Daily edition
September 16, 2026
Prepared from public sources. Links lead to original material.
What matters this morning
- Twain Lumber is reopening the former Teal Jones mill in Henry County, Virginia, targeting 108 million board feet of annual capacity and more than $51.2 million of Virginia-grown forest-product purchases over three years.
- Three Pennsylvania state hardwood sales closing today total about 1.27 MMBF of sawtimber, led by red oak, plus substantial northern-hardwood pulp.
- A 520-acre Tippah County, Mississippi lump-sum timber sale closes this morning; another 120-acre Newton County sale closes tomorrow.
- British Columbia has selected the Campbell River area as the first candidate for a three-zone Working Forest Landscape Model intended to improve operating predictability.
- Southern sawmill capacity is still expanding faster than production: Forisk projects 2.1 BBF of net new southern capacity through 2028.
Mills / Capacity / Procurement
Southeast — Virginia
Twain Lumber brings a shuttered Virginia mill back toward 108 MMBF
Twain Lumber Company is investing $7.4 million to purchase and reopen the former Teal Jones sawmill in Henry County. The project is expected to restore 74 jobs and increase the mill from an initial 80 million board feet of annual capacity to 108 million board feet at full operation.
The procurement number is more consequential to the woods: Twain says it will buy more than $51.2 million of Virginia-grown forest products during its first three years. The state package includes two $150,000 performance/incentive grants and $59,200 for workforce training.
Market Opportunities
Northeast — Pennsylvania
About 1.27 MMBF of Pennsylvania hardwood closes today
Three Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry sales close September 16. Clearfield County's 220-acre Spooky Boot sale carries about 602.41 MBF, mostly red oak, plus 1,077.52 HCF of mostly red maple pulp; Tioga County's 101-acre More Dead Oak sale offers about 387.94 MBF, mostly red oak, plus 47.32 HCF of northern-hardwood pulp.
A third 53-acre Sullivan County sale adds about 275.14 MBF, mostly sugar maple and black cherry, plus 191.61 HCF of northern-hardwood pulp. Together they provide a useful same-day read across three northern Pennsylvania hardwood markets.
Southeast — Mississippi
520-acre Tippah sale closes today; Newton County follows tomorrow
Southeast Forestlands is taking lump-sum bids this morning on approximately 520 acres of merchantable timber in Tippah County, offered as either of two tracts or both combined. SMZs are excluded and the contract term is up to 24 months; the prospectus flags winter logging conditions.
A second offering of about 120 acres in Newton County closes September 17, also as a lump-sum sale of all merchantable timber outside designated SMZs under a 24-month contract.
Forestry & Timber
Canada — British Columbia
Campbell River becomes first test of B.C.'s proposed working-forest model
British Columbia and the Nanwakolas Council have selected an area north of and adjacent to Campbell River as the first candidate for a proposed Working Forest Landscape Model. The model would divide public forest into working-forest, multiple-use, and conservation/protection zones.
The operational objective is important: B.C. says the landscape-level approach is intended to improve predictability for industry, workers, First Nations and communities rather than relying on cut-block-by-cut-block decisions. The candidate area includes BC Timber Sales operating areas and TFL 64, giving the test multiple tenure contexts.
Under the Radar
Southeast — Alabama / Arkansas
17,769-acre Pioneer Pines timberland offering heads toward September 25 bids
Forest Resource Consultants is marketing Pioneer Pines as two institutionally managed timberland units: 7,844 acres in Alabama and 9,925 acres in Arkansas. Buyers can bid on either unit or the whole offering, with sealed bids due September 25 and an early-December target closing.
The offering matters beyond the transaction itself because it provides a near-term price-discovery event for productive southern timberland with established mill outlets, road access and current harvest cash flow.
Markets & Pricing
U.S. South · FBS business lens
Capacity is growing faster than utilization
Forisk's Q3 mill data projects 2.1 billion board feet of net new southern sawmill capacity from 2026 through 2028. At the same time, North American softwood lumber production in Q1 2026 was 4% below a year earlier even though it rose 1% from the previous quarter.
The business problem is utilization, not simply capacity. Adding iron only creates value when logs, labor, throughput and lumber demand keep it productive; the southern buildout makes utilization and procurement discipline increasingly important measures of return on invested capital.
Opportunities worth watching
- Today's Pennsylvania hardwood openings: winning bids should provide a useful comparison across red-oak-heavy Clearfield and Tioga sales and the sugar-maple/black-cherry Sullivan sale.
- Twain Lumber's restart: watch how quickly the Henry County mill ramps from 80 to 108 MMBF and how its promised $51.2 million of Virginia wood purchases changes local procurement.
- B.C.'s Campbell River pilot: the practical test is whether landscape zoning actually shortens planning uncertainty while preserving a workable timber base.
Special Opportunity
A few spots remain in the next Forest Business School Essentials cohort
The Forest Business School's six-month Essentials program begins October 7, 2026. The program is free to accepted participants through partner funding and is built for mid-career working-landscape professionals and small business owners in forestry, logging, wood products, land management, and related fields. Nearly weekly one-hour evening video sessions combine assigned reading/listening with peer discussion and practical application — no grades, papers, or busywork.
Interested in applying? Email Steve Bick directly at steve@northeastforests.com. · Learn more at forestenterprise.org →
FEATURED BOOK
Timber Tempo: Project Flow in Forestry
A practical forestry and forest-products guide to Critical Chain Project Management, bottlenecks, project flow, task synchronization, and keeping work moving with less friction.
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