AFA NEWSROOM V17N40, October 6, 2022 | Meet AFA's Newest Board Members | Officially sworn in on September 13th at the 2022 AFA Annual Meeting, today we were excited to host this year's new board members at the AFA office in Montgomery. Joining us were: Scott Partain - Southern Parallel Forest Products, Jessica Bonner -Weyerhaeuser, Robert Millstead - Manulife Forest Management, Dale Brown - Georgia Pacific, & David Shoupe - International Paper. | Join AFA In Thanking Alabama's First Responders - October 6th & October 12th | Please join us as we “Back the Blue” today in Headland, AL and Mobile on October 12th ! Come out and enjoy lunch with us or volunteer to help feed the first responders in these areas. Email aduke@alaforestry.org to signup! | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Finalizes Endangered Species Act Delisting of the Tennessee Fish | |
Today, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and dozens of conservation partners celebrated the snail darter’s recovery and removal from the Federal List of Threatened and Endangered Wildlife at Seven Islands Birding State Park. The snail darter is the fifth fish species delisted due to recovery in the country and the first in the eastern United States, marking an important milestone in ESA's success in supporting biodiversity.
After an extensive review of the best scientific and commercial information available, the Service found this small freshwater fish -- native to the Tennessee River watershed in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi and Tennessee -- is no longer in danger of extinction, now or in the foreseeable future.
| Wildfires Are Getting Worse. Can Scientists Save California’s Forests From Going Up In Smoke? | This patch of woodland in the northern Sierra Nevada looks idyllic. Dappled sunlight filters through the lush branches of towering pines. Spaces between their slender trunks are thick with saplings. But forest ecologist Robert York sees danger lurking in this portion of the UC Berkeley research forest. | |
Lumber Falls After Mortgage Rates Solidify Their Move Above 6% Amid Hawkish Fed Rate Hikes
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Lumber prices fell 6% on Thursday, extending their two-day decline to 10% after the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates by another 75 basis points.
The aggressive interest rate hikes from the Fed have helped solidify the ongoing surge in mortgage rates, which jumped above 6% for the first time since 2008 earlier this month and have doubled over the past year. On Thursday, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate surged another 27 basis points from last week to 6.29%, according to data from Freddie Mac.
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Join The October Episode Of AFA Connect As We Discuss Group Health Insurance -
October 20
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Join Matt Cate and Patrick Pittman of Cobbs Allen Thursday, October 20, 2022 at 11 am CST for the October AFA Connect Session. They will discuss the importance and value of Group Health Insurance for all companies, small & large.
Advance registration is required to receive the Zoom access link. Earn one hour PLM and CFE credit.
| Manufacturing Output Steadies Despite Inflationary Pressures | |
Total industrial production (IP) increased 0.6% (+3.9% YoY) in July. Manufacturing output gained 0.7% after having fallen 0.4% in each of the two previous months. The production of motor vehicles and parts rose 6.6%, while factory output elsewhere moved up 0.3%. The index for mining increased 0.7% (oil and gas drilling reached a seven-year high), while the index for utilities decreased 0.8%.
The Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) monthly sentiment survey for August 2022 showed no change among US manufacturers reporting expansion. The PMI registered 52.8%, unchanged from July. (50% is the breakpoint between contraction and expansion.) Subindexes with the largest changes include input prices (-7.5PP), employment (+4.3PP), inventories (-4.2PP), and new orders (+3.3PP). Of the industries we track, only Real Estate and Construction expanded.
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AFA Newsroom Special Feature:
AFA Political Endorsements
| Check out our ForestPAC Voter Guide for the General Election on November 8! Find all of our endorsements here. | Major Moves in the P&P Industry that Occurred in 3Q2022 | With so much activity that has occurred in the pulp and paper industry over the last quarter, it’s difficult to keep up with some of the major developments that could impact various segments across the industry. To provide a high-level snapshot of some of these major industry moves, Forest2Market has rounded up some of the leading headlines in the article linked below. | How can we build schools that are adaptable, while supporting student well-being and learning? What role can biophilic design and mass timber play? And how do we cut carbon, while delivering better schools faster, without breaking the bank? | Log-A-Load Events- Mark Your Calendar | |
Auburn University Forestry Club Sporting Clay Shoot
October 7, 2022
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26th Delta District Log-A-Load Golf Tournament
October 13, 2022
| Economic Indicators Continue to Point to Likely Recession in 2023 | Economic growth is projected to resume in the second half of 2022, but
the combination of high inflation, monetary policy tightening, and a
slowing housing market is likely to tip the economy into a modest
recession in the new year, according to the September 2022 commentary from the Fannie Mae (FNMA/OTCQB) Economic and Strategic Research (ESR) Group. The ESR Group continues
to forecast 0.0 percent real GDP growth on a full-year basis through
2022, but it revised downward its expectations for full-year 2023 growth
by one-tenth of a percentage point to negative 0.5 percent. Core
inflation remains considerably higher than the Federal Reserve’s stated
target; as such, the ESR Group maintained its expectation that the
Federal Open Market Committee will raise the federal funds rate by 75
basis points at its September meeting. The ESR Group’s baseline forecast
anticipates the federal funds rate topping out at a range of 3.50 to
3.75 percent in early 2023, though it sees significant upside risk to
the eventual terminal rate. | |
Alabama ANRC Landowner Conference -
October 27 - 28, 2022
| Housing Update: Under Construction | Housings starts jumped more than 12% in August to a seasonally adjusted
annual rate (SAAR) of 1.58 million units. Most of the gain was in
multifamily construction, rising 29% to a SAAR of 621 thousand units.
Single family starts were relatively stable, increasing 3.4% in August
to a 935-thousand-unit pace. Despite some recent signs of softening, the
number of housing units currently under construction rose considerably
over the past two years, reaching a 1.7-million-unit SAAR in August.
This represents a record level of construction activity, the highest in
more than fifty years. Given that the U.S. experienced decades of
underbuilding of entry level homes, contributing to a housing shortage
of 3.8 million units in 2020, this is certainly an encouraging trend.[1] However, what is driving this ramp up in homes under construction? | In the weeks leading up to and during our Alabama Woods to Goods Week 2022 celebration, we will be sharing stories about why forestry is "more than an industry" to people throughout the state of Alabama. Let us know what forestry means to you by clicking the link below. | Alabama Loggers Council Annual Meeting October 29, 2022 | |
Join Loggers from all over the state. Special keynote speaker, Wendy Ferrand and a celebration of ALC's 30 year anniversary. This years program focuses on Transportation:
Main Topics
- Loggers - Don't Leave Culture to Chance
- Commercial Auto Insurance -What About the Future
- Alabama Motor Carrier Safety Unit Update
- Understanding Log Truck Gross Weights
| Climate Change Is Turning The Trees Into Gluttons | |
Trees have long been known to buffer humans from the worst effects of climate change by pulling carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Now new research shows just how much forests have been bulking up on that excess carbon.
The study, recently published in the Journal Nature Communications, finds that elevated carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere have increased wood volume – or the biomass – of forests in the United States.
Although other factors like climate and pests can somewhat affect a tree’s volume, the study found that elevated carbon levels consistently led to an increase of wood volume in 10 different temperate forest groups across the country. This suggests that trees are helping to shield Earth’s ecosystem from the impacts of global warming through their rapid growth.
| Mark your calendars for our ForestPAC Sporting Clays Fundraiser at Selwood Farm on Decembers 6! Help us keep and get quality candidates elected! Register now! | Time To Meet The Newest Member Of The Tiny Timber Crew, Travis! Pre-Order Your Copy of Travis Visits A Tree Farm Today! | Online CE Available For PLM & CFE |
Foresters and loggers, a reminder that AFA offers online continuing education. Now is a great time to go ahead and handle continuing education hours.
Click below for a list of classes.
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