New Report Asserts Softwood Lumber’s Economic Impacts

November 14, 2017
Category: Today's Takeaway

A new report by Forest Economic Advisors—commissioned by the Softwood Lumber Board—says softwood lumber manufacturing and related downstream industries support 776,000 jobs in the US with a payroll of more than $46 billion.

In other Business news, the softwood dispute is a big worry for US apartment developers but high lumber prices are mitigating the impact in Burns Lake BC; two Saskatchewan companies report that they are doing ok and Business in Vancouver says forestry companies fared better than mining companies over the past five years.

In Forestry news: the mayor of Cochrane Ontario says northern families are being sacrificed for misplaced extremist ideals; a Nova Scotia journalist says the use of a wood coffin in the ‘forest funeral’ protest is not hypocritical; a Montreal professor says Canada should specialize in resource development [over manufacturing]; Canopy’s founder is winning converts with her gospel of deforestation; and Puff’s goes eco-friendly by earning FSC certification.

Finally, more than 150 wood pellet manufacturing mills operate across the US—the newest/greenest being in Pine Bluff Arkansas—providing the primary heating fuel for more than 2.2 million households, according to the US Department of Energy.

— Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog Editor

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