Raw Materials

APA Knows IRC OSB Lateral Resistance Capacity is 350 plf & 383 plf with GWB

Canfor Corp. announced last week that it will temporarily curtail operations at three sawmills due to current market conditions, following an announcement of further cuts by West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. on Jan. 14.

For the third consecutive month, OSB prices (NSA) declined the most in percentage terms (-6.1%).  Prices paid for OSB have decreased nearly 30% since October 2018 and have fallen more than 40% since hitting their most recent peak in June 2018.

Determining the stiffest piece of lumber is now easier with a new smartphone app created by scientists in Mississippi State University’s Forest and Wildlife Research Center. Called “Smart Thumper,” the app uses soundwaves or vibrations to determine stiffness.

Pacific Lumber Inspection Bureau (PLIB) and West Coast Lumber Inspection Bureau (WCLIB) have merged operations into a single entity.

While most building materials prices showed little movement in December, prices paid for OSB fell by double digits for the second consecutive month.

One B.C. company has developed a method to make bioplastics from wood. But rather than another bio-alternative for plastic straws and containers, Advanced BioCarbon 3D Ltd (ABC3D) is creating a wood-based engineered grade high performance plastic.

Lumber futures reached a record in May that was 30% above the old all-time high set in the early 1990s. Still, lumber ended the year as one of the worst-performing commodities.

In a collaborative effort between researchers at ETH Zurich and MIT, a material was 3D printed with a stiffness that comes notably close to the theoretical maximum limit of a stiffness to weight ratio possible according to the laws of physics.

Earlier this year, we announced the construction of a new $135 million softwood lumber production facility in Warrenton, Georgia. Today, we celebrated with a groundbreaking with local community members, government representatives and Georgia‐Pacific employees.