Atlas Engineered Products launched Canada’s first robotic roof truss manufacturing line in Clinton, Ontario. In other Company news: Howe Sound Pulp & Paper workers were exposed to toxic gas; Weyerhaeuser and TimberHP partner on wood fibre insulation; Cambium acquired Urban Evolutions; and the Hardwood Review reported 151 US hardwood sawmill and yard closures since 2023. In Finance news: Canada’s economy lost 68,000 jobs, Deloitte warns of slower growth, and Numera says interest rates may moderate; while in the United States — the remodeling market is stable; mortgage rates hit 7.4%; and sawmill utilization improved to 76.5%.
In Forestry news: the man responsible for a Saskatchewan wildfire was sentenced to six years in prison; ecologist Michelle Mack says forest management can reduce wildfire emissions; BC Timber Sales extended consultation on Mount Rose Swanson logging; Lake Cowichan acquired 100 acres from Mosaic; and Forests Canada partnered with U-Haul. Meanwhile, a UK report warns that expanding biofuel production could increase pressure on forests; and BCIT is seeking industry expertise for a new wood products program.
Finally, Hurricane Isaias is approaching the US Gulf Coast, threatening a storm surge and damaging winds.
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog News Editor
CLINTON, Ontario
The US hardwood industry is still working through a deep capacity contraction. At the 2026 National Hardwood Lumber Association convention, Hardwood Review said it had identified 151 publicly announced sawmill and yard closures since the start of 2023, while other presentations highlighted a larger role for log exports and NHLA’s longer-term efforts to develop new structural and value-added markets for hardwoods. Highlights include:
Canada lost 68,000 jobs in September, according to Statistics Canada, marking a second straight month of losses. The unemployment rate ticked up by 0.1 percentage points to 6.5 per cent, which is where it stood at the start of 2026. Economists polled ahead of the release had predicted employers added 9,200 positions in September. The decline follows 42,000 job losses in August, which came as a surprise to economists and snapped a hot streak for the labour market. …Statistics Canada says job losses were split between full- and part-time work and were concentrated in the public sector. The decline was concentrated in youth aged 15 to 24, who accounted for 48,000 job losses, according to the data agency. But the pool of young workers also shrank in September, leaving the unemployment rate for that group relatively unchanged at 13 per cent.
The Canadian economy proved more resilient than feared earlier this year. Now, while many hope domestic infrastructure and investment projects will help the economy grow and boost its export diversification, the country is likely facing a period of slower growth in the short term. That’s why Deloitte Canada recently raised its forecast for this year but cut next year’s growth forecast from 2 to 1.6 per cent, a figure that accounts for Canada’s retaliatory tariffs but not the Sept. 15 expansion or the Sept. 29 import bans. To better understand where the economy has proven most resilient, and where future challenges lie, National Post reached out to Deloitte Canada’s Chief Economist Dawn Desjardins for some insights. ….What has kept Canada’s economy afloat so far, and why do you expect that resilience to weaken? …Dawn Desjardins: But for 2027, all the events of recent weeks and months certainly suggest that it’s having an impact on Canadian business confidence, Canadian consumer confidence. [A National Post subscription may be required for full access to this story]
In the third quarter of 2026, the NAHB Remodeling Market Index (RMI) posted a reading of 62, up one point compared to the previous quarter. The RMI has remained within a narrow band between 59 and 70 for the past four years. Remodeler sentiment remains the standout sector within the housing industry, when compared to its single-family and multifamily counterparts. Despite sentiment remaining stable, remodelers report that economic uncertainty is making some potential customers hesitant to move forward with projects. Labor shortages, exacerbated by immigration enforcement and competition from data center construction, are extending the time it takes to complete projects. Nevertheless, remodeling is gaining share in the overall construction market, as it is somewhat less sensitive than new construction to the current elevated interest rates. NAHB’s projection for remodeling activity will remain stable in 2026 and grow slightly in 2027, which is consistent with today’s reading.
Mortgage rates increased again this week, with the average 30-year rate hitting 7.4 percent for the first time since November 2023, Freddie Mac reported. The average 30-year mortgage rate rose 12 basis points from last week, when it was 7.28 percent, according to the government-sponsored company. This rate has risen for seven consecutive weeks and has sat above 7 percent for three weeks straight — the first such stretch since April 2024 and May 2024. …Home loan borrowing costs have spiked amid the U.S.’s ongoing war with Iran and a global bond market sell-off, as investors flee the market over persistent inflation and elevated oil prices. The week before the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran, the average 30-year mortgage rate was 142 basis points less. The 10-year U.S. Treasury bond yield similarly rose following the war. …Brent crude oil, the international benchmark, is trading at more than $103 per barrel as of Thursday afternoon.
Capacity utilization at U.S. sawmills and wood preservation plants rose to 76.5% in the second quarter from 70.8% in the previous quarter, according to the Census Bureau. That was the highest since the second quarter of 2025, when it was 77.6%. The Federal Reserve’s industrial production index for sawmills and wood preservation averaged 108.4 in the quarter, up 4.1% from the previous quarter and up 0.7% from a year earlier. Utilization at makers of veneer, plywood and engineered wood products rose to 75.5% from 67.8% in the previous quarter (65.5% a year earlier), while at other wood product manufacturers it rose to 73.3% from 70.1% (67.9% a year earlier). The survey measures actual output as a share of full production capability, so it shows how hard plants are running rather than how much capacity exists. The estimates are subject to revision.
UK — When energy supplies are disrupted, governments have little choice but to move fast. …Biofuels can offer an immediate, homegrown answer. But without strong safeguards and global policy coordination, rapid expansion of mandates can encourage the clearing of more forests, create more pressure on farmland and divert crops from food markets, raising prices and leaving some communities struggling to afford to eat. Those kinds of trade-offs do not mean we have solved energy insecurity but merely shifted the cost somewhere else — often onto the people and places with the least power to absorb it. This is what makes the warning at the heart of a new paper so urgent. The report, developed through a partnership between Chatham House and the Forest Stewardship Council, estimates that policy changes introduced in response to the Mideast Gulf energy crisis could drive a 70% increase in global biofuel production by 2030 and require an additional 36 million hectares of land for feedstocks.