Category: Weekly Softwood Lumber Blog

  • Canada Invests in Lumber Exports to India

    The federal government is investing an additional $600,000 to spur efforts to boost lumber exports to India, a potentially large market that’s home to about 1.2 billion people. Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver announced Wednesday the funding to Forest Innovation Investment India (FII India). Ottawa has already provided $1.6 million to FII India, which is…

  • December US Housing Starts

    New-home construction in the US retained a strong pace in December, a sign the housing market can absorb modestly higher interest rates. US housing starts decreased 9.8 per cent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 999,000, the Commerce Department said Friday. But the figure was well above summer levels and exceeded economists’…

  • Canfor to Invest

    Canfor will be adding another power-generating turbine to its biomass-fired energy system as part of $8 million in capital upgrades to its Fort St. John, BC, sawmill, the company announced Tuesday. Canfor Corporation President and CEO Don Kayne said, “This capital project will improve cost efficiency at our Fort St. John mill and help move…

  • Carrier Layoffs

    Operations at Carrier Forest Products near Prince Albert, SK, are to cease entirely later in January, the Alberta government announced Friday. The remaining 12 workers have been issued layoff notices. According to Shane Vermette with the Alberta Ministry of Economy, all workers at the Prince Albert sawmill have been offered jobs at Carrier’s Big River,…

  • Sawmill Accident Ruled Not Criminal

    No criminal or regulatory charges will be laid in connection with an explosion and fire that killed two workers at a Burns Lake, BC, sawmill in January 2012. The Criminal Justice Branch said Friday that based on the evidence provided by WorkSafeBC there is no substantial likelihood of conviction against the Babine Forest Products sawmill.…