Forisk Consulting

09/10/2026

⏰ 𝗘𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗦𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟭𝟲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗸’𝘀 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗔𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘀𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀.

National economic trends matter, but timber investment and operating decisions ultimately depend on what’s happening in local markets and wood baskets.

In his latest blog, Brooks Mendell explores how macroeconomic forces connect to local timber markets—and why understanding local supply, demand, competition, and risk is essential for informed decision-making.

These topics are also central to Forisk’s virtual Timber Market Analysis class on September 30 and October 1.

𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝘆 𝗦𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟭𝟲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.

🔗TMA Class Registration: https://forisk.com/education-speaking/timber-market-analysis-class/

🔗Blog post: https://forisk.com/local-timber-markets-have-macroeconomic-exposures-too/

09/09/2026

𝗦𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗻 𝗨𝗦 𝘀𝗮𝘄𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗖𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝘀𝗮𝘄𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗲 — 𝗮 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗳𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗡𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝗔𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗹𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗹𝘆.

US South sawmills plan to add 2.1 billion board feet of net capacity from 2026-2028. Canadian sawmills, meanwhile, removed 1.7 billion board feet in 2025-2026 combined.

"Sawmills in the US South plan to add 2.1 billion board feet of lumber production capacity from 2026 to 2028, net of closures," says Amanda Lang, President and COO of Forisk Consulting. "Meanwhile, Canadian sawmills continue to close."

Highlights:
• US South: New mill starts and expansions across AL, MS, GA, SC, and LA
• US North/West: J.D. Irving nearly doubling Ashland, ME capacity (130 → 250 MMBF)
• Canada: Carrier, Western Forest Products, and Canfor curtailing or closing BC/SK/AB sawmills

Forisk tracks 2,350+ forest industry mills — including planned capacity changes — through the North American Forest Industry Capacity Database and Forisk Research Quarterly.

Read more:https://forisk.com/wp-content/uploads/Press-Release_Mill-DB_20260908.pdf

09/04/2026

The early-bird rate ends in two weeks for Forisk's upcoming Timber Market Analysis Class! Register by September 16th to save!
Click here to learn more and register online: https://hubs.ly/Q04wKwl40

08/27/2026

𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗸 𝗣𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝘀 𝗣𝘂𝗹𝗽 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗪𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗣𝗮𝗽𝗲𝗿

31 U.S. wood-using pulp mills have closed since 2019. Forisk's new white paper looks at why — and what policymakers can do about it.

𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘗𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘺 𝘖𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘜.𝘚. 𝘗𝘶𝘭𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘗𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘚𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳, by Brooks Mendell and Amanda Lang, draws on structured interviews with executives across the industry's wood-consuming operations — surfacing the economic, operational, and policy factors shaping investment decisions, and where action on trade, permitting, and wood-use policy could boost competitiveness.

"Policy decisions directly dictate how fast – or if – capital moves into U.S. manufacturing facilities." — Brooks Mendell, CEO, Forisk

Learn more here:https://forisk.com/wp-content/uploads/Pulp-sector-white-paper-press-release-20260827-FINAL.pdf

08/18/2026

📊 This quarter's Forisk News is out.

𝗙𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵: 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗧𝘂𝗿𝗯𝘂𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 — a look at shifting forest supply dynamics in the US South and Pacific Northwest, and what it means for timberland owners and investors.

Also in this issue:

📌 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗸 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗙𝗶𝗴𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀 — our U.S. South pellet production forecast, plus a closure-risk ranking of export-oriented Southern pellet facilities amid changing Western Europe subsidy schemes

📌 Highlights from the Q3 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘬 𝘙𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘘𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘺 (𝘍𝘙𝘘)

📌Updates from Forisk

Read the full newsletter here:

08/14/2026

𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗸 𝗕𝗹𝗼𝗴: 𝗔𝘂𝗴𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 𝗦𝗮𝘄𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗨𝗽𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲

North American sawmill activity continues to tell a mixed regional story. Forisk’s latest blog from Amanda Lang highlights new capacity and investment across the U.S., including 2.1 billion board feet of net new capacity expected in the U.S. South from 2026–2028, while Canadian producers continue to face curtailments and closures.

Read the full update for the latest sawmill openings, expansions, investments, and closures across North America: https://forisk.com/forest-market-bulletin-august-2026-sawmill-update/

Send a message to learn more

08/05/2026

𝗜𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝗨𝗗𝗥 𝗮𝗱𝗱𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀?

In Forisk’s latest blog, Brooks Mendell takes a humorous look at the regulation, its implications for the forest products industry, and the data showing that U.S. forest growth continues to outpace removals.

Read the full post:

Three cheers and a raspberry tart to the EU for the brilliantly complicated and uncertain EUDR! You guys are the best.

07/30/2026

𝗨.𝗦. 𝗛𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗢𝘂𝘁𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸: 𝗤𝟯 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 𝗨𝗽𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲

Forisk will publish the Q3 edition of the 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘬 𝘙𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘘𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘺 in August, which includes our updated U.S. housing starts outlook. Forisk’s latest outlook points to continued near-term pressure on U.S. housing activity as elevated mortgage rates and economic uncertainty weigh on new construction. Forisk projects flat housing starts over the next two years with a 0.5% increase in 2026, followed by a 0.5% decline in 2027.

Read the full update from Shawn Baker here:

Forisk's Q3 2026 Housing Outlook anticipates little housing growth through 2027 and reviews Q2 housing activity relative to year-end actuals.

07/21/2026

𝙁𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙠 𝙍𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙘𝙝 𝙌𝙪𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙡𝙮 (𝙁𝙍𝙌) 𝗘𝘅𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗣𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘁 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗥𝗶𝘀𝗸

The upcoming Q3 2026 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘬 𝘙𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘘𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘺 (𝘍𝘙𝘘) examines two issues with potential long-term implications for forest owners, manufacturers, and investors.

This quarter's featured research explores changing forest supplies in the U.S. South and Pacific Northwest, including the effects of policy restrictions, land-use conversion, pulpwood market concentration, and evolving forest management strategies.

The edition also includes updated U.S. South pellet production forecasts and a risk analysis of export-oriented pellet facilities ahead of changes to Western European subsidy programs in 2027.

Read the full release here: