In Alaska Division of Forestry and Fire Protection is developing a program to increase the use of Alaskan wood by allowing local sawmill operators to self-certify their lumber. This would only be used in projects such as 1 or 2-family residential construction. The problem for Alaskan mills is that they say that they can’t afford to be a member of an American Lumber Standards Committee-certified organization. These mill memberships educate and certify that the lumber is graded according to national rules for strength, usually through a grade stamp. The grade stamp certifies that the wood is strong enough for the use case, and building inspectors will fail a building if the builder can’t prove that the lumber is strong enough to withstand the stresses of loadbearing. Similarly, lending institutions don’t want to finance construction materials if they can’t be sure of the quality.
The state is in the preliminary stages and is holding a stakeholder meeting on September 23rd, 2022, and expects the process to take 1-1.5 years to complete the regulations.
Source: https://www.frontiersman.com/news/state-explores-ways-to-certify-alaska-wood-for-lumber-in-home-and-building-construction/article_f1fb4bd0-3892-11ed-9247-8f377b9a290a.html/?utm_medium=internal&utm_source=readerShare&utm_campaign=bButton
Lumber prices dropping as housing demand eases
We’re seeing a general cooling trend as the Fed raises rates. Specialty lumber remains higher as there is a much lower supply than commodity lumber.
Source https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/commodities/lumber-prices-us-mortgage-rates-6-percent-freight-railroad-strike-2022-9?op=1
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