Foreword

The forest sector is unaccustomed to rapid change. Tending a forest from seed to harvest can span decades in some places and more than a century in others. Most forest products today remain unchanged from 50 years ago; manufacturing processes have evolved and been mechanized, but the process and products change little from year to year and, when they do, always in a measured, incremental way. What we think of as “new” forest products, such as wood pellets for energy and cross-laminated timber, are not so new at all; wood pellets were first produced in the 1970s, and they were preceded by a similar product called “presto logs” as far back as the 1930s. Cross-laminated timber has been manufactured and used for almost 20 years now, although only recently has its versatility been fully recognized. In fact, one of the hallmarks of forest product markets is their consistency and predictability, which fits well with the “rear-view mirror” vantage of the Forest Products Annual Market Review because trends in one year have a good track record as an indicator of what to expect in the next.

Sustainable Development Goals:

Life on Land

Responsible Consumption and Production