U.S. Housing Starts Were Soft In January

U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities announces that Fritz Mason, Paul Hossain and Anna Torma were elected as new directors at the organization’s fall board meeting. “Drawing upon diverse backgrounds, they each bring a distinctive perspective and unique vision. We look forward to collaborating with them to further the mission of the Endowment,” comments Pete Madden, President and CEO of the Endowment…

Kadant Inc. has completed its previously announced acquisition of Key Knife, Inc. and some of its affiliates for approximately $156 million in cash, subject to certain customary adjustments. The acquisition was financed primarily through borrowings under Kadant’s revolving credit facility. Key Knife, a global supplier of engineered knife systems for custom chipping, planing, and flaking solutions for wood product industries, is headquartered in Tualatin, Ore. with…

MiCROTEC has announced the appointment of Ofer Heyman as its new Chief Executive Officer in Corvallis, Ore. Heyman brings a wealth of experience and a background in the industry, making him a valuable addition to the MiCROTEC team…

Sierra Pacific Industries (SPI) has named Robert Hoover Vice President of Resources, effective Jan. 1, 2024. He will work with SPI’s team of professionals who sustainably manage the company’s 2.4 million acres of timberlands and provide a steady log supply for the company’s sawmills. Hoover is assuming this role following the retirement of Dan Tomascheski at the end of the year…

U.S. housing starts—single-family and multi-family combined—made their largest monthly increase in 2023, jumping 14.8% in November over October to a rate of 1.560 million. Single-family starts in November were at a rate of 1.143 million, a whopping 18% above October, while multi-family was 404,000 in November, up nearly 9% over October…

Weyerhaeuser Co. entered into two agreements with Forest Investment Associates to divest 69,600 acres in upstate South Carolina for $170 million, and to purchase 60,700 acres of high-quality timberlands in coastal North Carolina, South Carolina and Mississippi for $163 million…

Boise Cascade announced an indefinite curtailment of its lumber production in Chapman, Ala. The curtailment will affect 80 positions. The plywood operations at the Chapman location are not part of the curtailment. Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act notification was provided to impacted employees and specifies that operations will cease on January 28, 2024…