Hunt and Thorlakson Families Bloom With LaSalle/Bienville Lumber Company LLC

“It’s our mission to cultivate valued relationships with our customers, employees, partners, vendors and communities, deeply rooting ourselves in shared growth. Our signature dependability and transparency create value and inspire trust.” – LaSalle/Bienville Lumber Company LLC From left to right, are members of the LaSalle/Bienville sales team, Holly Bridwell, John Harkey, Jim Olson, Leah Simmons […]

Shifting Risks: How Softwoods Can Prepare For A Productive 2025

After years of volatility, softwood businesses are looking toward 2025 with cautious optimism. Sixty percent of wood flooring companies expect increased sales in the coming year, according to the National Wood Flooring Association’s industry outlook. These positive market headwinds make it critical for wood and building material businesses to maximize profits by protecting every aspect […]

West Coast Business Trends

The end of 2024 brought an unusual slight uptick in pricing in tandem with the usual seasonal dip in demand.  Post U.S. election and heading into much harsher winter conditions for most of North America, West Coast producers have a bevy of concerns they can only speculate on the best way to address.  At the […]

Southeast Business Trends

Some diverse market reports have emerged from the Southeast that host complaints about rising costs. In Alabama, a lumber representative said that the market in his area is “still pretty busy. Commodities are obviously dropping in price but we’re still steady.” He said he can’t “pinpoint exactly why we’re still busy but there’s a lot […]

Softwood Lumber Forecasts For 2025

2024 A Successful Year For Many, Hope That Success Carries Through To 2025 2024 was overwhelmingly a successful year for many companies, despite the challenges that many faced. One participant stated, “Even though it had its challenges, we view the year as a success…” While there are some participants that expect the start of 2025 […]

Equipment Forecasts For 2025

Equipment And Service Providers Prepare For 2025 With Hope For Market Improvements In the forest products industry, equipment and service providers encountered several issues in 2024, such as struggles with labor, competition with imitation wood products, transportation and fuel prices. One respondent detailed, “The high fuel prices are still challenging with high transportation costs from […]

Ontario/Quebec Business Trends

Big picture issues were top of mind over the last few months, including the possible impacts of proposed tariffs on all U.S. imports. While potential outcomes could be very negative, there remains an openness for optimism. In the SPF market, one Quebec producer reported that “random mills are solid and stud mills are a bit […]

Industry News

Culpeper Acquires Fortress Wood Culpeper Wood Preservers, located in Culpeper, VA, recently acquired Fortress Wood Products, a North Carolina-based premier wood supplier and pressure treater. This acquisition strengthens Culpeper’s presence in the Mid-Atlantic while expanding its capacity to deliver premium pressure-treated wood products to its customers. “The acquisition of Fortress Wood Products is a key […]

Washington Report

Construction Labor Market Continues To Ease After a period of slowing associated with declines for some elements of the residential construction industry, the count of open construction sector jobs trended lower in the October data (most current information available at press time), per the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS). […]

In Memoriam

With heavy hearts and fond memories, the family of Ardis Almond announced his passing on November 21st, 2024, at the age of 75. Ardis was born on February 13th, 1949, in Shreveport, LA, to Laurie and Flo Almond, and lived a life full of love, laughter and adventure. A devoted husband, father and grandfather, Ardis […]