When the boss of the us Lumber Coalition took the podium at the Global Wood Summit in Vancouver, he did not have to tell his mostly Canadian audience to hold their applause. “I’m not going to make a lot of eye contact,” Zoltan van Heyningen said. …Canadian wood used to flow into the United States at quite a clip. Exports are now running at levels last seen in the 1970s, thanks to the fact that softwood lumber is the subject of the longest-running trade dispute between the two countries. …Trade war aside, Canada’s lumber industry is suffering, thanks to wobbling prices, wildfires and insect infestation that have led to mill closures and job cuts. …Canadians want a new softwood-lumber agreement. The US is in no hurry to give them one. …Kevin Mason, with ERA Forest Products Research said, “This is a battle going back to the early 1800s. It’s not going to change.” [to access the full story an Economist subscription is required]