SLB Programs Generated 526 Million Board Feet of Demand in Q2 2022

The SLB recently published its 2022 Q2 Report, which highlights the SLB’s progress toward generating incremental demand for the softwood lumber industry. The SLB, in partnership with its funded programs—the American Wood Council, Think Wood, and WoodWorks—are making a concerted effort to close knowledge gaps about the use of wood products for their climate benefits, increase timber usage, and capitalize on emerging construction trends.

Key highlights of Q2 include:

• The SLB led its first-ever Timber Design Faculty Development Workshop in partnership with Clemson University’s School of Architecture and Wood Utilization + Design Institute. The four-day, hands-on workshop helped 20 architecture faculty members from 18 schools to identify ways to better integrate timber design and construction into their programs.
• The American Wood Council is in the final stages of developing and launching three new tools to fill carbon accounting data gaps across the wood products value chain.
• WoodWorks converted 126 projects in Q2, resulting in 24.5 million square feet of construction and 228 million board feet of incremental lumber consumption; 64% of reported projects were multifamily.
• Think Wood’s lead nurturing program generated three new projects in Q2, equating to 615,000 square feet of construction. As of Q2, 25 marketing assisted projects were converted (a 70% increase year over year), accounting for 45 of the 228 million board feet of incremental lumber consumption reported by WoodWorks.

In addition to program successes, Craig Webb, president of Webb Analytics, provided insight on big lumberyards’ investment in truss and panel plants, a trend that may ultimately be just as significant to the lumber industry as the rise of mass timber and off-site manufacturing.

Thank you for your continued support of the SLB and our programs and initiatives. We always welcome industry feedback, which can be sent to info@softwoodlumberboard.org.