NEWS

Cabinetworks has filed a notice with the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry that it will officially close its assembly plant in Delaware Township because of declining multi-family direct sales business. Layoffs, set for December, will affect 420 people.

DHA allies, including the Hardwood Federation and Forest Resources Association, signed a letter to the House Ways & Means Committee's Rural America Tax Team in support of estate tax reform. The letter urges Congress to maintain a stepped-up basis for calculating estate tax, which is critical for the continuation of family businesses. The letter also urges Congress to maintain the $13.61 million per person enhanced estate tax exemption, set to sunset in 2025.

In 1960, the U.S. Congress set the third week of October as National Forest Products Week. The purpose: to celebrate forest products and the industry values of responsibility, sustainability, and community. Forest products are naturally sustainable and store carbon, which helps fight climate change.

U.S. imports of hardwood plywood continue to surge, up by nearly 22% in value year-to-date through August. The value of imports from Vietnam grew by nearly 72% and from Indonesia by more than 28%. The volume of all imports so far this year reached more than 1.6 billion square feet, up by more than 8%. The volume of imports from Vietnam more than doubled to over 415 million square feet.

The European Union opened a 14-month antidumping investigation into the sharp increase in Chinese plywood that has been flooding its ports. EU imports from China are already up by 23% for January–August 2024. There are growing concerns that Russia is now using China to circumvent sanctions, as evidenced by trade between the countries soaring by 74%.