Friday edition
October 30, 2026
NEW YORK — ADVANCING FOREST MARKETS / OCTOBER 29 AWARDS
New York awards $45 million to expand forest markets and tree nurseries
New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation announced US$45 million for 44 projects on October 29. The Advancing Forest Markets awards support native-tree supply, wood processing and markets for low-grade timber across the state.
The department projects more than five million native seeds collected and one million locally adapted seedlings grown over the next year. Forest-product projects aim to process another 1,000 truckloads of low-grade timber and expand inventory and planning capacity across more than 80,000 additional private-forest acres. These are expected project outputs, not completed production.
Awards include US$7.68 million to B&B RE for pallet-component capacity and broader species use, US$1.54 million to Brookside Lumber for crane-mat production bottlenecks, and US$382,737 to the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe for its native nursery and seed collection.
The statewide package links reforestation supply with markets for harvested wood, workforce training and landowner services. The announcement lists recipients by region; it is an award notice, rather than a new application window.
Official statewide announcement and full regional award list →
By the Numbers
Latest available observations as of 2026-10-30. Dates and comparison periods vary by series; monthly figures remain unchanged between releases.
| Indicator | Latest | Change |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. on-highway dieselEIA U.S. on-highway diesel; taxes included | US$6.35/galWeek of October 26, 2026; released October 27 | +US$0.08/gal +1.2%Versus October 19: US$6.28/gal |
| Lumber futuresNovember 2026 lumber futures; nearby contract | US$507.50/MBFOctober 27, 2026 close; update unavailable October 30 — last verified; update unavailable | −US$17.50/MBF −3.3%Same November contract, October 20: US$525.00/MBF |
| Madison’s lumber indexMadison’s weekly lumber index | US$495.00/MBFWeek ending October 23, 2026 | −US$4.00/MBF −0.8% (calculated)Versus week ending October 16: US$499.00/MBF |
| Hardwood lumber PPIBLS WPU0812; 1982=100; not seasonally adjusted | 285.1 index pointsSeptember 2026; released October 15 | −1.3 points −0.5%Versus August 2026: 286.4 |
| U.S. single-family housing startsCensus U.S. single-family starts; annualized estimate | 859,000 units (SAAR)September 2026; released October 20 | −41,000 units (SAAR) −4.6%Versus revised August 2026: 900,000 |
| Canadian dollarBank of Canada; Canadian dollars per U.S. dollar | C$1.40 per US$1.00Daily average, October 29, 2026 | −C$0.01 per US$1.00 −0.4%Versus October 28: C$1.40 per US$1.00 |
Housing starts are annualized estimates, not actual monthly units, and are subject to revision. The hardwood PPI is an index, not a dollar price. Exchange rates are daily averages. MBF means thousand board feet. The September single-family starts monthly change has a published ±10.0-percentage-point 90.0% confidence interval and is not statistically significant. October 29 lumber historical and named-contract pages disagree (US$516.50 versus US$518.00 for November). The table retains the clearly dated October 27/20 same-November-contract comparison as last verified; it is not a current quote.
Sources:
EIA U.S. on-highway diesel; taxes included
November 2026 lumber futures; nearby contract
Named November contract and settlement date
Madison’s weekly lumber index
BLS WPU0812; 1982=100; not seasonally adjusted
Census U.S. single-family starts; annualized estimate
Bank of Canada; Canadian dollars per U.S. dollar
Working Forests
CANADA / NORTHEAST — NEW BRUNSWICK AND MAINE / OCTOBER 28 RESULTS
Acadian’s Maine harvesting improves as New Brunswick pulpwood demand weakens
Acadian Timber’s third-quarter report shows diverging conditions across its New Brunswick and Maine timberlands. Companywide timber sales and services reached C$24.0 million, up from C$23.0 million a year earlier.
In Maine, freehold sales volumes excluding biomass rose 54%, while cost of sales per cubic metre fell 39%. Acadian attributes the changes to improvements in its internal harvesting operation, including lower fixed costs and greater operating efficiency.
New Brunswick freehold sales fell to C$15.8 million from C$16.9 million. The company cites weaker softwood volumes as customers held elevated roundwood inventories and sawmill residuals remained abundant; stronger hardwood volumes and prices partly offset that pressure.
Management expects sufficient New Brunswick contractor availability through the 2027 winter season. It forecasts reduced pulpwood demand and pricing in both regions until existing customers lift production or new consuming facilities start up. Those are company expectations, not confirmed orders.
Company’s original results, regional operations and outlook →
Action Detector
WEST — CENTRAL OREGON / OCTOBER 30 OPERATIONS
Deschutes schedules Friday pile burning near La Pine
The Deschutes National Forest’s October 29 notice schedules pile burning for October 29–30 southeast of La Pine. Locations are the Flattop Fire piles, about 25 miles southeast of town, and Flat piles near Finley Butte, about five miles southeast.
The operations remove vegetation left by timber sales and precommercial thinning. Officials say piles can smolder for several days and smoke impacts are most likely overnight and in early morning hours.
The broader season could treat up to an estimated 11,560 acres intermittently through January 2027, depending on weather and suitable smoke conditions. The current notice and prescribed-burn information provide location updates; the seasonal acreage is a potential treatment total, not acres already burned.
Dated October 29–30 operation notice → Seasonal treatment plan and update channels →
Under the Radar
U.S. FORESTRY — LAND CONVERSION / OCTOBER 29 REPORT
New forest monitor maps permanent conversion, with losses concentrated in the South
A Clark University team’s October 29 report introduces the U.S. Forest Monitor, an open platform tracking permanent conversion of forests to development, cropland and other persistent nonforest uses.
The historical analysis covers 1990–2017, when the country lost nearly 10 million forest acres. Eleven Southern states accounted for 70% of the loss, led by Georgia, Texas and North Carolina; some counties lost as much as 40% of their starting forest area.
This measures long-term land-use change, rather than treating every timber harvest or temporary canopy disturbance as deforestation. The report and mapped data offer landowners, agencies and conservation groups a way to locate conversion hotspots. Its historical baseline is not a measurement of acres lost in 2026.
University’s report announcement and geographic findings → Original working paper and methods →
Today's Featured Resource
Forest Carbon Online (FCO)
Forest Carbon Online is an independent web app for exploring and comparing state- and county-level forest-carbon estimates from USDA Forest Service inventory data. It presents sources and uncertainty information for broad-area comparisons, not parcel- or stand-level carbon accounting.
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