Don't miss our
2009 Annual Meeting

photo gallery!

 HOME    PREVIOUS ISSUES

October 30, 2009

Southern Pine Represented at International Conference

SFPA President Digges Morgan was among the 123 delegates attending the 4th International Softwood Conference held Oct. 22-23 in Madrid. The conference was organized by the European Timber Trade Federation and the European Organization of Sawmills and hosted by the Spanish Association of Timber Importers (AEIM). In addition to the United States, countries represented were Austria, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Morocco, Norway, Romania, Russia, Spain, Sweden, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

In a post-conference news release, conference sponsors reported the timber industry had reacted appropriately to the “unprecedented upheaval in world markets” and is now in a “stable situation with a 4.5% increase in business predicted for 2010.”

The U.S. delegation included Digges; Brian Hayson of SFPA Affiliate member company Cox Industries Inc.;  Marc Brinkmeyer of the Idaho Forest Group and Western Wood Products Association; and Joel Osterloh of Elof Hansson Inc., an Associate member company of the Southeastern Lumber Manufacturers Association.  Digges updated attendees on green-building and wood promotion efforts in the United States (click here to view the presentation).

SFPA’s participation in the conference is important for a number of reasons. “The main benefit is that we represent the United States among the world’s wood products associations, and they look to us for our market analysis and promotional efforts,” he said. Digges notes the opportunity to share information about the industry worldwide is also beneficial.

A 2007-2010 market survey along with notes about the state of the industry across the globe can be found in the members-only sections for Active/Affiliate and Associate members at www.sfpa.org.

Green Discussions, Debates Making News

SFPA members might be interested in two green-related items currently in the news. CNBC.com featured a guest blog titled “Certified Forest Products: A Great Choice for the Environment” written by Larry Selzer, president and CEO of The Conservation Fund. Larry makes the point that forests can simultaneously provide environmental benefits and forest products. The New York Times, meanwhile, posted a story about a complaint filed with the Federal Trade Commission charging that the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) “engages in unfair deceptive trade practices.” That story – titled “Feud Continues Between Wood Certifiers” – says the group who filed the complaint also stated LEED “is anticompetitive because it only recognizes products certified by the Forest Stewardship Council and not those of other certifying bodies.”

Click here to read the CNBC blog and here for the New York Times story.

‘Going Green Without Going Crazy’ Available Online

A workshop titled “Going Green Without Going Crazy” will be held Nov. 5 in Wisconsin, but those who would like to participate without traveling to the Great Lakes region can do so via the Internet. Sponsored by the Forest Products Society, the Society of American Foresters and others, the workshop is designed to help members of the wood products and building industries better understand the green trends impacting the building sector. The workshop will cover green building program requirements and forest certification and also provide a step-by-step description of what it takes to implement a chain-of-custody system to qualify wood products for recognition in green-building programs. Click here for full workshop details and here to register to participate online.

2009 Traders Market to Include International Program

International trade will be the focus of a “Magellan Club” program to be held during the North American Wholesale Lumber Association’s upcoming Traders Market. The program will include overviews of trade-related developments and trends in several areas of the world as well as presentations about transportation, logistics and regulatory issues. NAWLA reports almost 1,100 delegates and 239 exhibiting companies are registered for this year’s Traders Market, Nov. 5-7 in Chicago. The Magellan Club luncheon and program will be held from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Nov. 5. Click here for Magellan Club details and here for general information about the Traders Market. SFPA and the Southern Pine Council will be represented at both events by SFPA President Digges Morgan.

PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION  

mechanical means, without written authorization from SFPA is prohibited.