Continued increases in the price of North American lumber has importers chasing European wood, and social media truthers claiming the shortage is contrived. In related news: how much higher can building materials go; why haven’t UK housing prices collapsed; and CIBC’s perplexed view of New Brunswick’s timber royalty rates. Meanwhile: Conifex reports improved Q1; Structurlam’s Arkansas plant set to open; and more on Paper Excellence’s purchase of Domtar.
In Forestry/Climate news: BC’s auditor general says the province is failing to protect wildlife habitat; a new study on the benefits of thinning and fire in ponderosa forests; SFI kicks-off its 2021 Annual Conference today, FSC opens registration for its May 26 AGM; and the BC First Nations Forestry Council announces keynote for its June conference.
Finally, police trace stolen lumber to bucktooth bandits. No charges will be laid.
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog Editor
One of Western Canada’s largest forest-products businesses, Paper Excellence, moved into the U.S. market on Tuesday by launching a US$2.8-billion takeover of Domtar Corp., a company twice its size. …The total value of the acquisition, including debt, is US$3-billion. Privately owned Paper Excellence, based in Richmond, B.C., is controlled by Jackson Widjaja, a third-generation member of a billionaire Indonesian family that also owns one of Asia’s largest pulp and paper companies. Paper Excellence has 2,800 employees at seven facilities, mostly in British Columbia, and saw sales last year of $2.4-billion. Montreal-based Domtar employs 10,000 workers at 13 mills, mainly in the eastern United States, and 2020 sales were US$3.7-billion. …Regional players such as lumber company Interfor Corp. and pulp producer Mercer International Inc. are takeover targets, analyst Paul Quinn at RBC Capital Markets said in a recent report. Likely buyers include Canfor Corp., which has a $4.3-billion market capitalization. [We respect the copyrights of the source publication – full access may require a subscription]
CN is honoring 55 customers and supply chain partners for sustainability leadership as part of its EcoConnexions Partnership Program for 2021. EcoConnexions recognizes companies for their sustainable business practices and commitment “to reducing their environmental footprint and being part of the climate solution,” said CN, adding that its programs engage employees, communities, and customers and supply chain partners “to help us achieve our goals of reducing emissions, conserving resources and increasing biodiversity.” Acknowledging the 55 companies’ efforts (see list below), the Class I railroad is collaborating with Tree Canada to plant 100,000 trees this year in Canada and the United States. Honourees include: Canfor, Cascades Canada, Domtar, Kruger Products, Louisiana Pacific, Resolute FP Canada, West Fraser Mills, and Weyerhaeuser.
VANCOUVER, BC — Conifex Timber reported results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2021. EBITDA from continuing operations was $9.7 million versus negative EBITDA of $3.5 million in the first quarter of 2020. Net earnings were $4.5 million versus a loss in the year-earlier quarter of $0.18 per share. The results reflect significantly higher lumber prices, partially offset by a disruption in power production and reduced shipments reflecting rail car shortages. Chairman and CEO Ken Shields commented: “Our results in the 13-week reporting period were held back because we only operated our power plant for six weeks and were only able to ship 10 weeks of lumber production.”
British Columbia failed to adequately manage a conservation lands program aimed at protecting habitats for fish and wildlife species that are some of the most diverse in Canada, the auditor general says. Michael Pickup said the program conserves biologically productive estuaries and grasslands in B.C., as well as wildlife management areas including internationally recognized wetlands and important migratory bird habitat. “We found that the program, in fact, lacked strategic direction and most plans for wildlife management areas were not current, nor approved,” he said, referring to the Ministry of Forests…. “We also found that the regional staff had limited strategies to resolve unauthorized use of conservation lands and had not assessed which lands were most at risk from this use,” Pickup said. …Conservation areas include private lands that the ministry has acquired or leased, Crown lands that have been transferred to it, and lands that have been designated as wildlife management areas.
Vancouver, BC
Montreal – Robotic Research, LLC, a global leader in Automated Driving Systems (ADS), and FPInnovations, a Canadian private non-profit research and development center, announced today their collaboration to develop an off-road truck platooning system for the forest industry. This project will combine Robotic Research’s proven expertise as a global leader in self-driving technology with FPInnovations’ knowledge in forestry and transportation to adapt the truck platooning technology to off-highway environments. The multi-year project aims at accelerating the adoption of off-road automated-vehicle (AV) technology to improve safety and address an acute labour shortage, thereby improving the quality and viability of rural jobs where natural resources are located. Looking to the future, a successful project would not only benefit Canada’s forest industry, but other Canadian sectors such as mining resources and natural resources in Northern Canada.
OTTAWA, ON 
Today, the provincial government announced amendments to the Employment Standards Act that will bring in three days of paid sick leave related to COVID-19, such as having symptoms, self-isolating and waiting for a test result. Employers will be required to pay workers their full wages and the Province will reimburse employers without an existing sick leave program up to $200 per day for each worker to cover costs. WorkSafeBC will support the province’s short-term, paid sick leave for COVID-19 by developing an online application, which will be used by employers who are registered for WorkSafeBC coverage to apply for the employer reimbursement program. The online application will be available beginning next month.