Daily edition
September 19, 2026
Prepared from public sources. Links lead to original material.
What matters this morning
- AV Group NB plans to idle its Nackawic, New Brunswick dissolving-pulp mill around the end of October, taking roughly 190,000 tonnes per year of capacity offline and affecting about 350 workers.
- Washington enters next week's auction cycle with three unsold state timber sales still available at minimum appraised value, including nearly 5 MMBF in Stevens County and more than 5.2 MMBF in Cowlitz County.
- A central Pennsylvania logging contractor is liquidating its complete equipment lineup after 17 years in the industry—a small but concrete signal of contractor-capacity turnover.
- Minnesota's North Star Expo continues today in Grand Rapids, bringing loggers, truckers, equipment suppliers and roughly 200 students into the same operating-industry gathering.
Pulp, Paper & Biomass
Canada — New Brunswick
Nackawic plans end-October idle of 190,000-tonne dissolving-pulp mill
AV Group NB says it will temporarily idle its Nackawic pulp operation around the end of October after assessing weak market conditions and broader macroeconomic pressure. Grasim Industries, which owns 45% of AV Group NB, puts the mill's dissolving-grade pulp capacity at approximately 190,000 tonnes per year; the company's two New Brunswick mills together total about 332,000 tonnes.
Local reporting says roughly 350 workers are affected and notes that the mill had already stopped buying wood in August as an inventory adjustment. For the regional woods side, that earlier procurement stop matters as much as the October production date: a major fibre outlet has already been pulling less wood.
Forestry & Timber
West — Washington
Three unsold DNR sales roll into next week's auction cycle
Washington DNR's current unsold list shows Q Parody Peak in Stevens County at 4,960 MBF and a $1.28 million minimum, Country Boy in Cowlitz County at 5,238 MBF and $870,000, and Q Dead End in Yakima County at 2,979 MBF and $38,000. These sales received no bids at their initial auctions and can generally be bid at minimum appraised value during the next scheduled regional auction.
That makes next week's September 22–24 DNR auction cycle worth watching for more than the new offerings. Reoffers provide a clean read on where appraised value, operating conditions and current mill demand are failing to meet.
West — Washington
DNR has two September 18 fuels-reduction contracts in the pipeline
Washington DNR's silviculture-contract page lists a Good Neighbor Authority hazardous-fuels reduction contract and a Southeast Region mechanical-fuels reduction contract with September 18 dates. The GNA work occurs on federal land and may be administered jointly by DNR and Forest Service staff.
These solicitations are useful reminders that the public-lands work pipeline is not limited to timber sales. Mechanical fuels work and stand-treatment contracts can be meaningful adjacent markets for contractors with the right equipment and operating geography.
Under the Radar
Northeast — Pennsylvania
Yoder's Timber Harvesting liquidates complete operating lineup
Yoder's Timber Harvesting in Belleville, Pennsylvania held an absolute liquidation Friday covering logging equipment, trucks, trailers, skid steers and shop equipment. The auction description says owner Rudy Yoder is moving in another direction after 17 years in logging.
One liquidation is not an industry trend, but complete contractor exits matter locally because machines can change hands faster than experienced operating capacity can be replaced. The sale is worth noting alongside the broader concern about contractor availability in several wood baskets.
Industry Ecosystem & Service Providers
Lake States — Minnesota
North Star Expo puts the logging supply chain in one place today
The Minnesota Timber Producers Association's 72nd North Star Expo continues today at the Itasca County Fairgrounds in Grand Rapids. The event is built around loggers, truckers, agency personnel and equipment/service suppliers, with roughly 200 students also expected.
For an industry concerned about both contractor capacity and workforce replacement, the student component is more than an event detail: it puts potential entrants in direct contact with the machines, firms and people that make the regional supply chain work.
Opportunities worth watching
- Nackawic's wood flow before the October idle: watch where suppliers redirect fibre and whether Atholville absorbs any volume.
- Washington's September 22–24 auctions: watch whether the three reoffered sales clear at minimum value or remain stranded.
- Secondary-market logging equipment from the Yoder liquidation: local machine transfers can preserve equipment capacity even when an operating business exits.
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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