Mercer seeks a capital infusion after deferring $25.8M interest payment. In related news: BC’s support for Howe Sound Pulp & Paper has renewed debate over Canfor’s Northwood closure; Kentucky sawmills face mounting closures as tariffs and fuels costs rise; and ERA’s Kevin Mason says diesel prices are hitting forestry companies across the supply chain. Meanwhile: Trump’s Section 301 tariff faces a court challenge; FPAC’s Derek Nighbor says replacing lost US exports will take time; lumber futures fell to a two-year low; and US job growth slowed in September.
In Forestry news: the Trump administration will push to remove grizzly bears from the endangered species list; pine beetles are killing Colorado’s ponderosa pine; conservation groups want to halt a Tongass timber sale; hundreds rallied at the BC Legislature calling for old-growth protections; and Mosaic opened three Vancouver Island backcountry gates in a public-access pilot. Meanwhile: inspection inefficiencies and skilled-labour shortages are barriers to mass timber housing in Ontario.
Finally, Weyerhaeuser is scouting up to 10 sites for biocarbon plants for steelmaking.
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog News Editor