by Web Editor | Dec 29, 2015 | News
Georgia-Pacific LLC announced today that it has reached an agreement to sell its engineered lumber business to Boise Cascade for $215 million, including working capital. The transaction is subject to standard regulatory review and other customary closing conditions.
“Georgia-Pacific is firmly committed to the building products industry. Although the engineered lumber business has been profitable and employees have done a great job running safe, productive assets and meeting our customers’ needs, it is not a large part of our overall building products division,” said Mark Luetters, Georgia-Pacific executive vice president–building products. “We believe this potential sale to an established player in the industry is in the best interest of our engineered lumber employees, customers and stakeholders.”
Once completed, the sale will include the engineered lumber operations located at Thorsby, Alabama, (approximately 230 employees) and Roxboro, North Carolina, (approximately 40 employees), along with a commercial sales and technical team.
From LBM Journal: https://www.lbmjournal.com/georgia-pacific-to-sell-engineered-lumber-business-to-boise-cascade/
by Web Editor | Dec 21, 2015 | News
New WOOD MARKETS five-year forecast calls for continued volatility as North American and global lumber markets continue to recover and grow.
In WOOD MARKETS’ new five-year forecast, the short-term outlook is that North American and global economies, as well as softwood lumber and panel markets, are all forecast to improve, but at a much slower pace than has been expected. What has also short-circuited the prospects of stronger demand is a slowdown in China and Japan, impacting export markets. And the new wildcard that caused U.S. dollar prices to plunge in 2015, especially in softwood lumber, was the rapid currency devaluations of almost all major lumber producers as compared to the U.S. dollar. All of these factors have changed the WOOD MARKETS outlook to one that expects more lacklustre demand and corresponding price growth through 2018. After that, it starts to look very good.
These details and further analysis of commodity lumber and panels was released last week in the report, WOOD MARKETS 2016 – The Solid Wood Products Outlook: 2016 to 2020 by International WOOD MARKETS Group, Vancouver BC.
The supply-side dynamics feature eroding sustainable timber harvests in key provinces in Canada, resulting in dramatically lower lumber production than in the previous decade. Canada’s total lumber output will start to flatten out by 2018 with no further increases expected – just as U.S. and global demand are expected to gain momentum.
On the U.S. side, the U.S. West Coast region continues to watch log export prices in China and Japan, as many domestic log prices are correlated with export prices – this can quickly tighten the wood supply for sawmills and plywood mills as export prices rise. The U.S. South is forecast to be the only region where any significant lumber and panel production will occur, mainly due its ample, under-utilized timberland base of southern yellow pine. As lumber and panel demand increases, it is forecast that the current depressed log prices will start to move higher to feed incremental wood consumption of the expected additional panel and sawmill production.
From Wood Markets: https://www.woodmarkets.com/global-malaise-in-demand-coupled-with-rising-production-stalls-price-movement-in-north-america/
by Web Editor | Dec 11, 2015 | News
Boise Cascade Company, one of the largest producers of plywood and engineered wood products in North America and a leading U.S. wholesale distributor of building products, is expanding its existing operations in Chester County. The company is investing $23.5 million in the facility, creating 52 new jobs in Chester, S.C.
In 2013, Boise Cascade acquired Chester Wood Products, effectively establishing the company’s first Palmetto State operations. Operating today as Chester Plywood, Boise Cascade has decided to expand its Chester County operations in an effort to better serve its growing customer base. With respect to its investment in the facility, which is located at 1445 Lancaster Highway in Chester, Boise Cascade has already begun installing new equipment and expanding the warehouse.
With a heritage dating back to 1957, and headquartered in Boise, Idaho, Boise Cascade manufactures engineered wood products, plywood, lumber and particleboard. As a national distributor, the company operates more than 30 distribution centers across the U.S.
Hiring for the new positions began in the third quarter of 2015, and will continue through the first quarter of 2016.
The Coordinating Council for Economic Development has approved a $100,000 Rural Infrastructure Fund grant to Chester County to assist with the costs of real property improvements.
From the S.C. Department Of Commerce: https://sccommerce.com/news/press-releases/boise-cascade-company-expanding-chester-county-operations
by Web Editor | Dec 9, 2015 | News
Massive U.S. industrial wood pellet exports to meet green energy goals in Europe is not a threat to the sustainability of U.S. Southern forests, says a new report from the pellet manufacturers.
Drawing from U.S. government and available market data, the report was commissioned by the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities, National Alliance of Forest Owners (NAFO) and the U.S. Industrial Pellet Association (USIPA) – three organizations representing the producers of wood pellets and their suppliers.
The report reveals that industrial pellet exports represent a very small part of forest harvests in the U.S. South, the groups say. Panel manufacturers have expressed concern that drawing too much wood pulp for fuel will raise prices on raw material for OSB and plywood.
• Total removal of wood in the U.S. South for all markets is 3.3% of the total forest inventory.
• Pellet exports represent 0.08% of the total inventory.
• In 2014, pine removals for industrial pellet production totaled 3.7 million tons or 0.3% of the pine pulpwood inventory and 0.09% of the total pine inventory.
• In 2014, hardwood removals for industrial pellet production totaled approximately 2.4 million tons or 0.2% of the hardwood pulpwood and 0.06% of the total hardwood inventory.
• In 2014, pellet exports from the U.S. South to Europe, which represent the vast majority of U.S. pellet exports, were 3.6 million metric tons, or 40% of Europe’s 9 million metric ton industrial pellet consumption.
• Future industrial demand for U.S. pellets overseas represents 0.3% of total forest inventory in the U.S. South.
From Woodworking Network: https://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/wood/pricing-supply/infographic-using-wood-pellets-fuel-no-threat-forests-or-panel-makers?ss=wood,wood,wood_of_the_month,wood,pricing_supply,wood,components_sourcing,wood,panel_supply,wood,wood_veneer,wood,lumber_quotes_charts
by Web Editor | Dec 7, 2015 | News
Increasing housing starts and higher consumer spending will drive anticipated operating income growth for the global paper and forest products industry of 1%-3% in 2016, underpinning the current stable outlook for the sector for the next 12 months, says Moody’s Investors Service in a report published today. However, the outlook for the Printing and Writing Paper segment is negative as digital alternatives continue to curb paper demand.
“Our outlook for the global paper and forest products sector over the next year remains within our stable range as increasing home construction and economic growth drive wood product, packaging and market pulp earnings growth in the low single digits in 2016,” says Ed Sustar, a Moody’s Vice President — Senior Credit Officer and author of the report.
The outlook for the Paper Packaging and Tissue segment will be stable with operating earnings forecast to grow by 0%-4% on the back of increased (1) packaging demand, driven by modest economic uptick and stable food consumption; and (2) tissue demand, driven by population growth and improving hygiene standards.
Expected improvements to US housing starts will likely prop up end-market demand for timber, lumber, oriented strand board and engineered wood products in 2016, which will in turn support the stable outlook for the Wood Products/Timberland segment. However, lower Chinese infrastructure spending is pressuring North American log and lumber exports. Operating earnings in this sector are expected to grow by between 0%-4% in 2016.
Operating earnings growth for 2016 in the 1%-3% range will support the Market Pulp segment’s stable outlook. Prices across most grades (hardwood, softwood, dissolving pulp) will remain flat or decrease as capacity increases outpace demand. As additional pulp capacity comes on-line, inventory management across the fragmented global pulp industry will remain critical to balancing supply and demand.
From Moody’s: https://www.moodys.com/research/Moodys-Stable-2016-outlook-for-global-paper-and-forest-products–PR_340351
by Web Editor | Dec 4, 2015 | News
Arauco has acquired 50 percent of Tafisa’s assets, including 10 composite panel mills in Europe and South Africa, for $150 million.
Announced Nov. 30, the acquisition does not include Tafisa’s North American operations and its laminates and components businesses, which will continue to be fully owned by parent firm Sonae Indústria.
When completed, the new company will be called Sonae-Arauco. According to information from Arauco, estimated annual sales for the new business are $900 million. Located in Spain, Portugal, Germany and South Africa, the 10 mills produce 4.2 million cubic meters of composite panel products and employ 3,000 people.
Sonae-Arauco’s production capacity will be about 460,000 m3 of OSB, 1.45 million m3 of MDF, 2.27 million m3 of particleboard and 100,000 m3 of sawn timber.
With the acquisition, Arauco says it is now the second largest producer in the wood panel global ranking, with an annual production of 9 million m3.
From Woodworking Network: https://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/news/woodworking-industry-news/arauco-buys-50-interest-tafisa-0?ss=wood,wood,wood_of_the_month,wood,pricing_supply,wood,components_sourcing,wood,panel_supply,wood,wood_veneer,wood,lumber_quotes_charts
