Columns

“Keeping It Real” London’s new Victoria & Albert (V&A) East Museum at East Bank in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park opened in April to critical acclaim. When visitors step inside, one of the first sights that will greet them is the striking series of American Red Oak benches crafted bespoke for the space. With one installed […]

Real American Hardwood® Brings The Hardwood Story To NeoCon  Real American Hardwood®’s recent trip to NeoCon was a strong success, and an important reminder of why the hardwood industry needs to be present in spaces where architects and designers are shaping the future of the built environment. NeoCon, held annually in Chicago, is one of […]

Why Knot Strengthen Your ROI? As I travel across the industry, I have the opportunity to visit a wide variety of operations—hardwood and softwood mills, engineered wood facilities, cabinet and furniture plants, pulp mills, thermal modification operations, pellet mills, pallet manufacturers, and more. While each business is unique, they all share one thing in common […]

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 […]