Record high lumber prices are spurring speculation of more merger and acquisition activity in 2021. In related news: pent-up demand will keep prices high; US single-family sales rise 4.3% in January; Resolute’s incoming CEO is bullish on lumber; Canfor reports record results for 2020 despite pulp sector woes; West Fraser announces share buyback plan; and Pinnacle, Cascade and Rayonier Advanced Materials report strong Q4, full year results.
In other news: Canada’s wood pellet industry says trees must go to their highest and best use; US Forest Owners are helping tackle climate change; timber is at bottom of list of commodities causing deforestation; and Drax purchase of Pinnacle is panned by NRDC.
Finally, US and Canada celebrate wood use and design while cement producers take umbrage.
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog Editor
SFI Partners to Create Diverse, Resilient Forestry Sector Workforce: The Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) is working to overcome the shriking workforce challenge by attracting more and diverse talent to the sector across the United States and Canada through its innovative Project Learning Tree (PLT) environmental education and career pathway initiatives. …WoodWorks Showcases U.S.’s First 6-Over-2 Podium Project: With support from WoodWorks, a developer in Sacramento, California, has completed the country’s first six-story, light wood-frame structure and wood mezzanine over a two-level concrete podium. WoodWorks has documented this project in its latest case study. …Low Carbon and Mass Timber Among Top Findings of Think Wood Trends Survey: Think Wood’s latest survey on timber trends has revealed the top five topics that specifiers and designers want to explore in 2021, as well as their predictions on which trends are most likely to shape the market this year. 
VANCOUVER, BC — West Fraser Timber announced that it has entered into an automatic share purchase plan with a broker in order to facilitate repurchases of West Fraser’s common shares under its previously announced normal course issuer bid. West Fraser previously announced that it had received approval from the Toronto Stock Exchange to purchase up to 6,044,000 of its Shares, representing approximately 5% of the Company’s issued and outstanding Shares, during the 12-month period commencing February 17, 2021 and terminating February 16, 2022. The Company will make purchases pursuant to the NCIB on the open market.
VANCOUVER, BC
The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development jointly announced the following new residential sales statistics for January 2021. …Sales of new single-family houses in January 2021 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 923,000, according to estimates released jointly today by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. This is 4.3 percent (±18.1 percent)* above the revised December rate of 885,000 and is 19.3 percent (±19.5 percent)* above the January 2020 estimate of 774,000. The median sales price of new houses sold in January 2021 was $346,400. The average sales price was $408,800. The seasonally-adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of January was 307,000. This represents a supply of 4.0 months at the current sales rate.
The United Steelworkers union Local 1-1937 (USW) and the Huu-ay-aht First Nations (Huu-ay-aht) announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to establish a process for the parties to work together to ensure the Tree Farm Licence 44 (TFL 44) undercut volume is allocated to Huu-ay-aht and to develop a job creation and training plan through the TFL 44 Woodlands Contractors that will contribute to economic revitalization of the Alberni Valley forest sector. In pursuing the goals of the MOU, the parties will be guided by Huu-ay-aht’s three sacred principles: hishuk ma tsawak (“everything is one”); uuathluk (“taking care of”); and Iisaak (“utmost respect”) and a strong commitment to reconciliation and meeting the principles and standards of the United Nations’ Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).
LONDON – An expected dash by big corporations for offsets to meet their climate targets has prompted financial exchanges to launch carbon futures contracts to capitalise on what could be a multi-billion dollar market. It’s a step change. Carbon offsets, generated by emissions reduction projects, such as tree planting or shifts to less polluting fuels, have struggled for years to gain credibility, but as climate action has become urgent, their market is expected to grow to as much as $50 billion by 2030. …The futures market would allow companies to buy a simple credit, effectively a promise to reduce a tonne of emissions but not specifying where that would take place, in contrast to the existing market that offers direct access to particular offset projects. …green groups are concerned companies may place too much emphasis on offsets which, if priced too cheaply, could lead them to focus less on cutting their own emissions.