A recently published piece in the Mississippi Business Journal titled “THE WOOD GAP — Lumber prices set all-time high, while trees are stuck in the past,” broadly addresses the current disconnect between log and lumber prices. The piece features commentary from Forest2Market founder and CEO Pete Stewart, who discusses the oversupply of timber in the southern market.

The lumber price run-up has caught the attention of a number of forest products manufacturers across the globe who have been eyeing the US South as a reliable, low-cost destination. Efficient and well-managed supply chains are critical for US South sawmillers because log costs represent the single largest operating cost, but things haven’t always been so rosy.

Latest data shows Chinese woodchip imports lifted to a seven-month high in September, hitting 1.302 million bone dried metric tons (bdmt) at an average price of USDCif152/bdmt. The big winner in the hardwood chip trade to China continues to be Vietnam, whose average price of supply in September was USDCif142/bdmt, an unbeatable price, at least over the longer term.

China has a vested interest in pursuing its long-term national policy of solving the “smog” problem, reducing emissions of environmentally harmful substances, promoting the optimization of energy systems, and developing clean and low-carbon energy sources. This includes eliminating and replacing outdated coal- and biomass-fired boilers with clean, gas-fired boilers.

The coated freesheet paper market has declined in recent years due to the replacement of electronic media, oversupply, changes in consumption patterns and paper machine conversions around the world. Many companies have seen their profit margins decrease to levels at which they have to decide whether they should continue pursuing a specific business area or try to develop new products to differentiate themselves from the competition. Some have had partial success, but others have been forced out of the market.

Wildfires have been raging along the Pacific coast of North America, further complicating an already difficult year. While there are hundreds of fires burning in a handful of jurisdictions worldwide, California always seems to grab the headlines.

Total industrial production (IP) fell 0.6 percent in September (-7.3 percent YoY), its first (and unexpected) decline after four consecutive monthly advances. For 3Q as a whole, the index increased at an annual rate of 39.8 percent. Despite recovering more than half of its February-to-April decline, the September total IP reading was still 7.1 percent below its pre-pandemic February level.

US housing starts jumped in October, once again led by strong gains in single-family home construction. The trend continues to suggest that residential building has some momentum left as we head into the final leg of what has been the most turbulent year in recent history.

The push for a more sustainable planet continues to drive innovations in nearly every business sector across the globe, and the forest industry is helping to lead the way. We wanted to share a few of the most exciting developments in this monthly roundup of sustainability projects that are making headlines.