A Current Look at the Forest Products Sector in the Lake States
As we approach mid-2025, the forest products industry across the Lake States reflects a region navigating both opportunity and constraint. While logging activity remains generally steady, external disruptions, climatic variability, and market uncertainties continue to influence production and pricing dynamics.
A Current Look at the Forest Products Sector in the Lake States
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Canadian Coastal Forest Sector Faces Deepening Crisis, Coalition Warns
The Coastal Forest Policy Coalition is sounding the alarm over what it describes as a structural crisis in British Columbia’s coastal forest sector, citing mill closures, job losses, and a chronic lack of economically viable fibre supply driven largely by policy constraints.
Coastal harvesting volumes have fallen sharply over the past decade. In 2025, the Coast is expected to harvest 6.5 million cubic metres of timber, less than half of the 15 million cubic metres considered the sustainable allowable annual cut.
The Coalition says the shortfall reflects a permitting system that has become increasingly complex and time-consuming. Permit submissions have dropped 93%, from roughly 2,300 per year in 2016 to just 167 by mid-2025. At the same time, permit preparation timelines have stretched from about 90 days historically to 300 days today.
As a result, coastal harvesting has declined by 50% over the past ten years, contributing to the closure of nine mills since 2018 and the loss of 5,400 jobs since 2022.
Tronox Announces Intent to Idle its Pigment Plant in the Netherlands
Tronox Holdings plc the world’s leading integrated manufacturer of titanium dioxide (TiO2) pigment, announced that as a result of a strategic review of its asset footprint, Tronox has informed its Netherlands’ labor force that it intends to idle its 90,000 metric ton per year TiO2 plant in Botlek, the Netherlands. The site is currently shut-down due to an outage by the site’s chlorine supplier that began on March 6, 2025, but upon conclusion of consultation with the works council, is not expected to be brought back online. Tronox expects this action will not impact its ability to serve customers, as the Company will leverage its diverse footprint to provide uninterrupted supply. The operating site currently employs approximately 240 impacted permanent staff. John D. Romano, Chief Executive Officer, commented, “Our announcement today is the result of an extensive review of our asset footprint driven by the ongoing global supply imbalance caused by Chinese competition as well as an increasingly challenged operating environment over the last two and a half years. Idling our Botlek facility enables the optimization of our remaining facilities and improves our overall manufacturing costs. Our Botlek colleagues are an important part of our Tronox team. We are committed to assisting employees during this difficult time and will be providing support by local management and a comprehensive range of services.”