NEWS

The Vietnam Department of Forestry is confident that they will achieve their 2020 export target of $13 billion in timber and wooden products. The country has already exported about $11.7 billion this year, an increase of $1.6 billion vs. one year ago. 

China ramped up its trade assault on Australia with tariffs of up to 200% on Australian wine and enacted trade bans on Australian logs and crayfish. China's export ban is forcing the Australian timber industry to find opportunities in local markets in order to save jobs.

Canada will challenge U.S. softwood lumber export duties through the World Trade Organization. The U.S. Department of Commerce has set a new average duty rate of 8.9% on Canadian softwood lumber imports, down from the original 20.2% rate applied in 2018.

A dispute settlement panel, set up under the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement, ruled that Ukraine's ban on all exports of unprocessed wood is not legal. The ruling means that Ukraine must quickly remove its 2015 export ban on all unprocessed wood.

Recent stories about how the pandemic is affecting our industry include:

• How COVID-19 has affected the production of wooden products
• Contractors brace for lockdowns as coronavirus cases spike nationwide
• Study shows benefits of wooden surfaces in the fight against the spread of coronavirus
• Some more COVID-19 humor

For more information and the latest event changes and cancellations, see the DHA coronavirus news and resources pages.

Roseburg Forest Products has named Lynn Wilson, a former vice president with Louisiana-Pacific, and Jim James, former CEO and chairman of Ideal Industries, to the company's board of directors. “Lynn and Jim bring decades of experience and expertise in key focus areas for Roseburg,” said Roseburg owner and Board Chairman Allyn Ford.

Capital Testing (formerly HPVA Laboratories®) has awarded EPA TSCA Title VI Certification for Formaldehyde Emissions to the Cahaba Veneer hardwood plywood manufacturing facility in Centreville, AL. Cahaba Veneer, long known for rotary hardwood veneer, added sliced veneer and hardwood plywood to its product line this year.

Researchers expect a 3.9% decline in the installed value of flooring spending in 2020, despite the increase in home remodeling during the pandemic. In 2019, hardwood flooring sales dropped 5.4% to $3.58 billion and laminate fell 4.6% to $898 million.

The National Kitchen & Bath Association's 2021 Design Trends Research report, a survey of more than 700 kitchen and bath professionals, concluded that the pandemic and associated lifestyle changes will have a lasting impact on kitchen and bath design - and that these trends will continue over the next three years.

The FDMC Wood Industry Almanac lists the five states that lead in eight categories: wood cabinets and countertops, residential furniture, office furniture, architectural woodwork and millwork, fixture showcases and partitions, windows and doors, flooring and other millwork, and wood containers and pallets. Statistics include the number of businesses in each category and hourly wages by occupation.

Conservation officers at the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources are investigating thefts of spruce tops throughout the Iron Range. The footlong evergreen tops of small, immature trees - which look like miniature Christmas trees - are all the rage in home holiday décor.

In Australia, the first nationwide DNA testing program used to verify the species and origin of imported timber showed that 40% of the labels were inaccurate. The compliance testing was designed to build consumer trust and identify those who trade in illegal timber.

Source: Earthsight (YouTube)

Experts across the globe have identified five key megatrends that will affect forests and forest communities for the next decade and beyond. These megatrends are forest disturbances, changing rural demographics, the rise of the middle class, the use of digital technologies, and infrastructure development.