The implementation of automated solutions in manufacturing commonly involves large investments and high levels of risk. It is therefore important that decisions related to automated solutions are well supported. The maturity level differs across industry sectors, and the wood products industry is in some respects lagging behind. The purpose of this paper is to explore the potential challenges the wood products industry is facing related to automation decisions when designing manufacturing systems and suggest tactics, with inspiration from another industrial sector, that can support such decisions. A multiple case study was carried out, involving a development project carried out in the wood products industry and another in the assumingly more mature automotive industry. Automation decisions were studied in the different phases prior to implementation of the physical manufacturing system. The findings showed both similarities and differences across the development projects. For example, in both development projects it was decided to reach out to automation suppliers for automation technology acquisition. However, the decision on to which degree to collaborate with the automation suppliers differed. Based on the similarities and differences pointed out, ideas were put forward that might be supportive for the wood products industry.

BioProducts Business is an official publication of the Society of Wood Science and Technology. The journal addresses the full gamut of business and management topics in forest-based resources ranging from traditional wood products to non-timber forest products to modern-day lignocellulosics. It is published in an open access format. Accepted articles are published online upon layout completion.

An examination of hardwood lumber prices in the eastern United States adjusted for inflation and regional differences in forest composition found declines in aggregate (combined species) prices across all regions. The greatest declines occurred in the Northeast and Lake States regions with smaller declines occurring in the Central, Southern, and Mid-Atlantic regions. With the exception of white oak and walnut, prices of high-value species declined more than prices of low-value species. For most of this century, the Northeast region has had the highest aggregate prices for lumber products. However, the Central region had the highest price for high-quality lumber since 2017. While lumber prices have declined, prices for industrial hardwood products increased. In 2020, the price of pallet cants exceeded the price of lower quality hardwood lumber for most species, and crosstie prices exceeded that of aggregate mid-quality lumber. The declines in hardwood lumber prices were the result of reduced domestic demand and insufficient increases in exports to offset this decrease. While increased domestic and export demand will result in increased prices, the prolonged period of low lumber prices may reduce the expected returns to timber management.

Community betterment is a little-known component of corporate responsibility, and yet one that could be pursued by nearly all wood-based manufacturers. While considerable research has investigated how wood and forest-related companies adopt traditional corporate responsibility initiatives, little work has been done concerning how industry executives relate to their communities. In order to better understand these relationships we surveyed pallet industry executives regarding their opinions on whether companies should contribute to the betterment of their local communities. We utilized secondary data to explore the communities’ crime indexes, population sizes, unemployment levels, education of residents, and percentages of annual resident turnover. We differentiated between firms based on their marketing expertise, and the extent to which they were hiring. Results suggest that a relationship exists between local community conditions, namely low annual resident turnover and high formal education, and an executive’s beliefs about whether a firm should play a role in bettering its community. Executives who reported a belief in bettering their community were also with firms that had greater marketing expertise, and were increasing in size compared to their counterparts.

The wood products industry faces increasing pressure to attract the interest of young consumers and potential employees, such as the millennial generation. This study was designed to illuminate perceptions held by the millennial generation towards the wood products industry. The millennial generation, or ‘millennials’, are defined in this study as individuals born from 1980 to 2000. In February 2018, an online survey was distributed to over 1,500 millennial-aged individuals and received 1,479 usable survey responses. Results from this study indicate that the respondents have neutral perceptions towards the wood products industry and over half of them (65%) were familiar with the industry before taking this survey. Certain topics, such as clear cutting and forest damages, received stronger attitude reactions from respondents. Approximately, 71 percent of millennials agreed it makes them sad to see cleared forest lands. Responses also indicated millennials possess weak overall knowledge regarding industry practices. Demographic groups that held significantly stronger attitudes were millennial females, all millennials ages 18-20, and all millennials who identified as Caucasian. This information can be beneficial for developing future marketing strategies, engineering product designs, and improving overall industry success.

This paper reviews the literature on the economic evaluations of tree improvement for planted forests andinvestigates whether or not using improved reforestation stock from tree improvement programs is a goodinvestment. The main findings from systematic web-based searches show that (1) tree improvement is aneffective tool to improve forest productivity and to realize financial returns; (2) economic gains from woodproduction with selection for breeding traits (e.g., high-volume yield or height growth) are the main reasonsforest managers adopt new biotechnologies in tree improvement; (3) cost-benefit analysis is the primary empiricalapproach for estimating the economic effects of tree improvement for planted forests; and (4) there is very littleliterature on estimating the non-market benefits (e.g., improved watershed protection, amenities, or conservationof genetic diversity) that tree improvement brings, using non-market valuation techniques. The recent introductionof new biotechnologies in tree improvement, such as genomics-assisted tree breeding (GATB), can achievegenetic gains in selected traits more quickly and effectively than traditional breeding approaches, providingeconomic incentives for forest managers to use better quality stock for planted forests. Therefore, we suggestthat future research should (1) consider the additional benefit, extra research and development costs, and timesaved by applying new biotechnologies in tree improvement (e.g., GATB) in the cost-benefit analysis; (2) investigatethe trade-offs between timber volume and wood quality traits and assess the economic effects of newbiotechnologies in tree improvement along different stages of the forestry supply chain; and (3) explicitly accountfor the non-market trait values for the targeted breeding traits (e.g., drought/pest resistance) so that treeimprovement programs can contribute to sustainable production systems. Economic analyses along these linescould help policy makers, forest managers, and forest company owners better understand the trade-offs ofalternative breeding objectives and make economically efficient investment decisions for planted forests.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the value-added forest products sector play an important social and economic role in Canadian forest-dependent communities. In British Columbia (BC), the sector is not reaching its full potential. Many factors limit or enable growth of the value-added forest products sector in BC. This study seeks to assess what factors are most integral to success through an in-depth examination of four value-added forest product sector SMEs in rural BC representing four different types of firms with varying levels of performance. The results of the study indicate that, though factors typically considered vital such as access to skilled labour, fibre supply, location, and financial capital are integral to business success, business management skill and firm size are integral and often-overlooked factors. The results of this study point to a need for a better province-wide understanding of the barriers to success commonly faced by forest products SMEs, particularly barriers to management skill development.

According to several sources, CLT construction systems are an excellent structural choice for tall commercial and residential buildings, have excellent environmental performance, and provide an additional market for softwood and hardwood lumber. Besides and because of its engineered nature, CLT panels can be an excellent market for low value timber (lesser known species, diseased trees, infested trees, and low-grade timber). However, the US construction industry is not yet taking full advantage of the benefits of CLT construction systems due to several limiting factors including market and code acceptance, lack of knowledge, and local CLT panel manufacturing capacity. This last limiting factor is considered critical for the expansion of the US CLT market. Therefore, this research aims to investigate through a case study methodology the main challenges and barriers that CLT panel manufacturers in Western Europe had to overcome to successfully manufacture and commercialize CLT panels. It is expected that current engineered wood products firms, investors, and policy-makers will benefit from these results. Learning from failures, successes, and best practices of leading CLT companies in Western Europe can help support the potential development of CLT manufacturing capacity elsewhere.

The utilization of wood in long life products, such as construction materials in the built environment, is aneffective way to optimize the use of natural resources while also reducing negative environmental impacts.However, the environmental benefits of timber, especially in the construction sector, are not always clearlyunderstood. As a renewable material, timber is available in perpetuity if it is obtained from sustainably managedforests. Using timber in the built environment stores sequestered atmospheric carbon dioxide in long-life productsand timber can be incinerated at the end of its life (or its multiple lives) with energy recovery, thereby minimizingdemolition waste. The built environment effectively acts as an extension of the forest. The question is: howshould the environmental benefits of timber use be measured and presented? To answer that question, thispaper offers an overview of the life cycle assessment (LCA) methods the forest products sector could broadlyapply to evaluate and report the sustainability performance of wood. In addition to environmental LCA, thepaper also incorporates an overview of organizational LCA (O-LCA), and social LCA (S-LCA). Furthermore, thispaper discusses environmental product declarations (EPDs) and construction standards aiming to enable bettercomparability of the environmental performance of products. This review paper concludes with a discussion ofwhere the opportunities for the forest products sector lie and the need for joint actions within the sector. Theimportance of including the storage of sequestered atmospheric carbon dioxide into the standards assessingthe environmental impact is emphasized.

Koa (Acacia koa A. Gray), a species endemic to the Hawaiian Islands, has ecological, cultural, and economicsignificance. Its wood is prized globally but today, most woodworkers only use koa wood from dead and dyingold-growth trees. The general perception of wood from young-growth koa is that it lacks the color and figure ofold-growth wood and is thus less appealing to consumers. To evaluate consumer preference of koa attributes, aconjoint choice experiment was conducted using randomly combined levels of attributes, including color, figure(curl), and price, with six identically shaped bowls from which respondents selected their preferences. The surveywas conducted at six locations on O’ahu (372 respondents) to poll a variety of koa product consumers. Latentclass analysis software was used to separate respondents into distinct classes based on expressed preferences.The results identified five classes of respondents. Class 1 (24% of respondents) showed significant preference forlower prices, medium color, and non-curly bowls. Class 2 (22% of respondents) showed significant preference forlight colored and curly bowls. Class 3 (20% of respondents) showed significant preference for light or mediumcolored and curly bowls. Class 4 (19% of respondents) significantly preferred lower prices and light or mediumcolored bowls. Class 5 (15% of respondents) also significantly preferred lower prices but they significantly preferreddarker colored and curly bowls as well. Opportunities exist for koa woodworkers to create products manufacturedfrom young-growth koa wood that appeal to different market segments. The ability to substitute young-growthkoa for the decreasing supply of old-growth wood can aid in promoting active management of the species.