Daily edition
September 25, 2026
Prepared from public sources. Links lead to original material.
By the numbers
U.S. on-highway diesel: $6.529/gal for the week of September 21, up 24.4¢ from $6.285 one week earlier. EIA →
November lumber: $536.00/MBF at Thursday's close, down $14.00 — 2.5% — from $550.00 one week earlier. CME-linked historical data →
Markets & Procurement
CANADA — ALBERTA
Alberta cuts September coniferous Crown dues 26.6% from August
Alberta's general Crown dues for coniferous timber used to make lumber, pulp and roundwood products are C$9.31/m³ in September, including the Forest Resource Improvement Association of Alberta portion. That is down from C$12.68/m³ in August. The small-operator total is C$7.45/m³, down from C$10.14/m³.
The province says these dues are tied to current market prices and financial conditions. For operators working Crown coniferous timber, the September reset lowers one direct harvest-cost input; it should not be confused with a delivered-log or lumber-price series.
NORTHEAST — PENNSYLVANIA
Two Game Commission hardwood sales put 257.2 MBF and 4,650 tons to bid Tuesday
The Pennsylvania Game Commission has two timber sales opening September 29. State Game Lands 42 in Westmoreland County covers 95 acres with 33.7 MBF of yellow-poplar, red maple and other hardwoods plus 4,055 tons of mixed hardwoods. State Game Lands 30 in McKean County covers 36 acres with 223.5 MBF of black cherry, hard maple and other hardwoods plus 595 tons of mixed hardwoods.
That puts 257.2 MBF and 4,650 tons across 131 acres into the near-term bid market. The following week is larger: two October 6 openings in Elk and Potter counties total 1,213.7 MBF, adding another useful hardwood demand check.
Watch: SGL 42 and SGL 30 bids open September 29; the Elk and Potter County sales follow October 6.
Under the Radar
WEST — OREGON / WOOD PRODUCTS
Salvaged glulam moves from waste stream into a specified finish product
Timberlab has introduced Resolve GLT, a panel made from salvaged glulam that wraps structural steel columns, beams and stair assemblies so they visually integrate with mass-timber interiors. The product uses tongue-and-groove edges and is made to match species commonly used in mass timber.
The business idea is more interesting than the aesthetic detail: reclaimed and nonstructural glulam becomes a saleable, specified product instead of remaining a disposal or low-value residual stream. It also lets wood products move into hybrid buildings that retain steel structure rather than requiring an all-timber structural system.
People & Capacity
NATIONAL — WOOD MANUFACTURING
Woodworking groups back a standardized school-to-shop training pipeline
The Wood Industry Association and National Woods Board have formed a partnership to expand the NWB Education Program nationally, with WIA providing financial backing. The program places Woodwork Career Alliance skill standards and recognized credentials inside high-school and post-secondary woodworking curricula.
For manufacturers, the useful part is standardization. A replicable curriculum tied to recognizable skills can make entry-level hiring less dependent on each shop building its own training system from scratch. The program is aimed at woodworking, cabinetmaking and advanced wood manufacturing rather than logging or primary sawmilling, but the model is relevant wherever employers are struggling to translate school-based technical education into job-ready skills.
Publications & Research
SOUTH — FOREST MANAGEMENT
19-forest study ties open canopies and frequent fire to pollinator diversity
Forest Service researchers sampled 19 experimental forests across the Southeast and documented 266 pollinator species. Across the regional network, more open forest canopies were associated with greater bee species richness. The researchers also found lower bee diversity where pine dominated more of the surrounding landscape, especially in the Piedmont.
The management implication is most direct in pine systems: the Forest Service points to frequent prescribed fire as a way to maintain open conditions that allow grasses and flowering plants to persist beneath the canopy. For land managers and contractors already doing thinning and prescribed fire, the study adds another measurable forest condition to treatment planning and to conversations about what those treatments accomplish.
FEATURED BOOK
Wet Woods: Flux, Flex and Change in Our Forestry
Loggers, foresters, and mill operators adapting to climate change, volatile markets, and other pressures in the Northeast — told through the people doing the work.
Thursday Deep Dive returns each Thursday
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