The U.S. South is becoming an increasingly important lumber supplier in North America, bolstered by Canadian companies gaining easy access to forests and the side benefit of escaping U.S. tariffs on softwood.
“The prime motivation is the wood fibre basket,” Mr. Elstone said in an interview on Tuesday, one day after the U.S. Department of Commerce said it would maintain tariffs against Canadian producers shipping lumber south of the border, although at lower duty rates that will take effect this fall. Vancouver-based West Fraser said it would spend US$150-million to expand five of its sawmills in the U.S. South and agreed to buy a Texas mill for US$300-million. Vancouver-based Canfor disclosed plans to build a new sawmill in Louisiana for US$160-million, while Interfor Corp. of Burnaby, B.C., paid US$375-million to acquire a total of four sawmills – in Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana in the U.S. South, and Oregon in the Pacific Northwest.
The B.C. NDP pledged during the provincial election campaign in 2020 to recognize and protect the unique attributes of old-growth forests. After being re-elected, Premier John Horgan’s government gradually took steps toward reforming forestry policies amid escalating tensions between the forestry industry and environmental groups.