A Canadian forest industry chief has insisted that the fundamentals of the country’s timber sector remain sound with a quite positive mid-term outlook and a prospect of a sudden surge in demand.
Speaking to TTJ, Avram Lazar, chief executive and president of the Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC), also said government intervention remained one of the top issues for the industry today.
“Our short-term situation is bad, but looking 12 months ahead it looks quite positive,” he said.
“The US population is continuing to grow so there will be more need for houses and we are quite confident the demand for timber is going to come back. The fundamental economics of the timber industry are sound and the pulp industry is probably quite sound as well.
“There is always a silver lining and when the market comes back the industry will be consolidated and a little bit stronger than before. It’s going to seem painfully slow for a while then accelerate like crazy.”
He estimated Canadian forest product industry job losses to be around 50,000-300,000 since the worldwide financial crisis started.
“We don’t see all of those jobs coming back; the whole global industry has been shaken out by this recession and the playing field will be more level.”
Mr Lazar said “unprecedented” development of government intervention in the industry was a challenge, with the government seeking to encourage bioenergy and also looking to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
“The government used to be the referee and now it’s kicking the ball. But at least it’s not headbutting anybody yet.”
