INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Wood demand strong says US lumber producer
First published on Timber Industry News website
The home-building and renovation boom could keep wood demand strong for the next decade , the biggest US lumber producer said recently .
In anticipation , Weyerhaeuser Co . is eyeing forests and sawmills so it can expand output of boards and planks , CEO Devin Stockfish told the Nareit REITweek 2021 Investor Conference last week . The Seattle-based company already owns 11 million acres of American timberland .
“ We ’ re going to continue to look for timberland opportunities ,” Stockfish said . “ Every deal that comes to market , we ’ re looking at , so I would expect us to continue to be active on that front .
Weyerhaeuser stock has climbed 45 % in the past year and reached an all-time high early last month . The shares were up 0.3 % to USD35.79 at 1:55 p . m . in New York .
Wood prices soared above USD1000 per 1000 board feet for the first time ever earlier this year before touching a record high in May on a surprise surge in residential construction amid pandemic lockdowns and rock-bottom borrowing costs .
Some potential home buyers are getting priced out of the market , but for lumber producers , the rally has spurred all-time high profits .
Although Stockfish foresees years of strong demand , he sees the recent price frenzy as unsustainable .
“ I don ’ t think USD1000 lumber prices are the new normal ,” Stockfish said . “ With that being said , when you think about the amount of housing we ’ re going to have to build in the US over the next three , five , 10 years , that ’ s just a significant amount of demand for wood products .”
US lumber futures for July delivery have tumbled from last month ’ s record , extending losses Tuesday to a seven-week low at USD1160.10 as do-it-yourself renovation demand shows signs of weakening and some builders wait for lower prices .
That ’ s down 33 % from the May 10 peak above USD1700 . Some prices on the cash market , where most builders buy lumber for immediate delivery , have also started to drop after sawmills ramped up production .
Stockfish delivered his bullish outlook on the same day that rival Canfor Corp . said it will invest roughly USD160-million in a new sawmill in Louisiana and cancelled a previously announced project in Georgia . The world ’ s biggest lumber producer , West Fraser Timber Co ., is expanding capacity at five US mills while Interfor Corp . plans to buy four Georgia-Pacific LLC sawmills .
CLTP Tasmania launches world ’ s first hardwood CLT
First published on Timberbiz
CLTP Tasmania has officially launched the world ’ s first hardwood Cross Laminated Timber ( CLT ), along with its new brand – Cusp Building Solutions . The website www . cusp . com . au is now live ahead of a launch event , which is being held in Hobart on 29 June .
Cusp CLT is made from Tasmanian Plantation Oak ( Eucalyptus Nitens ) sourced from Responsible Wood certified sustainable plantations and grown in Tasmania .
Using a resource that is currently exported as woodchips , the company has created a world-leading mass timber product for the Australian building industry .
Robert Morris-Nunn ( AM ), one of Tasmania ’ s most adventurous and respected architects will be officially launching the product and brand , with a keynote presentation about the future of the built environment . Originally scheduled for 2 June , the launch was postponed due to the Victorian Coronavirus outbreak .
“ I ’ ve waited 20 years to see this type of innovation come to fruition in Tasmania ,” he said . “ I ’ m already working on incorporating Cusp CLT into several very exciting projects . It is definitely the future of construction in this state ,” Morris-Nunn said .
Cusp Chief Executive Officer , Chris Skeels-Piggins says the business was born from a fundamental belief that it ’ s an obligation to extract the best possible value from the resources entrusted to us .
“ Cusp is about transformation , sustainability and a determination to drive change . Change that is in perpetual motion : improving the built environment while continuously protecting the natural one ,” Mr Skeels-Piggins said .
“ The result is building solutions at the leading edge , with impeccable sustainability credentials . We discover better ways to create strikingly beautiful , effortlessly useful buildings and spaces . We also understand what matters in the wider world and how we can make a positive contribution to its future .”
Cusp ’ s products have achieved certification from the Engineered Wood Products Association of Australasia ( EWPAA ). They are the first CLT products in the world to do so .
www . timberiq . co . za // AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2021 5