The Canadian Pacific Railway resumed operations at Noon (MDT) on Tuesday (3-22-22) after reaching an agreement with the Teamsters of Canada Rail Conference union, which represents more than 3,000 workers at the railway, to resolve their labor dispute through binding arbitration. The agreement for binding arbitration comes after six months of contract negotiations.
Wood Markets News
Western Forest Products Announces Another Temporary Curtailment at Their Chemainus Sawmill
Western Forest Products (WFP) announced on Monday (3-21-22) that starting this week, their Chemainus Sawmill is once again undergoing a production curtailment due to a lack of logs. The last curtailment started on February 2nd and lasted nearly three weeks.
Nuchatlaht First Nation Asks B.C. Supreme Court to Halt Logging on Parts of the Nation’s Territory
Lawyers for the Nuchatlaht First Nation asked the B.C. Supreme Court to recognize its rights and title and put a stop to logging on their land. The lawsuit filed in 2017 asserts that the governments have denied Nuchatlaht rights by authorizing logging and “effectively dispossessing” the nation of parts of its territory on Vancouver Island’s west coast.
Fire Insurance Unaffordable for Most Australian Plantation Timber Growers
Still recovering from the Black Summer bushfires, the Australian timber industry continues to face a multitude of issues and insurance, or the lack thereof, is just one of many. After the east coast bushfires of a couple of years ago, plantation fire insurance rates tripled or quadrupled.
Canadian Industrial Product Price Index Moves Higher in February Led by Energy, Petroleum, and Softwood Lumber Gains
Statistics Canada (StatsCan) reported today (3-22-22) that prices of products manufactured in Canada rose 3.1% month-over-month in February 2022 and were up 16.4% year-over-year. The prices of raw materials purchased by manufacturers operating in Canada increased 6.0% month-over-month in February 2022 and are up 29.8% year-over-year.
Fannie Mae’s Economic and Strategic Research Group Lowers Its GDP Expectations for 2022
The ESR has indicated that continuing supply chain issues, increasing inflation, and the conflict in Ukraine are all placing macroeconomic pressure on the market. These factors have resulted in the downgrading of their expectations for GDP growth by year-end from 2.8% in their February 2022 commentary to 2.3% in their March 2022 commentary.
Canadian Pacific Railway Shutdown Underway as Talks With the Union Continue
With no new negotiated contract in place between the Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) and the Teamsters Canada Rail conference (TCRC), which represents 3,000 engineers, conductors, yard workers, and other train employees, CP rail traffic ground to a halt at 12:01 AM on Sunday, March 20, 2022.
Domain Timber Advisors Completes Purchase of 1,672 Acres of Timberland in West Georgia
Domain Capital Group, LLC, an Atlanta-based comprehensive private investment and management firm, today (3-21-22) announced that its subsidiary, Domain Timber Advisors, LLC, has finalized the purchase of 1,672 acres of timberland in west Georgia, expanding the firms’ Southeast timber portfolio.
German Sawmilling and Timber Industry Association Calls for Increased Use of Local Wood Resources
With Germany facing major raw wood and energy challenges due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Germany’s Sawmilling and Timber Industry Association (DeSH) is calling for the country to begin planning on ways to end its dependency on fossil and imported resources, especially in regard to the energy sector.
Sustainable Green Team Ltd. Purchasing Dormant 45-Acre Interfor Sawmill Site in Beaver, Washington
Sustainable Green Team Ltd., a Florida-based, publicly traded company, announced on Thursday (3-17-22) that it is purchasing the dormant 45-acre Interfor USA Inc. sawmill site in Beaver, Washington. The purchase includes leasing land Interfor now rents from the City of Fork, Oregon for $1 million.