Stella-Jones and Acadian Timber report positive Q1, 2024 earnings, Cascades reports Q1 net loss. In related news: Richmond Plywood upgrades its panel repair system; West Fraser faces pushback at Bragg Creek open house; and JD Irving proposes 58-turbine wind farm. Meanwhile: the search is on for new Executive Directors by the Forest Enhancement Society of BC and the BC Forest Practices Board.
In Forestry/Climate news: Canadian and BC-focused GHG reports suggest a lack of progress; the mental toll of fighting forest fires—from those the front line; the growing threat to longleaf pines in the US South; ENGOs file lawsuit against logging in North Carolina; and Forest Wars – the Australian version.
Finally, why—after years of being told paper bags are good… are they suddenly bad?
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog Editor
PRINCE GEORGE, BC — The United Steelworkers union (USW) welcomed over 30 workers from Winton Homes Ltd., part of the Sinclar Group Forest Products family in Prince George. These workers have been certified by the B.C. Labour Relations Board to become part of the USW. …Brian O’Rourke, President of USW Local 1-2017 said, “Their decision to join our union highlights the importance of collective representation and solidarity in the workplace.” Winton Homes is a prominent provider of high-quality prefab home packages and structural building components to owner builders, contractors, developers and builders, plays a crucial role in the construction industry. The USW is the largest private-sector union in North America, with 850,000 members in Canada, the United States and the Caribbean.
PORT ANGELES, Washington — The Olympic Peninsula’s legislative delegation discussed priorities for next year. …An issue raised with lawmakers was the forestry industry with some attendees expressing concern about more state Department of Natural Resources’ timberlands being moved into conservation status. Revenue from state timberlands funds junior taxing districts and local education, and the local timber industry provides a number of well-paying jobs. Lawmakers said they were concerned about the health of the timber industry and said finding a balance between a robust industry and environmental stewardship is difficult. …“My view is that if we could take those trees and turn them into mass timber products and build buildings with those trees, that will sequester that carbon,” Tharinger said. …Van De Wege said. “I’m very concerned about taking more land offline. …I worry about a collapse where sawmills are going out of business.”
MONTREAL, Quebec — Stella-Jones announced financial results for its first quarter ended March 31, 2024. Sales in the first quarter of 2024 were up 9% to $775 million, compared to $710 million last year. Excluding the contribution from the acquisition of Baldwin Pole and Piling Company, sales were up , or 7%. The increase was driven by a 10% organic sales growth of the Company’s infrastructure businesses, namely utility poles, railway ties and industrial products, partially offset by lower residential lumber and logs and lumber sales when compared to the same period last year. …Record first quarter EBITDA was up 30% to $156 million, a margin of 20.1% and net income of $77 million was up 32% from Q1 2023. Eric Vachon, CEO of Stella-Jones, said “Our Q1 performance reflects the ongoing robust fundamental market trends in our infrastructure product categories and an improvement over our solid fourth quarter results.”
Canada has slipped to 62nd place out of 67 ranked countries on the latest Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI). This downgrade of five ranks underscores the nation’s dire performance in critical areas such as greenhouse gas emissions, renewable energy adoption, and energy efficiency, with its climate policy rates deemed “low.” The CCPI, a monitoring tool published annually by Germanwatch since 2005, evaluates countries’ climate protection efforts. The latest report highlights Canada’s dismal performance despite its status as the sixth-largest crude oil producer and the fifth-largest natural gas producer globally. …In response to mounting pressure, the Canadian government has proposed regulations for a net-zero electricity grid by 2035 and pledged investments in renewable energy and grid modernization projects. However, challenges such as the absence of a national power grid and disconnected regional grids hamper clean energy deployment.
