President Trump on July 17 condemned Canada, and specifically Ottawa, for improper forest management, leading to the recent increase in forest fires and to the encroachment of smoke and polluted air into the U.S.

“We are holding Canada responsible for the fact that they are not properly maintaining their forests, and brush therein, and the United States is being unnecessarily invaded by filthy, polluted, and unhealthy air, the quality of which is dangerous, and totally unacceptable” Trump said. “I will call the Prime Minister to find out what they are going to do about it. The cost is incalculable!”

Canada has refused to engage in basic forest management and debris removal, Trump accused. “This is willful negligence, and becoming a yearly occurrence, costing the United States billions of dollars, which cost of this pollution must of necessity be added to the tariffs Canada is currently paying.”

Canada’s wildfire policies have failed to prioritize forest management; they will not cut firebreaks and will not thin their forests, according to one observer, who added,“This is the result of the undue influence of environmental groups who are firmly politically motivated and have divorced themselves from science and good stewardship. Canada and the rest of North America is suffering as a result.”

Days before Trump’s statement, four Republican members of Michigan’s congressional delegation—Reps. Jack Bergman, John James, Lisa McClain and John Moolenaar—sent a letter to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, saying residents in their state were once again experiencing unhealthy air because of smoke drifting south from Canadian wildfires.

They wrote: “Our constituents in Michigan are once again under air quality alerts. Our hospitals are once again treating children, dialysis patients, and older residents for the effects of smoke that did not originate anywhere near them. This is the third consecutive year we have had to write to Canadian officials about a crisis that Canada has the tools to prevent and has chosen not to. We were told last year that this would be treated with urgency. It was not. We were told the causes—chronic under-investment in forest thinning, fuel reduction, and prescribed burns, along with inadequate enforcement against arson—were being addressed. They were not, or not adequately enough to matter to the people we represent. Provincial leaders have offered excuses instead of results, and in some cases have openly dismissed the health of American citizens as an inconvenience to their own summer.  We are done accepting apologies in place of action. If Canada will not manage its forests to prevent these fires, the United States will look elsewhere, and act on our own, to protect our people. That means our own agencies exploring direct involvement in cross-border fuel reduction and firefighting capacity. It means reconsidering how much benefit of the doubt this relationship continues to earn on an issue where American lungs are paying the price for Canadian inaction, year after year.” 

Long-established veneer production facility Nordic Veneer is closing the veneer plant near Roseburg, Ore. it purchased from Forest Industries in 1960.

Nordic Veneer was founded in 1954 by Dick Adams and Norm Jacobsen when they purchased a closed plywood facility in Sutherlin, Ore. In 1960 they purchased the Perkins veneer plant near Roseburg, and the company has operated under the stewardship of the Adams family across four generations. It has been a vital local employer, producing high-quality veneer and contributing to the regional wood products economy. (They sold the Sutherlin facility in 1975.)

“After careful and difficult consideration, we have made the decision to close our operations,” comments Art Adams, owner of Nordic Veneer. “Our industry has faced sustained wood supply and market challenges, structural realignment, and foreign competition. Despite our team’s hard work, recent investments in efficiency, and deep commitment to this business, sustaining operations is no longer viable under current market conditions.”

Nordic Veneer has long been defined by its family leadership and strong ties to the community, including support for local hospitals and cancer centers, libraries, schools, healthcare systems and Umpqua Valley Christian School.

The company will work closely with its dedicated team of employees to provide transition support, and is actively working with employees on job placement resources. Nordic Veneer extends its sincere gratitude to its employees—many of whom have been part of the “family-oriented” culture for decades—as well as to its suppliers, customers, and the broader Roseburg and Douglas County community for their partnership over more than seven decades. 

Hood Industries has said it is closing its plywood mill in Wiggins, Miss., which Hood has operated since 1984 and was started up in 1971 by International Paper.

Hood Industries’ closure at Wiggins will affect approximately 260 employees. Facility-wide meetings were held with employees to share the news and explain that the decision followed a comprehensive assessment of the extensive damage caused by Tropical Storm Arthur in mid-June.

“After a thorough assessment, we determined that the damage caused by the recent storms, combined with the age of our 56-year-old facility, would require an investment that is not economically feasible. As difficult as this decision is, repairing and restoring the mill is not a sustainable option,” Hood Industries President Jay Galloway told employees. “We have made the decision to close the mill.”

The Wiggins plywood mill was built in  1970 by International Paper and was acquired by Hood Industries in 1984, becoming the company’s second and largest plywood manufacturing operation. Hood acquired the former Weyerhaeuser plywood mill in Beaumont, Miss. a year earlier.

“This was not an easy decision for us to make. We are well aware of the impact this decision will have on the Wiggins employees, their families and community,” Galloway said. 

Operations are expected to conclude after the remaining inventory is processed, with the mill anticipated to cease manufacturing operations by the end of August. 

Hood Industries is currently starting up a $200 million investment rebuild of its plywood mill in Beaumont, after the existing operation sustained heavy damages following a tornado in 2022.

Union Pacific Railroad and Rocky Mountain Steel Mills have reached a new, seven-year contract for the domestic production of steel rails, underscoring Union Pacific’s clear commitment to buying the majority of its rail from a U.S. manufacturer.

Rocky Mountain Steel, located in Pueblo, Colo., is the only remaining dedicated rail production facility in the U.S. and one of the largest producers of steel products in North America. Steel made for Union Pacific, and all Rocky Mountain Steel customers is produced by members of the United Steelworkers (USW).

Union Pacific has been using steel rail from the mill at Rocky Mountain Steel since the early 1890s. This renewed commitment by Union Pacific underscores their commitment to Rocky Mountain Steel, now operating under new ownership and management, as well as the skilled workers of the USW and the historic steel community in Pueblo. The agreement ends any pending legal disputes between the companies, as Union Pacific has withdrawn its previously filed lawsuit in Nebraska.

Rocky Mountain Steel expects to begin operations this year at a new, state-of-the-art long rail mill, constructed with a more than $1 billion investment in domestic steel production. The new mill will ensure Pueblo will remain the only dedicated steel rail mill in the U.S., operating one of the most advanced rail production lines in the world.

The new rail mill at the Pueblo facility will deliver extraordinary long-rail capability, producing 100 meter (328 ft.) lengths of premium rail. The long rail produced at the facility will bring significant efficiency gains to the industry, as it requires 80% fewer welds than standard 80 ft. rails, improving track safety and reliability for major railroads, like Union Pacific. The new rail mill is powered by a dedicated 1,800 acre solar farm, making it the world’s largest solar-powered steel mill.