Mercer International and West Fraser Timber announce an eight-week curtailment at Quesnel, BC mill. In related news: West Fraser Mills receives funding to study innovation opportunities; the Town of Smithers creates a portal on Canfor mill closures; Houston Pellet to remain open for now; and Nippon Paper set to make a decision on Australian paper plant. Meanwhile: Canadian lumber exports fall 10%, Russian lumber exports fall 25%; US wood pellet exports rise 10%; and global wood fibre costs for pulp trend up.
In Forestry/Climate news: good news on the Coulson firefighting aircraft that crashed in Australia; a new study reinforces carbon neutrality of biomass in the US Southeast; despite rains – California’s forests are still impacted by drought; a global study on the relative importance of forest management and climate change on ecosystems; and many more headlines on our website.
Finally, Crazy Canucks bring home best (wood) sled award in US tobogganing meet.
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog Editor
Plans by the American government to prolong tariffs that make softwood lumber from B.C. more expensive have drawn criticism. In late January, the U.S. Department of Commerce said that the U.S. plans to extend existing tariffs. …This so-called softwood lumber dispute has dragged on-and-off for nearly 25 years and contributed to the decline of the provincial industry and people in communities who rely on forestry. Sawmills were the largest manufacturing industry in B.C. in 2020, generating 12 per cent of all provincial revenues from manufactured goods, down from 16 per cent in 2006. …The American decision to extend tariffs is not yet final, but a trio of provincial ministers have condemned it in a joined statement. Forest Minister Bruce Ralston, Jobs Minister Brenda Bailey and Trade Minister Jagrup Brar said these tarrifs are making lumber and thereby housing more expensive, hurting people on both sides of the border during a time of inflation.
VANCOUVER, B.C. – West Fraser Timber announced the planned curtailment of operations at Cariboo Pulp & Paper located in Quesnel, BC, beginning in mid-April for a month and then for another month in the third quarter. Today’s decision is the result of the decline in availability of sawmill residuals. The fibre supply challenge in British Columbia is well documented. Infestation, fire, and government policy decisions have all impacted the amount of available fibre in the province. Downtime at Cariboo Pulp & Paper will help better align our production capacity this year with the available fibre supply. These plans may be adjusted should fibre forecasts change. Cariboo Pulp & Paper expects to mitigate some of the impact on its affected employees through vacation scheduling and alternative work assignments. Cariboo Pulp & Paper is jointly owned by West Fraser and Mercer International.
Mercer International announced that the operator of the Cariboo Pulp and Paper mill, in which Mercer has a joint venture interest, has announced a planned curtailment of operation beginning in mid-April for a month and then for another month in the third quarter. The announcement is the direct consequence of a decrease in availability of fiber, which is well documented in BC. Recent insect infestation, fire, and Government policy have all impacted the amount of available fiber in the region. Downtime at the mill will better align production capacity with the available fiber supply. These plans may be adjusted should fiber forecasts change. Mercer is a global forest products company with operations in Germany, the USA and Canada.
When Mayor Shane Brienen of Houston, B.C., thinks about the economic fallout of the impending closure of the town’s sawmill and the holes that the workers and their spouses will leave in the community. A range of pressures on British Columbia forests are reverberating this spring through Houston and other rural and northern communities, where sawmill, pellet and pulp closures are affecting hundreds of workers. Mayors say there’s still a future in the industry, but they will need support to realize it. Brienen said he considers Houston better prepared than others… The situation is different in Chetwynd where Canfor is permanently closing its sawmill and pellet plant, putting nearly 160 of the town’s nearly 2,300 people out of work. …Despite the challenges, the forest minister said he believes the future is bright. As B.C.’s annual allowable cut declines, Ralston said he wants to see a strong primary industry working in tandem with a revitalized value-added sector.
In 2022, Canada’s exports of lumber contracted 10.3% to 33.6 million m3. The value of exports decreased 20% to $10.8 billion. According to Lesprom Analytics, the average price of lumber lost 11% to $321 per m3. Canada decreased exports of lumber to the U.S. by 6.5% to 30.4 million m3 in 2022. Supplies to China fell by 40% to 1.1 million m3, and exports to Japan were less by 37% to 947 thousand m3. [END]
November total housing starts trailed 1.4% to finish at 72,372 units. Owner occupied housing fell 15.1%, whereas rental housing posted an 11.4% increase for November for the 21st consecutive monthly gain. The mansion condominium market fell 1.8% in November. Wooden housing slowed 7% to 41,751 units. Post and beam starts fell 8% to 32,558 units. Wooden prefab starts were down 2.6% to 951 units as did total prefab which declined to 9,847 units. Platform frame starts fell 3.3% to 8,242 units. Results of 2×4 starts by housing type were as follows: single family custom homes fell 6% to 2,564 units, rental housing eased 1.4% to 4,768 units and built for sale spec housing dropped 5.4% to 886 units. …In contrast to housing, the non-residential market is registering positive gains. November total non-residential construction starts increased 3.4% to 4,096 units. Total November wood non-residential starts increased 12.9% to 1,657 units. 
U.S. wood pellet exports reached 917,175.4 metric tons in December, according to data released by the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service. The 917,175.4 metric tons of wood pellets exported in December was up from both 694,199.7 metric tons in November and 798,883.6 metric tons in December 2021. The U.S. exported wood pellets to more than a dozen countries in December. The U.K. was the top destination at 360,711.6 metric tons, followed by Japan at 220,953.7 metric tons and the Netherlands at 212,799.6 metric tons. The value of U.S. wood pellet exports reached $152.95 million in December, up from both $120.94 million the previous month and $101.07 million in December 2021. …Total U.S. wood pellet exports for 2022 reached 8.98 million metric tons at a value of $1.54 billion, compared to 7.45 million metric tons exported in 2021 at a value of $1.05 billion. 
Western markets turned out to be inaccessible for Russian lumber producers after the introduction of sanctions against Russia. Russian lumber exporters were unable to redirect exports from European markets to Asian ones. Russia reduced lumber exports by 25% to 22 million m3 in 2022. The export value fell by 18% to $5 billion. This does not include exports to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Belarus and Armenia, which accounted for about 1 million m3 of lumber in 2021. In 2022, China, Uzbekistan, Egypt, Japan, Azerbaijan, Estonia, Tajikistan, South Korea, Finland, Germany reduced purchases of Russian lumber, all these countries together imported more than 20 million m3 of lumber. China reduced the purchase of lumber from Russia by 10% to 14 million m3 last year. …Like a year ago, Uzbekistan was the largest consumer of Russian lumber in Central Asia. …At the same time Russia increased lumber exports to Turkey by 45%, up to 120 thousand m3 in 2022.
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BETHESDA, Maryland — Enviva, the world’s leading producer of woody biomass, along with the U.S. Industrial Pellet Association (USIPA), welcome a recent study, titled “
TORONTO 
If You Want To Change Your Culture, You Have To Change Your Questions. The art of asking versus telling. Utilizing open-ended questions is not as easy as you may think. Engagement – specifically how we ask questions – is critical to building the trust, psychological safety, relationships and accountability necessary for culture change. This BC Forest Safety Council webinar is intended for forest workers/supervisors in leadership positions. It will help set you on a path to creating conversations that matter and will give you a clear outlook on how to create a culture of connection. Join us for this presentation hosted by: Shannon Overland, MA, CEC, ACC Principal consultant, DEKRA Strategic Consulting. With over 30 years of leadership and management experience, Shannon Overland empowers and engages employees with proven learning, development, coaching and organizational change strategies.