AV Group NB will "temporarily idle" its Nackawic, N.B. dissolving-pulp mill (~190,000 tpa, ~57% of AVNB's Canadian capacity) around Nov. 4, citing market conditions; ~350–400 workers are affected, 228 of them Unifor Local 219 members, after a wood-buying freeze that began in August. Unifor blames under-investment by parent Aditya Birla Group and wants diversification (xylitol, chemicals, bioenergy) explored, while the province is preparing a response plan (CTV, Unifor, Grasim filing via ScanX)
Greif will exit coated recycled paperboard and close its 120,000-tpy Sweetwater mill in Austell, Georgia by the end of 2026 (~90 jobs), citing the mill's limited integration and cost position; URB customers will be transitioned to Greif's other North American mills (PULPAPERnews, GlobeNewswire)
Smurfit Westrock, Pratt Industries and the USW petitioned Commerce and the USITC for antidumping/countervailing duties on corrugated pizza boxes from China, Malaysia and Turkey, alleging dumping margins of 97–569% (China), 111% (Malaysia) and 121–210% (Turkey); subject imports rose 130% from 2023 to 2025, with a preliminary injury determination due within 45 days (PaperAge)
Forestry & Timber
The EU's EUDR delegated act on product scope was published Sept. 17 and enters into force Sept. 18: sawmill residues and by-products (HS 4401) remain in scope despite industry requests, while waste, second-hand goods, closed-pool used pallets, recovered paper and packaging accompanying other goods are exempted; only 6 of 25 requested code changes were accepted, and large and medium operators must comply from Dec. 30, 2026 (EOS, Wood Central, Global Wood Markets Info)
The Forest Products Association of Canada urged the EU to simplify EUDR for low-risk partners — recognition of negligible-risk countries, lighter geolocation requirements and workable treatment of forest residuals — ahead of PM Carney's address to the European Parliament, warning of "tens of millions of dollars" in unnecessary costs for Canadian producers and woodlot owners (Timberbiz)
US CBP upheld (Sept. 11) an EAPA evasion finding against importer Coastal Forest Products: BC western red cedar from Western Forest Products that was dried and resawn at Hermpac in New Zealand remains Canadian-origin for softwood AD/CVD purposes, so cash deposits continue on entries since June 2024; either side has 30 business days to appeal to the CIT (Wood Central)
The NLBMDA told Congress the 50% duty on Canadian building materials (effective Aug. 22) is creating LVL and lumber shortages rather than shifting demand to US mills, with 80% of surveyed dealers reporting sourcing trouble and 87% higher supplier prices, and asked for targeted relief; Canada's 50% counter-tariff on US plywood and LVL took effect Sept. 8 (Wood Central)
German softwood lumber exports fell 16.1% to 3.36M m³ in January–July 2026 (from 4.01M m³) as shipments to the US halved, outweighing gains in European and other overseas markets (Global Wood Markets Info)
Metsä Wood is resetting its UK strategy toward builders' merchants, construction companies and engineered-wood users after a year of customer losses and ~140 job cuts (Global Wood Markets Info); HS Timber Group and Forestcape's ACON Timber venture is reviewing the next expansion phase of its Virasoro, Argentina sawmill because logistics and export costs ran well above plan (Global Wood Markets Info)
NSW and the Commonwealth signed a strategic assessment agreement (up to A$8.5M over two years) seeking a single 20-year federal approval covering public native, plantation and private native forestry across the Eden, Southern and North East RFA regions before the current RFA exemption expires July 1, 2027; public consultation closes Oct. 16 with a draft report due early 2027 (Wood Central)
Wood Pellets
NB Power signed a long-term supply agreement with the Belledune Joint Venture (Airex Energy, Arbec Forest Products, Port of Belledune, and the Pabineau and Eel River Bar First Nations) for up to 150,000 t/yr of torrefied pellets from a ~$100M plant at the port's Green Energy Hub, to convert the Belledune coal station (~15% of provincial supply) ahead of the 2030 federal phase-out; production starts end-2027 with full rate in 2029, creating 75 plant jobs and sustaining 325+ forestry jobs on harvest residues and sawmill by-products (CP via CP24, Newswire)
EU pellet imports from outside the bloc jumped 31% to 451,880 t in July (€98.8M) and 16% to 2.89M t in January–July, led by France (790,409 t) and the Netherlands (525,118 t), as USDA reports EU production is not keeping pace with ~22.7M t of annual consumption (Wood Central)
South Africa's Coega Biomass Centre (120,000 tpy, Port of Ngqura) loaded a 30,000 t pellet cargo for Europe, produced more than 90% from invasive bluegum, pine, casuarina and acacia cleared for land restoration within a 152 km radius (Wood Central)
Industry Technology Vendors
Voith — Sun Paper's PM 47 at Yanzhou, Shandong (700,000 tpy packaging paper, 8.66 m wire width) reached its 1,400 m/min design speed ten days after startup — 11 months from civil works to first reel — on a full Voith line including 2,200 t/d OCC stock preparation and MCS/QCS, OnCare.CM and MillOne digitalization (PULPAPERnews)
AFT — Will deliver four MaxEdge double-disc refiners (two each for PM1 and PM2) to Naini Papers in Kashipur, Uttarakhand, India in December 2026, with commissioning and startup support, targeting fiber development, quality and energy optimization on writing, printing and specialty grades (PULPAPERnews)
