Daily News for April 29, 2024

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Business & Politics

Outlook for B.C.’s forestry sector in 2024 not so rosy

By Nelson Bennett
Business in Vancouver
April 27, 2024
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Russ Taylor & Paul Quinn

Canadian lumber output was down more than 20% for the better part of 2023, compared to 2022, and even lower in B.C. — a reflection of higher interest rates and muted global economic growth, according to a Global Consulting Alliance forest sector outlook. And the first half of 2024 may not be much better for the forest sector. Forest sector analyst Russ Taylor noted that lumber prices have recently fallen below US$400 per thousand board feet — the break-even point for many producers in B.C., as well as the U.S. “We’re sort of treading water,” Taylor said. “The U.S. south is losing money,” he added. “They’re below break-even. They’re in worse shape right now than B.C. mills are.” Lumber demand has not come back yet in 2024 the way he expected, Taylor said. …He expects more curtailments this year. “That will put supply and demand back into balance,” he said. “I think the second half of the year should be better.”

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Cash crunch puts Surrey’s Teal Jones Group into court protection from creditors

By Derrick Penner
Vancouver Sun
April 26, 2024
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Teal Jones Group, the multi-generational B.C. forestry firm with three mills and some 400 employees in the Lower Mainland, filed for court protection from its creditors Wednesday as dwindling revenues left it without the cash to pay its bills. B.C. Supreme Court Justice Gordon Weatherill granted Teal Jones a stay of insolvency proceedings, giving the company a chance to raise the cash it needs, including through the sale of assets such as land holdings on Haida Gwaii. Historically, Teal Jones had been able to run profitable operations and reinvest those profits in the business but faced a growing cash crunch through 2023, company vice-president Gerrie Kotze said in an affidavit to Teal Jones’s court petition. …Teal Jones was also the logging company at the centre of old growth logging protests at Fairy Creek on Vancouver Island, which the company said cost it $40 million. …Its U.S. holdings now consist of operations in Sumas, Wash., Virginia, Oklahoma, Mississippi and its 57% stake in the new mill under construction in Louisiana, which Teal Jones has put up for sale as part of its court proceedings.

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Data: Industrial plant in Missoula emits hundreds of tons of air pollutants each year

By David Erickson
The Missoulian
April 26, 2024
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, US West

Missoula, Montana — The Roseburg Forest Products plant in Missoula emits hundreds of tons of pollutants into the air every year, including carbon monoxide, ammonia, sulfur dioxide, particulate matter and volatile organic compounds, according to records from the Montana Department of Environmental Quality. The large factory on Missoula’s Northside near Interstate 90, which makes particleboard, was built in 1969. Roseburg Forest Products, based in Oregon, purchased the plant from Louisiana-Pacific in 2003. The plant employs about 150 workers. Earlier this spring, Roseburg Forest Products announced that the facility is closing for good in late May due to Roseburg’s decision to exit the particleboard manufacturing business and focus on other products. All the workers will lose their jobs and there has been no indication that the plant will be sold to a new operator. The Missoulian requested and received the emissions reports from 2022 and 2023 from the Montana DEQ for the Roseburg facility in Missoula.

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Wood products closures have ripple effects on Montana’s timber economy

By Griffen Smith
Helena Independent Record
April 26, 2024
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, US West

State and federal timberland around central Montana could bring in less money as the price for transporting logs increases, a trend that has been growing as fewer mills operate near the state’s expansive forests. Timber sales around Seeley Lake could drop the most. Pyramid Mountain Lumber, the town’s mill, plans to close next month unless a new buyer helps the business stay open. Pyramid General Manager Todd Johnson told the Missoulian on Friday that one group has made a proposal to keep the company in business, and a couple more investors still have interest as well. Johnson said Pyramid Mountain Lumber is reviewing all the interested groups, but will not make a final decision until the May 15 deadline to find a buyer. The mill has some wiggle room for a couple weeks after that date in case of last-minute changes to proposals.

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Wood, Paper & Green Building

Government of Canada invests in launch of second production line at Les Pliages Apaulo

By Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions
Cision Newswire
April 29, 2024
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada East

WATERVILLE, QC—Supporting business growth contributes to economic development in Quebec’s regions. That is why Canada Economic Development announced a repayable contribution of $500,000 for Les Pliages Apaulo Inc. This CED assistance will enable the business to improve its productivity by adding a second production line. Created in 1988 by the Compagna family, Les Pliages Apaulo manufactures different molded plywood products for the furniture industry and the corrugated cardboard manufacturing industry. Acquired by Estrie entrepreneurs in 2022, the business will install a second production line to better support its growth by expanding its operations. CED’s funding will focus on the acquisition and installation of a robotic cell for a cutting and sanding station.

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Forestry

Northbound expansion of deer bad for caribou

The Kelowna Daily Courier
April 26, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

As the climate changes, animals are doing what they can to adapt. Researchers from UBC Okanagan—which includes partners from Biodiversity Pathways’ Wildlife Science Centre, the Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute, the University of Alberta, and Environment and Climate Change Canada—wanted to evaluate why deer densities in the boreal forest are rapidly increasing. Over the past century, white-tailed deer have greatly expanded their range in North America, explains Melanie Dickie, a doctoral student with UBC Okanagan’s Wildlife Restoration Ecology Lab. In the boreal forest of Western Canada, researchers have considered that both changing climate and increased habitat alteration have enabled deer to push farther north. …As they conclude their study, researchers caution that what is good for the deer isn’t necessarily suitable for other species, such as the threatened woodland caribou.

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Going into wildfire season, Redding now has a ‘one-of-a-kind’ firefighting air attack base

By Damon Arthur
Redding Record Searchlight
April 26, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

Invoking the names of some of California’s most devastating fires ― the Carr Fire, Camp Fire and Dixie Fire ― officials gathered in Redding on Thursday to mark the completion of an expanded air base in Redding they say will be the only one of its kind in the world for battling wildfires. The new base for reloading and refueling air attack planes used to fight wildfires will more than double the number of firefighting aircraft it can accommodate and the amount of fire retardant that can be loaded on aircraft, officials said Thursday. …Before the expansion, the air base had the capacity to only fill two air tankers simultaneously. Officials expect to increase the amount of fire retardant used at the air base. In 2021, the air base used 3 million gallons of fire retardant. With the expansion, that will increase to a capacity of 6 million gallons, according to the forest service.

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