NEWS

DHA member Manthei Wood Products has officially acquired Cahaba Veneer in Centreville, AL, and plans a significant investment in labor and technology upgrades. The acquisition ensures continued operations at the Centreville facility, retaining 67 jobs and adding 37 new jobs, and includes a capital investment of up to $10 million.

PHOTO © MANTHEI WOOD PRODUCTS

The Department of Commerce has maintained anti-dumping duties on wooden bedroom furniture from China. On April 13, the agency announced its preliminary findings in its latest administrative review of those anti-dumping duties for 2024. Companies included in the "China-wide entity" are subject to a dumping margin of 216.01%. The cash deposit rate will be set at the same level.

Forest products associations, including the Hardwood Federation, sent a letter to the EU president and key cabinet members advocating for critical changes to the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), focused on the need to make simple, common-sense changes to the current EUDR definition of "plot of land."

PHOTO © USFS CHRIS WARNER

The Department of Labor has proposed a new rule that would create a nationwide standard for determining joint employer liability under the Fair Labor Standards Act, Family and Medical Leave Act, and Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act.

On April 27, U.S. manufacturer and distributor Boise Cascade pled guilty to a felony violation of the Lacey Act for its role in a timber trafficking scheme to evade hardwood plywood countervailing and anti-dumping duties. Boise Cascade has been fined $6,382,000.