North Carolina’s Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey issued an alert on Monday (6-14-21) in regard to European lumber being used in the construction of homes and buildings throughout the state. The Building Code Council has determined European lumber, which is being imported to help with the nation’s lumber shortage, does not meet N.C. building code requirements and, in some cases, could cause catastrophic failures in wall, floor and roof framing.
News in lumber
Bergkvist Siljan to Increase Production by 60% at their Insjön Sweden Sawmill
Bergkvist Siljan, a leading Swedish sawmilling group supplying sawn wood products to customers mainly in East Asia, Western Europe, and North Africa, announced that it has been granted by The Environmental Impact Assessment Delegation permission to increase the production of sawn wood products at their Insjön sawmill in Sweden, by approximately 60%, from 400,000 to 650,000 m3 per year.
Interfor Corporation Announces Purchase of 4 Georgia Pacific Sawmills in South and Pacific Northwest
Interfor Corporation announced today, Thursday, May 27, 2021, that it has reached an agreement with Georgia-Pacific Wood Products LLC and GP Wood Products LLC (collectively Georgia-Pacific) to acquire four of its sawmill operations located in Bay Springs, Mississippi, Fayette Alabama, DeQuincy, Louisiana and Philomath, Oregon. The total purchase price of US $375 million, which includes working capital, will be funded entirely from cash on hand.
Due to Lumber and Panel Shortages Florida Residents Urged to Prepare for Hurricane Season Now
Hurricane season is scheduled to start in less than 2-weeks and Florida residents are being urged to start thinking about their preparations before any storms threaten the Sunshine State. This year’s preparations are going to be different, due to the ongoing shortage of lumber and panels and their higher prices.
U.S. Commerce Dept. Releases Preliminary Determination for the Second Administrative Review in Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Investigation on Certain Canadian Imported Softwood Lumber Products
The U.S. Department of Commerce released its preliminary determination for the Second Administrative Review in antidumping duty (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) investigation.
EACOM Timber Corp. Resumes Production at Timmins Ontario Sawmill After COVID-19 Outbreak
EACOM Timber Corp. has announced that their Timmins sawmill is back in operation after a temporary shutdown last week due to a COVID-19 outbreak that was reported on May 12, 2021 at the site. The sawmill is currently running one shift instead of the usual two.
USNR Signs Major Contracts for Wood Processing Systems in Europe and North America
USNR, the wood processing technology supplier based in Woodland, Washington, is reporting that they have signed a number of major contracts over the past several months. A €13m contract was signed in late 2020 with Tschopp Holzindustrie AG in Switzerland for a new saw line.
Demand for Lumber Continues to Rise but Not the Number of New Sawmill Facilities
The sawmill business is and has always been cyclical. Today North America’s sawmills cannot keep up with demand, resulting in wood prices that are at historical levels and are continuing to climb higher. However, sawmill owners and their executive teams are overall not in a rush to build new facilities.
Confirmed COVID-19 Cases Temporarily Shuts Down EACOM Timber’s Timmins, Ontario Sawmill
EACOM Timber Corporation has announced that it has temporarily shut down its Timmins, Ontario, Canada sawmill operations after COVID-19 cases were confirmed at the site. According to Biliana Necheva, EACOM public relations senior advisor, there have been four confirmed cases among the 132 employees at the Timmins site.
U.S. Lumber Demand Sends European Lumber Prices Higher
Unrelenting building demand, the result of the COVID-19 pandemic, amongst other things, has kept U.S. sawmills from being able to catch up with that unabated demand. With U.S. builders needing lumber coverage, but rarely asking about price, suppliers have been forced to look for product sources apart from their traditional suppliers.