Sawlog prices trended downward worldwide in past 12 months with the Global Sawlog Price Index (GSPI) falling 11% from the second quarter of 2011 to the second quarter of 2012, according to the Wood Resource Quarterly. The Index is based on sawlog prices in 20 regions around the world.

Canadian lumber producers West Fraser Timber (WFT) and Western Forest Products (WEF) have announced the biggest combined profit since 2006 as mills run at five year highs to feed the US housing rebound and near-record Chinese demand. Source: Bloomberg

New Zealand forest safety standards were attacked by the president of the Council of Trade Unions Helen Kelly but her comparison is “naïve and uninformed” said Forest Owners Association health and safety committee chairman Sheldon Drummond. Source: Gisborne Herald (NZ)

Seedlings descended from the original Gallipoli Lone pine were presented to Hawkeʼs Bay Regional Council (HBRC) by SCION. HBRC will in turn present a tree to the Napier RSA. Source: Hawke’s Bay (NZ)

The forest and wood processing industries are moving quickly on a strategy to transform the sector. The Wood Council in New Zealand (Woodco) has just given the go-ahead to a NZ$400,000 ($311,651) research-based initiative that aims to get the highest value out of every cubic metre of

Details of the 10-year draft forest management plan for the future of West Australia’s forests have been released. The draft Forest Management Plan 2014-23 (FMP) was released by the Conservation Commission and will enjoy a 12-week consultation period. Source: Timberbiz

Carter Holt Harvey workers will protest near the offices of ForestrySA today over the log prices dispute between the company and the State Government that could cost 1000 jobs. Timber mill workers will be at the Umpherston sinkhole in the morning for a demonstration, which is expected

The recent 5th Forest Science Symposium co-hosted by the Institute for Commercial Forestry Research (ICFR) and the South African Department of Agriculture, Forestry & Fisheries (DAFF) provided the southern African forest research community with an opportunity to interact and shar