The state of B.C.’s forest sector and the global forest products industry and market overall will be the topic of the first Global Wood Summit in Vancouver later this month.
B.C. forestry consultant Russ Taylor and ERA Forest Products Research have teamed up to organize the two-day summit which takes place Oct. 29 and 30 at the Sutton Place Hotel.
Industry experts on markets in the U.S., Sweden, Russia, China and Japan will discuss global forest products and pulp and paper markets and trade, and emerging sectors such as engineered wood manufacturing.
“It’s about the whole supply chain, from the forests all the way through to the markets and looking at global supply and global markets,” Taylor told BIV News.
The summit will include a panel on the Chinese and North American lumber markets, and sessions on pulp and paper,
Panel experts will include John Brink, the B.C. wood manufacturing veteran who recently announced plans to acquire shuttered Canfor (TSX:CFP) mills and associated tenures in Vanderhoof, Fort St. John, Houston and Bear Lake.
Experts in mass timber from Europe and Eastern Canada will be among the speakers.
“If you hear what’s going on in Europe (with mass timber), they’re 15 years ahead of us, so they have a lot more insights,” Taylor said.
The summit will also feature a session on timberlands and fibre supply in B.C. and a session on transportation and logistics.
Taylor said the summit will also hear some predictions for what lies ahead for the forest sector in 2025. As Taylor notes, 2023 and 2024 has been rough for the forest sector, particularly in B.C., which has sustained major blows from the shuttering of several major sawmills and pulp mills.
“Companies are bleeding ink right now,” Taylor said. “The third quarter results have come out – they’re going to be horrible. But prices are now picking up, so we’re trying to figure out what’s next.”
