July 2026

Expanding Lumber’s Market Share, City by City

A key element of the SLB’s strategy to achieve 2.9 BBF of incremental annual lumber demand by 2035 is a focus on cities and regions where the potential for conversion to wood construction is highest. The SLB’s Accelerator Cities Program unlocks new lumber demand in those priority markets by combining the efforts of local governments, regional jurisdictions, and the softwood lumber industry to expand opportunities for new projects, remove barriers, and streamline code compliance.

Developed in partnership with the USDA Forest Service and supported by the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities, this public-private initiative provides targeted funding, technical assistance, and local industry engagement to help cities launch and expand wood construction projects.

After initial pilots in Boston, New York City, and Georgia demonstrated approaches for expanding wood construction opportunities, the Accelerator Cities initiative is gaining momentum with accelerators launched in new urban markets, including Portland, Oregon, and Santa Monica, California. And in the New York City mayor’s new “Block by Block” housing plan, the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) supported a third consecutive year of its Mass Timber Studio, which has become a recognized example for integrating renewable construction into broader economic development strategies.

To continue to activate new cities, the SLB has developed a new Accelerator Model Blueprint that helps city leaders evaluate how wood construction can support local housing, economic development, and sustainability goals. The SLB serves as the catalyst for the growing network of Accelerator Cities nationwide, and the lumber industry’s continuing investment in the SLB ensures these programs will gain momentum through the SLB’s experience and participation. To learn more and connect your local city officials with the SLB for guidance and resources, contact acceleratorcities@softwoodlumberboard.org.

AIA Awards Signal Growing Demand for Wood Design

Education facilities represent a 203 MM BF annual lumber demand opportunity in the SLB's long-term strategy. One of the strongest signals that this market is moving toward greater wood adoption came at the 2026 AIA Architecture Awards, where every Education Facility Design winner featured mass timber.

Award-winning buildings become reference projects that architects study, share, and emulate, helping normalize wood solutions for future projects. As more designers specify wood with confidence, those specifications translate into additional lumber demand.

In addition to the mass timber education category winners, the 10 projects chosen for the overall Architecture Awards, honoring the best contemporary architecture regardless of budget, size, style, or type, were predominantly wood. Seven used structural mass timber and two others used light-frame for single-family or outdoor applications.

The awards demonstrate that wood is no longer viewed as a niche material for exceptional projects. As mass timber and light-frame buildings increasingly set the standard for award-winning design, they help shape the projects architects specify tomorrow, creating new opportunities for lumber. The fact that many winning projects have been supported by WoodWorks or featured by Think Wood highlights how SLB-funded programs are helping move wood from innovative alternative to mainstream choice.

AWC’s Fire Service Engagement Protects Lumber Markets

Fire service leaders shape how wood construction is understood, accepted, and ultimately used. When equipped with technical information, they become some of the most credible voices for safe wood construction. That's why the AWC's fire service engagement is an important part of its strategy to support market opportunities for wood construction.

In June, the AWC convened its annual Fire Service Advisory Council (FSAC) in Leesburg, Virginia. Fire service leaders from across the country joined AWC engineers and code staff for two days of discussion, a virtual mill tour, and fire testing at the Capital Testing laboratory. FSAC members guide how the AWC directs engagement, develops resources, and prioritizes outreach, so resources and training reflect what departments actually need.

That same commitment drives the AWC’s direct outreach in Florida, where the AWC has been delivering targeted education to fire officials on mass timber construction. As Florida continues evaluating mass timber provisions for its building code, the AWC is providing technical expertise and education to help fire officials understand wood’s performance and applicable code provisions.

In California, the AWC is actively engaged on wildfire resilience code requirements, highlighting performance-based approaches that keep material choices in the hands of builders and engineers. The AWC also works alongside fire service partners as the program tracks emerging media narratives that raise concerns about material safety, staying ready to ensure accurate, science-backed information is available when questions arise.

When fire officials are informed partners, markets stay open. The decisions being made now on mass timber, WUI regulations, and more have real market consequences, and the AWC’s relationships with fire services and marshals across the United States is critical to safeguarding and growing markets for wood products.

WoodWorks Grows Tall Timber’s Long-Term Potential

While mid-rise light-frame and mass timber buildings up to eight stories represent the primary opportunity for incremental lumber demand growth, tall timber buildings of 9 stories or higher serve as highly visible showcases of wood construction’s potential. And even modest market share for wood in this segment represents significant opportunity: In the 9+ story multifamily segment, for example, 15% market share would add 224 MM BF of annual lumber demand.

WoodWorks is supporting more than 200 tall wood projects in design and, over the past year, a tall wood project has broken ground each quarter. These recent examples demonstrate how WoodWorks is repeatedly converting projects that otherwise would have been concrete or steel, helping tall wood projects play a role in the return to market growth:

• Converting a Concrete-Focused Architect to Tall Wood: Targeted outreach to a Washington, D.C., architect known for concrete high-rises led to support on a Type IV-B, 12-over-3 project. WoodWorks is providing expertise and connections to position mass timber as a viable tall building alternative.
• Advancing Tall Wood Through State Policy in Virginia: WoodWorks guidance to the Virginia Department of Forestry supported early adoption of the 2024 IBC tall wood provisions, enabling mass timber housing up to 12 stories and reducing reliance on costlier concrete construction.
• Preserving Tall Wood Opportunities in Multi-Building Development: By addressing contractor concerns, WoodWorks helped a Massachusetts developer keep mass timber in a project with four buildings up to 13 stories, preventing a fallback to conventional materials.
• Converting Nashville Developer to Wood: Through sustained, proactive engagement with a developer, WoodWorks turned exploration to understanding and implementation as the developer transitions a previously envisioned seven-story concrete tower into an innovative wood solution.

USDA Forest Service Content Partnership Drives Specifier Confidence in Lumber’s Sustainability

Think Wood’s recent partnership with the USDA Forest Service produced new content exploring the relationship between sustainable forestry and mass timber construction. Two Think Wood case studies produced through the partnership—featuring an aerospace manufacturing facility and the National Museum of Forest Service History—showcase not only the sustainability of lumber and mass timber, but also how developing new markets for wood products improves sustainable forestry, wildfire prevention, and general forest health. The stories drive confidence in lumber’s sustainable attributes among Think Wood’s audience of architects, developers, and engineers, increasing the likelihood of specification of lumber-based structural systems.

The content partnership is just one recent example of how the SLB and the Forest Service have collaborated to deliver results for the softwood lumber industry. Since the two organizations first formalized their collaboration through a 2015 memorandum of understanding (MOU) that was expanded in 2021, the SLB and the Forest Service have jointly invested in programs and competitions that expand markets for softwood lumber and position lumber as a sustainable building solution.

Through city-based accelerators, national design competitions, and initiatives within WoodWorks and Think Wood, the SLB and the Forest Service are equipping design teams, developers, contractors, installers, and communities with the resources to build sustainably while supporting resilient forests and rural economies. These achievements underscore the power of public-private collaboration to deliver results that no single organization could achieve alone.

Clemson Workshop Builds Engineering Faculty Capacity

Faculty development creates a multiplier effect for the SLB’s education investment. Every professor trained creates years or even decades of future wood design expertise to pass along to students, increasing specification of lumber.

To achieve that multiplier effect and expand the pool of engineers who understand wood systems, the SLB supported a Timber Engineering Faculty Development Workshop at Clemson University in June. The 2.5-day program brought together 30 engineering faculty from universities across the country for focused training on wood design education, light-frame systems, mass timber, codes and standards, and strategies for integrating timber content into existing civil engineering courses.

The workshop was designed to give faculty tools they could use immediately. Sessions led by academic and industry experts provided technical instruction, teaching resources, and examples that participants could adapt for their own classrooms. The program also connected wood design to the broader supply chain and construction process, including visits to Clemson’s Experimental Forest and mass timber buildings, along with a tour of Timberlab’s fabrication facility in Greenville, South Carolina.

That exposure is important. Faculty who have not worked directly with wood systems often need more than technical references; they need confidence, project context, and a clearer understanding of how wood products move from forest to fabrication to finished building. The workshop also included an industry panel with representatives from Timberlab; Britt, Peters and Associates; and MiTek, helping faculty better understand the skills employers need from future engineers.

“As a practicing structural engineer preparing to teach a wood design course, this workshop was incredibly valuable,” said a participant from San Francisco State University. “I came away with practical teaching resources, a better understanding of timber engineering, and ideas I can bring directly into the classroom.”

WoodWorks Grows Industry Expertise for Light-Frame/Mass Timber Hybrid Construction 

Light-frame/mass timber hybrid construction represents an annual incremental lumber demand opportunity of 396 MM BF by 2035. Projects like Distel Circle help demonstrate how WoodWorks support is growing the technical expertise and confidence needed to make this construction approach repeatable across the industry.

Fausto Teran, studio director of design firm KTGY, reached out to WoodWorks about a 116,000-square-foot affordable housing project in Los Altos, California, with four stories of volumetric modular light-frame wood residential units over a mass timber podium.

This was the firm’s first use of mass timber as a podium and the team’s initial questions related to detailing at a fire wall that would require approval through an Alternate Means and Methods Request. The WoodWorks Regional Director made suggestions on the detailing and, later that month, presented a lunch-and-learn that equipped the broader design team with hybrid construction knowledge they can apply on future projects.

By helping project teams successfully navigate first-of-their-kind technical challenges, WoodWorks reduces barriers for future hybrid projects. The knowledge gained on one project helps designers and builders approach similar projects with greater confidence, accelerating adoption across the market.

The RD and the WoodWorks help desk also answered questions from the contractor. They shared information on best practices for protecting the timber during construction and beyond, especially in exterior applications.

Scheduled for completion in 2026 and projected to use 14.7 bf/sq. ft., Distel Circle will include 90 affordable housing units for households earning 30-80% of the area’s median income, plus parking.

“Partnering with WoodWorks has been highly valuable to the development and construction of the Distel Circle project,” Teran said. “Their collaborative approach during plan reviews and their openness to exploring different strategies allowed us to move forward with confidence and develop viable solutions to bring this pioneering project to life.”

As more architects, engineers, and contractors gain experience with hybrid wood construction, these projects become easier to design, approve, and build, helping unlock one of the SLB's largest long-term lumber demand opportunities.