ONTARIO - Garden River Truss, a manufacturer of roof and floor trusses, will receive a $315,000 investment from the Ontario government - allowing the company to buy new machinery and hire 10 new employees.
Located in Northwest Ontario, GR Truss' primary products consist of roof trusses, open web floor trusses, and interior & exterior prefabricated wall panels.
“We’re proud of the strong partnership we have built with Garden River First Nation,” said Gerry Greco, president of Garden River Truss, in a statement, reported Wood Business Canada. “This investment will help us grow the business, hire new staff and continue contributing to this community.”
This is the fourth Canadian wood products investment in two months. In May, the governments of Canada and Quebec invested $4 million in Les Produits Gilbert to help it modernize its facilities. The Ontario government invested $5.5 million in Ben Hokum & Son Ltd. last month to help the company modernize its facilities. In early April, the federal government invested nearly $8 million to promote new wood products in British Columbia.
Softwood lumber import tariffs of around 21 percent were levied onto Canada last year. The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) told MarketWatch that those tariffs are restructuring the entire lumber global supply chain - incentivizing U.S. buyers to import from overseas rather than ship lumber across the Canadian border.
Canada's imports to the U.S. have certainly slipped, as we've covered before. British Columbia - Canada's largest lumber-producing province - exported just over 514 million board feet of lumber to the U.S. in October 2018, down from 645 million board feet from the same time 2017.
Canadian sawmills are clearly struggling. British Columbia - Canada's largest lumber-producing province - exported just over 514 million board feet of lumber to the U.S. in October 2018, down from 645 million board feet from the same time 2017. Many Canadian lumber leaders have taken a hit - including West Fraser, Canfor, Conifex, and Interfor - and restricted lumber production, with West Fraser and Canfor curtailing production more than once.
All cited challenging lumber markets, high log costs, log supply constraints, falling lumber prices, and U.S. import tariffs as factors.
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