by Web Editor | May 9, 2016 | News
A new bill from Congress would establish performance driven research for advancing tall wood building construction in the U.S.
The “Timber Innovation Act” would:
· Authorize the Tall Wood Building Prize Competition through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) annually for the next five years
· Create federal grants to support state, local, university and private sector education, outreach, research and development, including education and assistance for architects and builders, that will accelerate the use of wood in tall buildings
· Authorize technical assistance for USDA, in cooperation with state foresters and state extension directors (or equivalent state officials), to implement a program of education and technical assistance for mass timber applications
Recent advances in technology, engineering and safety have made it possible to build taller wooden buildings using newly-developed mass timber products, like cross-laminated timber. In the last five years, 17 buildings between seven and 14 stories have been built using heavy timber construction globally. Canada, Norway, Australia, the United Kingdom, Italy, Sweden and France all have constructed and occupied multiple tall-wood buildings.
Other countries have already been considering wooden skyscrapers. Researchers presented the Mayor of London with plans for an 80-story wooden building just a few weeks ago.
Multiple organizations in the U.S. wood industry, including The American Wood Council (AWC), American Forest Foundation (AFF), Binational Softwood Lumber Council (BSLC) and Southeastern Lumber Manufacturers Association (SLMA), have all announced strong support for the bill.
From Woodworking Network: https://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/news/woodworking-industry-news/new-bill-would-push-research-timber-building-construction-us?utm_source=WIT050616&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=WeekInTrees
by Web Editor | Feb 22, 2016 | News
Oregon wood researchers hope to bring a new type of engineered lumber to market after tests to make sure it meets state building codes. Oregon State University has been notified that it will receive a $447,000 grant from the federal Economic Development Administration for the testing of cross-laminated timber, or CLT.
The testing will allow the development of manufactured wood products that meet state building codes so the products can be approved for the construction of large buildings, said Geoff Huntington, director of strategic initiatives for OSU’s College of Forestry.
“Our objective is to make CLT and other innovative uses of mass timber products technically feasible, economically viable and accessible alternatives for architects and developers seeking to use Oregon products to meet growing consumer demand for healthy, sustainable buildings,” he said. Plans for Oregon’s first cross-laminated timber buildings already are on the drawing boards.
CLT is composed of large wooden panels made with hundreds of pieces of wood, typically 2-by-4s or 2-by-6s laid perpendicular and glued together, Huntington said. The wooden panels are large, ranging from 10-feet-by-20-feet to 20-feet-by-40-feet. They can be used for walls, ceilings and floors, typically in buildings several stories tall, he said.
The product has been used in multistory buildings in Europe and Canada for several years, but the engineered wood hasn’t been approved for construction purposes in the United States, Huntington said.
From The Register-Guard: https://registerguard.com/rg/news/local/34077270-75/oregon-researchers-tout-potential-of-new-manufactured-wood-in-building-industry.html.csp
by Web Editor | Jan 6, 2016 | News
When complete in 2017, the 18-storey (53m) tower, called Brock Commons, will house hundreds of students at the University of British Columbia (UBC).
Unless overtaken by other ambitious timber towers now at design or proposal stage, the CAN$51.5m residence is set to be the world’s tallest, beating the 13-storey ‘Origine’ apartment block now being built in Quebec City.
The world’s tallest completed timber structure is the 10-storey Forte apartment block in Melbourne, Australia, completed in November 2012 by Lend Lease.
Construction on Brock Commons, designed by Acton Ostry Architects, started on 9 November and the building is set to open in September 2017. It will house 404 students in 272 studios and 33 four-bedroom units.
Earlier this year the provincial government of British Columbia passed a new regulation that allowed UBC to go over timber-structure height limits if the building met rigorous health and safety standards. The architects, Acton Ostry, and UBC building officials helped draft the regulation.
From Construction Manager: https://www.construction-manager.co.uk/international/worlds-tallest-timber-tower-going-vancouver/
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 | Nov 9, 2015 | News
From: Panel World Staff
Weyerhaeuser Co. and Plum Creek announced a merger that will leave nearly two-thirds majority ownership in Weyerhaeuser shareholder hands. The combined company creates a $23 billion timber REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust) with more than 13 million acres of timberland in the U.S.
The combined company will retain the Weyerhaeuser name. As previously announced, Weyerhaeuser intends to move its headquarters to Seattle in mid-2016. Weyerhaeuser brings nearly 7 million acres and Plum Creek 6.3 million acres to the deal.
Weyerhaeuser also announced it is exploring “strategic alternatives” for its Cellulose Fibers business, including a possible sale. The company’s Cellulose Fibers business includes pulp mills in Port Wentworth, Ga.; Vanceboro, NC; Grande Prairie, Alberta; and a modified fiber mill in Columbus, Miss.; as well as other facilities internationally.
Plum Creek operates a medium density fiberboard plant, plywood mill and a board sawmill in Columbia Falls, Mont.; a plywood mill in Kalispell, Mont.; and a stud mill in Kalispell/Evergreen, Mont.
Weyerhaeuser operates approximately 11 sawmills in the Southern U.S., four in the Northwest and three in Canada. It also operates various engineered wood products facilities in North America.
Weyerhaeuser’s Doyle Simons will serve as president and CEO of the combined company. Plum Creek’s Rick Holley will serve as non-executive chairman of Weyerhaeuser’s board, which will be expanded to 13 directors, which will include eight directors from Weyerhaeuser and five from Plum Creek.
The transaction requires the approval of shareholders of both Weyerhaeuser and Plum Creek and is subject to customary closing conditions. The transaction is expected to close in late first quarter or early second quarter of 2016.
