West Fraser production cuts sent lumber futures higher even as rising interest rates put a chill on the housing market. In related news: Canada’s forest products sector calls for action on supply chain issues; and New Brunswick lumber producers plan to appeal the US lumber duty ruling. In other Business news: the UK’s Business Secretary says importing US wood pellets ‘makes no sense‘; and GreenFirst and KP Tissue report their Q2, 2022 results.
In other news: Nick Smith says defining US old-growth is futile when our forests are burning; Vancouver Island is expecting more wildfires; climate change threatens Michigan and Pennsylvania forests; and life returns a year after California’s Sierra Nevada fires.
Finally, Kalesnikoff Lumber extends a helping hand to a displaced Ukrainian family.
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog Editor
Ask any business sector what the basic principles of supply chain management are – and the answer invariably comes down to affordable and reliable transportation services. Unfortunately for Canada’s forest products sector, the present system is neither affordable nor reliable. …In a recent survey of FPAC member companies, 88% of respondents agreed that rail service and fulfillment issues are “having a negative impact on customer confidence and global competitiveness. …Concurrent to this is the recurring problem of Canadian mills not getting enough rail cars to meet ongoing demand. All these issues have grown out a system wherein Canadian National and Canadian Pacific effectively operate dual monopolies across the country. …The federal government can play a much more effective role in addressing critical supply chain issues through fostering productive dialogue among stakeholders. FPAC has recently submitted a detailed set of 
West Fraser Timber says it is cutting production at three of its northern B.C. mills partly because of a lack of timber supplies, resulting in a loss of 147 jobs. …The shift reductions will mean a loss of 77 jobs at its Fraser Lake Sawmill, 15 positions at Williams Lake Lumber, and 55 jobs at Quesnel Plywood. The company says it expects to reduce the impact on affected employees by providing work opportunities at other West Fraser operations. …Access to timber has become an increasing challenge in BC. …Fraser Lake Mayor Sarrah Storey said she was shocked by the announcement, despite the company previously making production and job cuts in northern B.C. in 2019. …”Generations of families worked at West Fraser sawmills, like parents and grandparents, then these youth that are now young adults moved into the system and they don’t have that same opportunity,” she said. 
New countervailing and anti-dumping duties announced last week by the U.S. Department of Commerce are unfair and will be appealed, said the New Brunswick Lumber Producers association. “While any movement is welcomed, we maintain our position that these duties are unjust,” said Jerome Pelletier, chair of the New Brunswick Lumber Producers (NBLP) and vice-president of J.D. Irving Limited’s sawmills division. “New, lowered countervailing duties for J.D. Irving seem to agree with our position that the province’s softwood industry is not subsidized, and that New Brunswick’s mills are being treated unfairly. We believe the historic Maritime provinces’ exemption from U.S. lumber duties should be reinstated.” The association said New Brunswick’s crown royalty system… has been in place since the 1982 Crown Lands and Forests Act and has historically been a key reason why the maritime provinces were excluded from U.S. softwood countervailing duties.
The UK’s business secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, has said importing wood pellets from Louisiana, US, is not sustainable and “doesn’t make any sense”. …Kwarteng made the comments during a meeting with a group of cross-party backbench MPs. …Kwarteng said: ““There’s no point getting [wood pellets] from Louisiana . . . that isn’t sustainable.” He continued to say that importing pellets from the state has “a huge cost financially and environmentally” …Drax has been gradually converting its coal-fired power station to biomass power. It imports 80% of the wood pellets it uses in the Yorkshire plant from North America. …A Drax spokesperson said it “is one of Europe’s lowest carbon intensity power generators and our sustainable biomass is critical to UK energy security”. “The business secretary has always been clear biomass has a key role to play in boosting Britain’s energy security,” a government spokesperson said.
