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Publisher Soap Box – Commentary: Trade War Puts Hardwood Exports in the Crosshairs, Shipments to China Come to a Standstill - Apr 18, 2025
As of right now, the largest export market for American hardwood logs and lumber is pretty much closed for business. The Chinese government announced last month that it was suspending processing of all U.S. log imports. The suspension however does not cover hardwood lumber or other wood products.; Raymond Gutierrez, Leader in the California Pallet Market, Passes Away: A fixture in the western pallet market, he began in 1974 what would become Commercial Lumber & Pallet Co., one of the largest pallet companies on the West Coast.; FCA Packaging Invests in Viking Packing Specialist: Viking is a manufacturer and distributor of custom wood crates, cases, metal containers, corrugated and dangerous goods packaging.; EU Announces Tariff Response, Some Lumber Categories Included: The specifics about the EU tariffs is better than expected according to the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC). Only about 10% of U.S. hardwood exports to the EU would be impacted by the 25% retaliatory tariff.; NEWS IN BRIEF: An Asian long-horned beetle was intercepted last month inside wood cargo packaging from Romania at the Port Huran rail yard in Michigan. more...
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Trump Administration Announces Regulatory Reforms for National Forests - Apr 11, 2025
This order directs the U.S. Forest Service to increase timber outputs, simplify permitting, remove National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) processes, reduce implementation and contracting burdens, and to work directly with states, local government, and forest product producers.; DOC Announces New Higher Countervailing Duties after Preliminary Review: The U.S. Lumber Coalition applauded the most recent duty rates, while the Canadian industry claims these duties are unfair and will hurt Canadian industry as well as American consumers. more...
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State of the Pallet Industry – AI on the Brain - Apr 11, 2025
The reality is that AI shows a lot of promise. But it is far from perfect, and any company that wants to keep up with the future needs to appoint executives or managers who will help guide their AI projects. Effective use of AI requires patience, trial and error and better data sets.; Recycle Record Adds Premium Pallet Prices: More states/areas will be added as we gather more data. That’s where we need your help. We need subscribers to submit data, both pallet users and pallet suppliers.; House Starts Increase Despite Market Concerns: Historically, housing activity has been a major barometer of lumber demand as well as pallet activity. While the market doesn’t look like it is going to collapse further, a significant surge doesn’t appear to be in the horizon either. more...
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State of the Pallet Industry: AI on the Brain – Part 1 - Apr 4, 2025
The reality is that AI shows a lot of promise. But it is far from perfect, and any company that wants to keep up with the future needs to appoint executives or managers who will help guide their AI projects.; Legislative Roundup – Tax and Transportation Policy: The Hardwood Federation trade group hopes that Congress will finally pass a five-year Farm Bill with strong forestry provisions. The Safe Routes Act bill would allow trucks traveling at the maximum gross vehicle weight on state roads to access the federal interstate highway system for short distances.; Senate Bill Aims to Help Forest Owners Recover after Natural Disasters: Previous disaster relief policies and programs provide much-needed relief for agriculture crops and farmers; however, they do not offer any economic relief for land owners whose timber crops were destroyed.; NEWS IN BRIEF: Conner Industries has acquired Kirkland Sales Inc., a custom foam fabricator. Billy J. Townley recently filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy for his three companies in Texas.; Auction: Premium Lumber Auction. April 14th, 9 AM EDT. Online and Phone bidding only. 20+ truckloads available. This auction offers a unique opportunity to purchase high-quality, fresh cut, notched #1 grade pallet stringers.; Profile Second Quarter Regional Lumber Trends: These graphs illustrate the average lumber prices published within each region over the past year. more...
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Action Steps to Reduce Your Insurance Risk Profile - Mar 28, 2025
The number of carriers offering coverage continues to dwindle as insurance companies look for more attractive sectors. Read about these best practices that insurance providers suggest for pallet companies to follow.; Marketing Gems – Promotion Starts with Thinking Like Your Customer: More than focus on what you have to sell, you want your content to cover key pain points and issues felt by pallet users. Everyone wants to attract more business, and in these competitive markets, it starts with thinking like your customer.; U.S. Lumber Coalition Calls Out Canadian Government Subsidies: In March, the Canadian government announced over $11.3 million in funding. The reality is that many countries, including the United States, subsidize some business activity through grants, loans, tax breaks and other funding mechanisms. more...
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House Starts Increase Despite Market Concerns - Mar 21, 2025
Single-family housing starts were up 11.4%, multi-family starts increased 10.7% over the January results. The number of single-family homes under construction in February was down 6.7% from a year ago, at 640,000 homes.; PalletTrader Announces Strategic Alliance with Pallet Control Tower for Transatlantic Pallet Trading Network: Under this collaboration, the two platforms intend to offer a new service which will enable U.S. shippers to obtain and reuse European-standard pallets, initially used to transport goods into the U.S. from Europe and to ship U.S. exports back to Europe.; NWPCA Members Lobby Congress and White House, Association Warns about Increased Labor Enforcement: This is a great time to ensure compliance with work authorization and I-9 paperwork. If you haven’t checked your process in a while, you may want to conduct an internal audit to identify any concerns.; Virginia Tech Offers Crate Design Short Course: This 2.5 day course will take place April 15-17th in Blacksburg, Virginia and will introduce the different crate styles and characteristics commonly used in the United States.; Prayer Gathering to Be Held Around National Pallet Meeting: While the NWPCA doesn’t officially sponsor or promote the meeting, the association has set aside a meeting space on Friday, March 28th from 6:30 to 7:30 a.m.; Former Timber Executive Named as Forest Service Chief: The Trump administration has tapped Tom Schultz who does have years of experience in forestry public policy and land management roles. This selection is not without controversy. more...
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E.U. Proposes Tariffs on U.S. Wood Products and Other Goods - Mar 14, 2025
Pallets and wood boxes are currently not on the list of products that may be hit with a tariff. European officials are calling for further talks and negotiations. The Hardwood Federation, the lobbying group for the U.S. hardwood sector, issued a call for action.; State of the Pallet Industry: Using Tech to Connect with Customers Is Key In a Challenging Sales Environment: Waiting for the phone to ring is not a sales strategy. Companies that thrive in the future will do more than just seek profit at all cost. Have you stopped to assess how you may be stuck? What is one new product or approach that could open up a whole new way of doing business? more...
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Trump Administration Announces Steel and Other Tariffs - Mar 14, 2025
Some details are still unclear, but the tariffs certainly cover steel and nails. The guidelines exempt items processed from U.S.-origin steel or aluminum. President Trump is closing loopholes and extending the tariffs to cover all countries including those previously excluded. This stricter enforcement means that loopholes used to get around tariffs last time will not be available to producers or importers.; Brambles Reports Volume Growth, Sales from New Business Wins: The company’s first half profits rose thanks to sales volume growth, new business wins and improved asset efficiency. Some costs went up for the company (labor, repair, pallet storage and transport) while others went down (lumber and fuel). Driven by enhanced data analytics, the company is improving asset control.; Recycle Bits: Police in the Greenville, South Carolina area recently arrested a man for allegedly selling stolen CHEP pallets. Employees at Modesto pallet company are seeking nearly $629,000 from the owner in unpaid wages. more...
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Publisher’s Soap Box: Trump Administration Issues Executive Orders on Imported Timber and Land Management - Mar 7, 2025
The Department of Commerce will issue a report with recommendations from its investigation. Some possibilities include: tariffs, export controls, incentives to increase domestic production, and policy ideas for strategic investments and permitting reforms. Growing America's forest products sector would be great. It just may take too much time to get the machine moving to make much difference in the short-term.; DOC Announces Antidumping Rate for Latest Review Period: The U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) just announced its preliminary decision on softwood lumber from Canada. The DOC conducts a yearly review to assess market changes to duty rates in trade cases.; Auctions: March 27, 9am CST. Virtual/Online. Accepting consignments; March 29, Formerly 7-11 Shelby Lumber. 9am CST. Center, TX. All equipment like new. more...
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Trump Administration Announces Steel Tariffs, Affects Nails, Steel and Possibly More - Feb 28, 2025
This expansion of Trump’s previous 2018 tariffs will likely push the cost of pallet nails up and could affect other products used by the pallet industry. President Trump has said that the word tariff is a beautiful thing.; Brambles Reports Volume Growth, Sales from New Business Wins: The company’s first half profits rose thanks to sales volume growth, new business wins and improved asset efficiency. Some costs went up for the company (labor, repair, pallet storage and transport) while others went down (lumber and fuel).; B&B Lumber Company Experiences Fire at Storage Facility: Despite the loss, the company minimized operational downtime, resuming full production just one day later and was also thankful to report that no injuries occurred as a result of the fire.; Auction: Online. March 13th, 10:00am CST, Thursday. Pinnacle Pallets, Pallet and Crate Mfr. more...
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