lumber. And the Canadian government this month has filed legal challenges to the decision by the Department of Commerce to increase the duty it charges on softwood lumber imports from Canada to 14.54% from 8.05%. …The decision has coincided with depressed market conditions… which have fueled mill curtailments and permanent closures across Canada as well as the United States. Adding to the negative landscape has been the impact of the most destructive wildfires in Canadian forest history in 2023. …Canada is the top global exporter of softwood lumber – valued at C$13.7 billion in 2022, with the US market alone accounting for about two-thirds of this total. …Although some analysts see the fundamentals underlying softwood lumber’s end-use markets remaining strong, the trends of shipments in the past few years have reflected an industry under severe stress. 
The national index was unchanged month over month in August. Prices were unchanged in 13 of the 27 census metropolitan areas (CMAs) surveyed, while they increased in 8 and declined in the remaining 6 CMAs. The largest month-over-month decrease in August was recorded in Calgary (-0.4%), followed by St. Catharines–Niagara (-0.3%). …Nationally, the index was unchanged on a year-over-year basis in August following a 0.1% increase in July. The New Housing Price Index increased in 10 CMAs surveyed and was unchanged in 3, while it declined in 14.
The US economy grew at a 3% annualized pace in the second quarter, a faster rate than Wall Street had expected. The Bureau of Economic Analysis’s third estimate of second quarter US gross domestic product (GDP) was unchanged from the second estimate which had shown 3% annualized growth. Economists had estimated the reading to show annualized growth of 2.9%. The third estimate for second quarter GDP confirms that economic growth was higher than the 1.4% annualized growth seen in the first quarter. “The revisions only strengthen our conviction that the US economy will continue to expand at a decent pace over the coming year, which suggests labor market conditions are unlikely to deteriorate markedly from here,” said Oxford Economics deputy chief economist Michael Pearce. Separately, data from the US Labor Department released Thursday showed 218,000 unemployment claims were filed in the week ending Sept. 21, below Wall Street’s expectations for 223,000.
Home prices remain elevated but price growth continues to decelerate, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Index (HPI). The HPI (seasonally adjusted) reached its 14th monthly consecutive record high in July 2024. The index increased at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 2.15%, down slightly from a revised June rate of 2.19%. This rate has slowed over the past six months, from a high of 6.53% in February 2024. The index has not seen an outright decrease since January of 2023 (nineteen months). Separately, the House Price Index released by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA; SA) posted its sixth monthly consecutive record high, after having decreased slightly in January of this year. The FHFA HPI recorded a 1.57% increase in July, upward from a revised 0.03% rate in June.
Canada’s wildfire season is on track to be the second largest in at least the past two decades, trailing only last year’s record-breaking season, federal officials said Wednesday. Officials said above-normal temperatures and drought conditions across parts of Canada have continued to drive fire activity, with 5.3 million hectares burned so far, though they caution that number is preliminary. Outside of last year’s roughly 15 million hectares burned, federal records indicate only three other seasons have topped five million hectares, and the last was in 1995. Yan Boulanger, a research scientist with Natural Resources Canada, said climate change has contributed to earlier starts and later ends to the wildfire season, turning fire into a year-round phenomenon. …Western Canada has, as expected, been hit hardest this year, with about 70 per cent of the total area burned falling in British Columbia, Alberta, Northwest Territories and Saskatchewan, officials say.
MONTRÉAL — CDPQ, a global investment group [and the second-largest pension fund in Canada], and Chinook Forest Partners, a natural capital investment manager, announced the launch of a new investment platform that will deploy significant capital to build a diversified and high-quality portfolio of forestland in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. …Established in 2018, the Chinook team is made up of experienced forestland and natural capital investment professionals with comprehensive understanding of the natural capital and landscape investment space, as well as a vast network of landowners, forest products manufacturers, external partners, and natural capital investors across the United States. …Emmanuel Jaclot, Executive VP and Head of Infrastructure at CDPQ said “By investing in forestland, we are not only protecting valuable natural assets but also contributing to the transition towards a greener economy.”
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With record wildfires ravaging much of Canada again this summer, the imperative to reduce GHG emissions grows. Oil companies have been rightly called out for their significant contribution. But another sector, which to date has been mischaracterized by government and industry as carbon-neutral, is also playing a major role in driving the climate crisis. A new report, 