December 2022

Caroline Dauzat Concludes Successful Term as SLB Chair

SLB Chief Executive Officer Cees de Jager (left) and Chief Marketing Officer Ryan Flom (right) present awards of recognition to outgoing SLB Chair Caroline Dauzat and outgoing Board member Furman Brodie.

Caroline Dauzat, owner of Graceville, Florida-based Rex Lumber, concludes her successful term as SLB Board Chair at the end of 2022. Dauzat joined the Board in 2017 and served as the Chair of the Industry Relations & Governance committee. In 2021, she became the SLB’s first female Board Chair, leading the industry with resolve during the uncertainty of a global pandemic and the resultant market fluctuations. She will remain on the Board as a director through 2023, representing the U.S. South. “Caroline has always demonstrated a strong commitment to make both the softwood lumber industry and our communities better,” says Ray Ferris, SLB Board member and President and CEO of West Fraser. “Her term as Chair of the SLB is just another example, and I very much appreciate her leadership in continuing to advance our industry.”

Furman Brodie, VP at Effingham, South Carolina-based Charles Ingram Lumber Co., will step down at the end of the year from the position he has held on the Board since 2016. During his tenure with the SLB, he also served as Chair of the American Lumber Standard Committee and of the American Wood Council (AWC). Having worked with Brodie both on the SLB and on other boards, Dauzat says that he “is always a thoughtful contributor and brings a perspective that generates discussion. But he also listens very carefully and offers valuable advice to guide the Board and staff.” Outside of meetings, she adds: “He also says grace before dinner more eloquently than anyone I know!” 

Both were recognized at the fall Board meeting in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, for their leadership and dedicated service.

Market Forecast Stresses Opportunities for Incremental Growth in New Sectors

Reverberations from the pandemic have changed the construction outlook in key market segments, with an impact on long-term lumber demand, according to FEA’s new 2023 softwood lumber markets forecast. 

The forecast anticipates 4.21 BBF of incremental lumber consumption by 2035—nearly half of which is anticipated to come from nonresidential sectors, and nearly 30% of which is expected to be in mass timber. Office and bank buildings and education buildings continue to offer the most long-term potential for both light-frame construction and mass timber construction in the nonresidential segment, but warehouses are a fast-growing category that should be scrutinized for wood design opportunities. And continued education and training are key to overcome perceived challenges of wood design—as is keeping up with the demand for mass timber.

The SLB commissions forecast data annually to support its programs and investors in tracking and capitalizing on the latest market opportunities.

WoodWorks Helps GSA Explore Wood Solutions

In this test, a 7-ply CLT panel resisted a forced-entry attack performed for 44 minutes, which is more than adequate for most hardened-envelope situations in Department of State facilities.

The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) continues to engage WoodWorks as an expert on wood-related topics as part of its efforts to build federal buildings more sustainably. In July, WoodWorks was invited to provide mass timber education at a workshop attended by 190 GSA staff; it also joined the steel and concrete industries for a panel discussion moderated by GSA staff at the Design-Build Institute of America’s Federal Symposium, where information on sustainable forestry was particularly well received.

To support the design teams that work on government projects, WoodWorks also recently hosted an online seminar on protective design. The seminar provided a detailed look at the variety of mass timber products available and their structural performance, fire resistance, acoustics, and energy efficiency. It included an overview of the current protective-design landscape as it applies to some of the larger federal agencies, as well as information on research that is pertinent to the protective design of mass timber construction.

Greenhill School Valdes STEM + Innovation Center—Addison, Texas

Bohlin Cywinski Jackson (BCJ) designed this education project to “empower a new generation of creative minds.” It is one of just a few mass timber buildings to advance to construction in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

Structural engineering firm Walter P Moore contacted WoodWorks Regional Director Mark Bartlett to discuss whether a special CLT layup would be certified under the PRG-320 standard by its deadline. Bartlett also shared links to WoodWorks’ U.S. Mass Timber Floor Vibration Design Guide and U.S. Mass Timber Construction Manual. 

Walter P Moore reached out again with an issue regarding the use of CLT as a diaphragm. This approach is recognized in the 2021 IBC and widely used on mass timber projects, but the Valdes STEM + Innovation Center was designed under the 2018 IBC and the building official questioned its use. WoodWorks suggested a solution, and the issue was resolved. 

WoodWorks also provided technical support to BCJ, which reached out regarding shaft wall details, moisture and fire protection of exterior glulam beam connections, and the use of intumescent paint. “WoodWorks has been a great collaborator, sharing their expertise whenever we asked,” BCJ designer Habeeb Muhammad said. “With their network, there was always someone to help us navigate our challenges.”

How Mass Timber Can Help Address Affordability

Think Wood recently dove into a new report on the use of prefabricated wood products in affordable housing from Minneapolis-based environmental nonprofit Dovetail Partners and New York City-based development firm Spiritos Properties. A collaborative effort of authors Kathryn Fernholz and Jeff Spiritos, the report examines the origins of the nation’s housing shortages, historical efforts to deliver more affordable housing over the past 100 years, and the new opportunities on the horizon to construct more affordable housing using efficient mass timber. As the report states, “the time is ripe to focus on the next best way to build affordable housing in the quantities demanded to provide decent housing and as a foundation for all other opportunities to spring from.” 

Shying away from generalities, the report looks in depth at a case study for an affordable housing project in New Haven, Connecticut, showing that even though the materials cost of mass timber proved higher than competing materials, the speed and efficiency of construction, as well as savings realized by leaving timber walls and ceilings exposed, helped save money at other points in the construction cycle, reducing the premium and making it a viable option for building more affordable housing faster.

AWC Staff See Forest-to-Mill Journey Firsthand at Retreat

Jordan Lumber generously hosted AWC staff members in Mt. Gilead, North Carolina, where they toured the Jordan Lumber sawmill, viewed the replanting operation at every stage of tree growth, and observed a logging operation. Despite their deep understanding of the industry, some AWC staff had not seen any aspect of the forest-to-mill process in person, while others had not witnessed the many recent improvements and innovations in mill automation and optimization that help to ensure that every piece of a log is used. Staff came away with a much better understanding of modern, sustainable forestry management and the latest technological advances in production of wood products and will use this knowledge in their work for the industry.

Analysts See Mass Timber Momentum

A new report from RBC Capital Markets hails mass timber as transformative for the North American lumber industry. Called “Mass Timber Opportunities: When Innovation and Nature Merge,” the report notes that mass timber’s sustainable attributes are helping it to gain traction as an alternative to steel and concrete.

RBC recognizes that, while it is still emerging, the North American market provides real commercial opportunity. The report points out that mass timber’s enhanced capabilities help the category resist the volatile commodity price swings of traditional lumber. “Pursuing a value-added economic model integrating mass timber facilities with sawmills on the supply side and with developers on the demand side is an opportunity to drive more stable returns and improve valuation for lumber producers."

In and of itself, this analysis may not seem new to the wood industry—it has been part of the reason for a focus on mass timber even though the industry remains nascent in the United States. But when financial analysts start recognizing the potential of mass timber and the potential for it to have positive impacts on the lumber business, it is validation that the industry might be onto something.