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mill operating footprint and the long-term supply of economic residual fiber, Canfor Pulp made the decision to permanently close the pulp line at its Prince George Pulp and Paper Mill.

Similarly, in order to create a more sustainable operating footprint in BC and to better align manufacturing capacity with the available long-term fiber supply, the company made the difficult decision to restructure its BC lumber operations by permanently closing its Chetwynd sawmill and pellet plant and temporarily closing its Houston sawmill for an extended period to facilitate a major redevelopment on the site. The company intends to build a new, modern, globally competitive manufacturing facility that employs state-of-the-art technology to produce high value products from the sustainable timber supply in that region.

The company is currently undertaking an evaluation of the availability of economic fiber and a thorough project financial analysis, and is targeting a final investment decision by the end of the second quarter of 2023.

Specifically in the lumber segment, adjusted results decreased $295.6 million in the fourth quarter, principally driven by a significant decline in global lumber market prices, with the average North American Random Lengths Western Spruce/Pine/Fir (SPF) 2x4 2&Btr price down US$170 per MBF, or 29%, quarter-over-quarter, the average Southern Yellow Pine (SYP) East 2x4 #2 down US$271 per MBF or 38%, and moderately lower market pricing in Europe. This material drop in global lumber pricing was combined with a 17% decline in North American shipment volumes and the continu- ation of production curtailments in Western Canada, which lowered SPF production by approximately 250MMBF in the fourth quarter. These factors were partially offset by the benefit of higher production and shipments in Europe following the seasonal downtime taken in the prior quarter.

Looking ahead, global lumber market conditions are anticipated to remain under pressure through the first quarter of 2023. High inflation and interest rates are projected to continue to weigh on housing affordability and slow down demand for new home construction, especially in the singlefamily sector. On the other hand, the repair and remodeling sector is anticipated to improve as existing homeowners look to “fix-up” in lieu of “moving-up” in a high interest rate environment.

In the longer term, underlying global lumber market fun- damentals are projected to be solid, principally reflecting strong demographic trends, consistent demand driven by an aging housing stock and low inventories of new homes available.

The weakness in offshore lumber demand in Asia that was experienced in the fourth quarter of 2022 is forecast to continue through the first quarter of 2023. However, this softness is anticipated to be mitigated in part by the introduction of government incentive packages in key Asian markets intended to revive economies in those regions. Lower lumber demand is also anticipated in Europe.

Forisk Reveals Top 10 Producers

After reaching unprecedented highs the past two years, softwood lumber prices cor- rected by the end of 2022. Lumber producers shifted and expanded capacity to deploy capital and position themselves for future growth. Who are the top lumber producers today?

The top 10 softwood lumber firms in North America can produce 37.6 billion BF of lumber and represent 49% of total North American capacity. Several of these companies actively acquired or opened new assets in 2022; in total, the top 10 added 2 billion BF of capacity, according to Forisk Research Quarterly

West Fraser is the largest softwood lumber producer in North America at more than 7 billion BF of capacity. The firm slightly reduced capacity in 2022 by permanently curtailing 170MMBF of production at BC sawmills Fraser Lake and Williams Lake in August 2022. Also, in January 2023, West Fraser indefinitely curtailed the Perry, Fla. sawmill, which would reduce capacity in 2023.

Canfor rises to the #2 slot for 2022 with the purchase of two sawmills and a specialty mill in Alberta, Can. from Millar Western Forest Products Ltd. Also, Canfor permanently reduced the capacity at the Plateau sawmill in BC by 150MMBF in 2022.

Interfor actively expanded capacity and grew the most of any top 10 firm. Interfor added 1.3 billion BF of capacity (34% increase in 2022), mostly through acquisitions in Eastern Canada with the purchases of EACOM Timber and Chaleur Forest Products. The company also reopened the Dequincy, La. sawmill. Hampton Affiliates reopened the former Conifex sawmill in Fort St. James, BC. In addition, Idaho Forest Group gained 250MMBF of capacity by opening the Lumberton, Miss. sawmill.

The top 10 softwood lumber producers in the U.S. have the capacity to produce 24.7 billion BF of lumber, which represents 53% of the total U.S. industry. Weyerhaeuser tops the list at 4.4 billion BF of capacity, followed by West Fraser at 3.7 billion. Biewer Lumber is new to the top 10 list and comes in at #10 with the opening of the Winona, Miss. sawmill in 2022.

Gp Contributes To Clt Project

Georgia-Pacific is partnering with Jamestown, SmartLam North America and the Georgia Forestry Foundation to support construction of the first Georgia-grown mass timber project, 619 Ponce. Delivery of the first beams arrived at Ponce City Market in Atlanta where vertical construction began on the four-story mass timber loft office building. The building’s columns, beams, and floor slabs are made of local southern yellow pine sawtimber harvested from Georgia forests owned by Jamestown. GP reports this marks the first time southern yellow pine, a species plentiful across the Southern U.S., has been used in a mass timber project.

Georgia-Pacific worked with Jamestown and SmartLam to engineer the use of this species instead of species from the Pacific Northwest or Europe.

“Since starting as a small lumber manufacturer in 1927, Georgia-Pacific has a rich history of innovation in the building products industry,” says Fritz Mason, president of Georgia-Pacific Lumber. “As pioneers in the use of southern yellow pine, we’re proud to support Jamestown and SmartLam as they work to usher in the evolution of southern yellow pine in mass timber construction.”

The southern yellow pine sawtimber for 619 Ponce was transported to Georgia-Pacific’s sawmill in Albany, Ga., where it was converted into lumber. The lumber was later transported to SmartLam’s mass timber plant in Dothan, Ala., where it was manufactured into crosslaminated timber (CLT) panels. The CLT panels are being erected onsite at

Ponce City Market by StructureCraft and J.E. Dunn, with building completion expected in 2024.

“Mass timber is a sustainable building material with a low carbon footprint, relative to traditional materials like concrete and steel,” says Catherine Pfeiffenberger, Managing Director and Head of Development & Construction at Jamestown. “Mass timber is also cleaner to construct, which aids in reducing carbon emissions during construction. Of equal importance, mass timber provides a warm, healthy, and welcoming work environment for the people who will occupy the space.”

619 Ponce is part of Ponce City Market’s next phase, which also includes a flexible-stay hospitality living building featuring 405 furnished units with shortterm and long-term stay options, and Signal House, a multi-family rental building designed for active adults and the 55 and over community. The building will include more than 800 residences.

The building will include 85,000 square feet of office space and 25,000 square feet of retail space for up to 100 businesses employing more than 5,750 people when the project is complete and fully activated.

New Pellet Mills Eye Sawmill Byproducts

Some Georgia sawmills and possibly Northwest U.S. mills will have new markets for their byproducts as Spectrum Energy Georgia LLC plans to begin construction this summer of the largest industrial wood pellet facility in the world at Adel, Ga., and Drax is moving forward to develop a 450,000 tonnes per year wood pellet facility in Longview, Wash., including the development of a new port facility there.

Spectrum Energy expects to commission its plant in summer 2024. The plant will operate at the site of an idled particleboard facility. The plant will have the ability to receive and process all forms of biomass, including sawmill residues (chips, sawdust and shavings), pulpwood, top wood, and in-woods chips.

Weyerhaeuser built the particleboard mill in 1968 and operated until Weyerhaeuser sold it to SierraPine in 1999, before the plant shut down in 2014 upon SierraPine’s sale to Flakeboard.

Phase I of the project will build a 600,000 tons annual production capacity plant that will be increased during a Phase 2 construction to 1.32 million tons annually.

Much of the Spectrum leadership team is no stranger the wood industry, including members of the former British Columbia-based Ainsworth Lumber family. Michael Ainsworth serves as CEO & President of Spectrum and Douglas Ainsworth is VP Operations.

Recently, Spectrum Energy Georgia and Concerned Citizens of Cook County

(4C) signed a settlement and cooperation agreement, following 4C’s concerns about the air permit issued last July by Georgia Dept. of Natural Resources Environmental Protection Div. to Spectrum for the two-phase construction of the wood pellet facility in Adel.

The agreement basically allows Spectrum to increase transparency to the community in a number of ways, including regular reporting of construction ac- tivity, air emission and dust control enhancements and reporting thereof, noise abatement and public listening sessions.

“We listened to 4C’s concerns and we realized that addressing those concerns is fully consistent with our desire to construct and operate a facility that will be the gold standard in the pellet industry,” Ainsworth says.

Meanwhile Drax Group say the development of the plant at Longview will provide Drax with access to a new fiber basket. The U.S. Pacific Northwest will be Drax’s fourth major area of fiber supply along with the U.S. South, British Columbia and Alberta. Drax is also adding 130 tonnes per year of production capacity at its facility in Aliceville, Ala.

Dillard Lumber Wins Roseburg Safety Award

Every year Roseburg recognizes its highest performing manufacturing locations and business groups for their safety achievements, presenting three Safety Excellence awards and one Safety Improvement award. These winning teams receive the trophies to hold for the year as well as a recognition event to thank each team member within those teams.

The Safety Excellence awards evaluate a mixture of proactive actions such as near-miss reporting, behavior-based safety observations, closure of safety corrective action items, as well as results, including D.A.R.T and RIR rates. The Safety Improvement award recognizes the plant that has shown the greatest safety improvement over a three-year period.

The winners for 2022 are: l Safety Excellence (Manufacturing): First Place: Dillard Lumber (Oregon); Second Place: Pembroke MDF (Ontario); Non-Manufacturing: Resources. l Safety Improvement (All Manufacturing): Simsboro Particleboard (Louisiana)

“Our teams have continued to persevere after enduring and overcoming many challenges over the past few years,” the company states. “All of our team members continue to stay strong on their commitment to step up, take on new challenges, and continue the upward trajectory of preforming better and better each year as a company. We put in the important work on safety and take on these challenges ‘Because We Care’ about each other and getting back home to our families each day.”