Canada’s forestry industry plans to divert a significant share of its wood exports from the US to new international markets. …The aim to send some 1bn board feet to alternative markets underscores how Trump’s tariffs are starting to reshape some global supply chains, although tensions between the US and Canada over wood exports have simmered for more than half a century. …“The US simply needs to fact-check better before they end up with a large shortage of lumber that may cause further housing shortages,” said Rick Doman, chair of FII BC. …Zoltan van Heyningen for the US Lumber Coalition said the American timber industry could replace 1bn board feet of Canadian imports “without batting an eyelid”. …The NAHB says at just 64% of capacity it “will take years” for US domestic lumber production to expand to meet industry demands. …Mike McDonald, a UK-based consultant, acknowledged it would take time to establish confidence among European consumers. [to access the full story a FT subscription is required]
HONG KONG — It is an image that just a year ago would have seemed unfathomable: the Canadian and Chinese leaders standing side by side. …The tide began turning early last month… Prime Minister Carney and leader Xi Jinping met on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation summit in South Korea – the first time leaders of the two countries had met in eight years. …That has since been followed by another ministerial visit to China. China also reinstated Canada to its approved travel list for tour groups. …But as leaders in Ottawa and Beijing signal it may be time to start doing business again, some experts warn China could be attempting to exploit Canada at a vulnerable moment. …Meanwhile, the US has increasingly ramped up its economic war on its northern neighbor. …Beijing has said it will drop the canola tariffs if Ottawa does the same for Chinese electric vehicles.
CASTLEGAR, BC
OTTAWA, ON – Canadian Forest Owners (CFO) appeared before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Natural Resources today as part of its study on the forest industry, which is being severely affected by the ongoing softwood lumber dispute. Andrew de Vries, Chief Executive Officer of CFO, and Vincent Miville, Vice-Chair of CFO and Executive Director of the Quebec Federation of Forest Producers, presented recommendations aimed at better recognizing the strategic role of forest owners and the importance of private forests in Canada. CFO represents 480,000 forest owners who collectively own about 10% of Canada’s forested land, but account for 20% of the country’s timber production. These owners supply wood to the forest industry, contribute to regional economies, and provide essential environmental services to rural communities. “The lack of understanding of private forests is a blind spot in Canada’s forest and trade policy, and as a result, support programs for the sector often overlook their essential contribution,” said de Vries.
The softwood timber tariffs levied by the U.S. have begun to hit the lumber industry hard. Citing a drooping softwood lumber demand, compounded by higher duties and additional tariffs that have reached 45 per cent for U.S. markets, West Fraser Timber announced Thursday its plans to permanently shutter both its Augusta, Ga., and 100 Mile House lumber mills by the end of 2025. Approximately 165 employees at the 100 Mile House mill will be laid off, as the company says it can’t secure an adequate volume of economically viable timber. The closing of the mill drops West Fraser’s capacity by 160 million board feet. …The closure of the Augusta lumber mill is a result of challenging lumber demand, and the loss of economically viable residual outlets, which combined has compromised the mill’s long-term viability. Around 130 employees will be laid off there, and further reduce West Fraser’s capacity by 140 million board feet.
TORONTO – United Steelworkers union (USW) National Director Marty Warren issued the following statement on the federal Budget 2025: This budget recognizes something workers have been saying for years. Canada needs to build more at home and expand its industrial capacity. The commitments on Buy-Canadian procurement, industrial strategy and trade enforcement are important steps forward and reflect priorities Steelworkers have been advocating for across the country. There are meaningful investments in steel, forestry, critical minerals and manufacturing – sectors that support thousands of good union jobs and anchor regional economies and communities. We welcome tools that can help stabilize supply chains and strengthen domestic production. …Buy-Canadian rules must be enforced, industrial dollars must translate into real jobs and production on the ground, and forestry and industrial communities need long-term certainty, not temporary relief. We see steps in the right direction. Now it’s about follow-through.
On August 5, 2025, 
Forest Products Association of Canada put forward 19 practical recommendations for Budget 2025 focusing on three areas where immediate federal action can make a tangible difference: Smarter regulation to improve competitiveness; Clear signals to improve investment confidence; and Stronger trade and market access measures to protect Canadian jobs. …Hundreds of rural and northern communities depend on a strong forest sector. The Government of Canada’s $1.25 billion softwood package is welcome support for the immediate term, but finding a path to a more certain trading arrangement with the United States remains the Canadian forest sector’s top priority. …The inclusion of Investment Tax Credits (ITCs) for biomass projects in Budget 2025 is a welcome, long-overdue step for Canada’s forest sector. …With the right tax measures in place, these projects can modernize mill operations, sustain and grow jobs in rural and northern communities, and strengthen Canada’s position as a secure producer of renewable energy.
Members of the management team for West Fraser’s 100 Mile Lumber appeared in front of the District of 100 Mile House Council to answer questions about the permanent closure of their 100 Mile House mill by the end of December. …Mayor Maureen Pinkney began the meeting, noting that the closure is sad news and that she was surprised they were going straight to closure without any curtailment. …Rob Baron, West Fraser’s regional manager of operations, said “The conditions that precipitated the decision to go to permanent closure are really entirely related to long-term viability related to the high cost of saw logs coming to this mill”. …They’re currently getting their shutdown coordinator set up and have resources on site to help their employees through the transition. …Baron said West Fraser doesn’t have any plans for what they’ll be doing with the property in the future, but welcomes anyone interested in the facility to contact them.
Campbell River, BC — La-kwa sa muqw Forestry Limited Partnership (LKSM) is ready to sit down at the bargaining table with the USW at any time, and has been ready throughout this strike, which it has made clear many times to the USW. However the USW has repeatedly refused to do so, as recently as October 24. Despite repeated invitations from LKSM, the USW has also declined both meaningful negotiations and mediation to assist the bargaining process, unnecessarily prolonging this months-long strike. “LKSM’s First Nations shareholders are dismayed and extremely frustrated by the provincial government’s failure to help both parties to make progress through the appointment of a mediator, especially given the hardships the forestry industry is facing right now,” says Nanwakolas Council President Dallas Smith. “Mediation is an opportunity to bring the parties together …and yet BC still has failed to appoint a mediator after all this time.”
BEIJING — China will restore soybean import licences for three US firms and lift its suspension on US log imports starting November 10, its customs authority said on Friday in another sign of easing trade tensions between the two nations. …The halt on US log imports was a retaliatory measure after US President Trump’s March 1 order to investigate lumber imports. Investor sentiment improved after Trump met Chinese leader Xi Jinping in South Korea, reducing fears that the world’s two largest economies might abandon efforts to resolve their trade disputes. Following the meeting, Beijing lifted tariffs on some US farm goods. …However, traders remain cautious, as a 10% tariff on all US imports remains in effect, limiting expectations for a broader recovery in trade flows.
KINGWOOD, W.Va. — Multiple volunteer fire departments and emergency medical services responded Wednesday night to a fire at Appalachian Wood Pellets that affected multiple buildings. Officials reported the blaze has been contained, and no injuries were reported. Preston County Office of Emergency Management Director Justin Wolfe said initial reports of the blaze at 383 Mill Road were received at 11:33 p.m. Wednesday. …Initial reports noted that crews mounted an attack against the blaze, with additional fire departments being requested for assistance. Based on reports, the fire affected structures outside the main plant, including an open trailer with material, an open roofed storage structure and a belt-to-silo apparatus, and encroached on a maintenance building.
Weyerhaeuser will use $102 million of proceeds from a municipal bond sale to help finance the construction of solid waste disposal facilities at its engineered wood plant in Arkansas. The Resource Recovery Revenue Bonds Series 2025 will be sold by the Arkansas Development Finance Authority, which will then lend the money to the timber and forest products company. …The bonds are special and limited revenue obligations of the issuer. Weyerhaeuser will use the money to help finance a portion of the costs of the acquisition, construction, equipping and installation of solid waste disposal facilities at its TimberStrand plant under construction near the city of Monticello in Drew County. Proceeds will also be used to pay the costs of bond issuance. TimberStrand is a brand name for a type of engineered wood product called laminated strand lumber and is manufactured by Weyerhaeuser. 
Stora Enso is initiating a strategic review of its Central European sawmills and building solutions operations. The 2026 review will cover one business unit of Wood Products business area, including seven sawmills in Austria, Czechia, Poland, and Lithuania, and further processing units with three cross-laminated-timber (CLT) mills, as well as wood procurement, and international sales and distribution operations. Whilst the business in scope has a strong position in an attractive market, it does not bring strategic or operational synergies for Stora Enso’s core renewable packaging operations. …different scenarios will be assessed for the business and assets in scope, including the possibility to divest the business, to strengthen Stora Enso’s strategic focus on renewable materials and packaging. The synergetic sawmills in Northern Europe, including further processing operations, in Sweden, Finland, Estonia and Latvia are not part of the assessment, and this part of the business remains strategically important to Stora Enso going forward.
