Columns

Why Knot Come And See How NHLA Is Addressing Your Challenges Here are the top challenges I see the industry facing: 1. Increased competition for domestic logs from log exporters. 2. Shrinking domestic demand for graded hardwood lumber due to competition from substitute products. 3. A lack of skilled trade labor, along with high-cost manual […]

The Crisis Nobody’s Talking About As hardwood demand struggles and mills close, we’re losing the battle for the next generation—before they even know there’s a fight. Hardwood lumber demand has declined since the early 2000s. Real prices, adjusted for inflation, sit at 1980s levels. Furniture manufacturing has moved offshore. Over 50 mills have closed in […]

Real American Hardwood® Expands Its Reach Across Design, Hospitality, And Mass Timber Markets As the hardwood industry continues searching for new opportunities to strengthen domestic demand and expand hardwood’s relevance within contemporary design, construction, and commercial markets, Real American Hardwood® (RAH) has increasingly positioned itself where those conversations are already happening. This spring, RAH strengthened […]

Why Knot Tell The Government To Use More Wood The U.S. hardwood sawmill decline parallels the earlier U.S. steel mills decline. Learning from their recovery, we can expedite our own. Steel shifted toward highly automated mills that require less labor and can operate at smaller, more flexible scales. They also pursued federal trade policy by […]

With Your Support, We Can Expand Our Reach by Dallin Brooks I am not sure how much hardwood readers are familiar with the softwood promotion, so I would like to share a few details with you here. Their program called WoodWorks, is influencing American architects and engineers to use more wood by engaging with firms […]

There’s More To HMA Than Meetings And Tours Domestic hardwood sawmills and yards may know the Hardwood Manufacturers Association (HMA) for our National Conference and Expo—with insightful learning sessions and a showcase of the industry’s leading suppliers—as well as our Regional Meetings, which offer excellent opportunities to tour other facilities and gain insights to improve […]