HIGHLIGHTS
PROGRAM UPDATES
AWC Helps Mass Timber Pass Major Hurdle during ICC Committee Hearings Think Wood Reaches Influential Architecture Firms Wood, Naturally’s Healthy Home Messaging Counters Competitor AttacksINDUSTRY NEWS
Mass Timber is in for a Massive Change Platte Fifteen Construction to Begin Soon in Denver Earth Day Founder Calls for an End to Plastic PollutionINSIGHTS ON THE COMPETITION
Build With Strength Campaign Continues to Advocate Against Wood Construction Trex Tops 2018 Builder Brand StudySoftwood Lumber Board: An Ecosystem of Demand Generation
The Softwood Lumber Board’s (SLB) ability to increase the market demand for softwood lumber boosts industry ROI, maintains forests as forests, creates new jobs and strengthens communities. Watch video here.
SLB Director Hugues Simon: Capitalizing on New Market Opportunities
The Softwood Lumber Board (SLB) helps the softwood lumber industry identify, create, and capitalize on new and existing opportunities to generate demand and sell more of our products. The SLB tracks and analyzes market dynamics across segments to identify emerging market opportunities and determine where to target investments to deliver the greatest return for the broadest swath of the industry. Read more here.
Program Updates
AWC Helps Mass Timber Pass Major Hurdle during ICC Committee Hearings
The highly anticipated tall, mass timber building code changes passed their first hurdle on April 16, 2018 when the International Code Council (ICC) Code Change Committee voted 13-1 to approve the changes during Committee Action Hearings held in Columbus, Ohio. The eight-day hearings bring together code and fire officials, engineers, architects, builders, and other construction professionals as part of the first public step in approving code change proposals for the 2021 ICC codes. Key to industry interests were 14 proposals from the ICC Ad Hoc Committee on Tall Wood Buildings that would allow mass timber buildings to be constructed up to 18 stories in height. The American Wood Council (AWC) has been a key player in generating and presenting data in support of the proposals and spoke in their favor during the hearings. The committee’s approval represents a first, big step toward adoption of tall mass buildings in the United States.
Think Wood Reaches Influential Architecture Firms
A review of Architectural Record’s ranking of top architectural firms found that Think Wood content reaches 94 of the top 100 firms. Findings show that:
- 25% of the top 100 firms have more than 25 architects subscribed to Think Wood content
- The top 100 firms are represented by 2,460 subscribers in Think Wood’s contact database
- Top firms with Think Wood subscribers include Gensler, AECOM, HOK, HDR, Stantex, ZGF, SOM, DLR Group, Perkins Eastman, Perkins + Will, LS3P, and Moseley Architects
These findings confirm Think Wood’s ability to target high value audiences and deliver meaningful, tailored content to engage the most influential firms in America on behalf of the softwood lumber industry.
Wood, Naturally’s Healthy Home Messaging Counters Competitor Attacks
Wood, Naturally has found healthy home messaging to be an effective differentiator between wood and plastic composite decking. Research on biophilic design has shown that natural elements—including wood, water, and natural light—in the built environment reduce stress and lower blood pressure.
In March, Wood, Naturally worked with four bloggers and DIY pros—Jen Woodhouse, Serena Appiah, Rachel Pereira, and Krista Aasen—to incorporate wood’s healthy home messaging into their coverage of the National Day of Unplugging. Their collective coverage of the five-day campaign reached 238,819 people and achieved 17,808 engagements. In addition, Wood, Naturally’s own National Day of Unplugging Facebook post, which encouraged audiences to share how they used wood to unplug, generated 8,200 engagements and became Wood, Naturally’s most shared post during the quarter.
Thanks to these and other strategic social media engagements, Wood, Naturally continues to outperform its competitors online. Trex has turned to featuring posts about puppies in addition to their products in an effort to drive up their engagement scores.
Industry News
Mass Timber is in for a Massive Change
“We talk a lot about the wonders of wood construction but really, the industry is just getting started. Mass Timber is all the rage in the construction industry and many magazines and websites are full of headlines like “first mass-timber building constructed in Minnesota” or wherever, when in fact, people have been building with mass timber for centuries; just about every funky old warehouse in North America is mass timber, built of 2x8s or 2x10s on 2 inch spacing, nailed one to another. That’s now known as NLT or nail laminated timber. I was blown away by a presentation a few years ago by engineer Lucas Epp of StructureCraft in British Columbia, showing how the company is doing amazing things with it, so I went out to visit. Read full article here.
Platte Fifteen Construction to Begin Soon in Denver
“Platte and 15th Streets will soon become the site for Platte Fifteen — a 151,736-square-foot mixed-use retail and restaurant space and 7,000-square-foot rooftop deck. Platte Fifteen signifies the first building in Denver to be constructed of cross-laminated timber (CLT) — a material that is both sustainable, stable and aesthetically pleasing, mimicking the look of heavy, old-growth lumber. Read more here.
Earth Day Founder Calls for an End to Plastic Pollution
“We built the Bullitt Center before Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) made its debut in the United States. We were the first 6-story, heavy timber building constructed in Seattle since 1927. But with CLT, it is theoretically possible to build structures that are 40 or 50 stories tall. If the wood comes from forests that mimic ecosystems—forests that will remain healthy for thousands of years into the future—then wood can be a very attractive building material… Properly-sourced wood can be vastly less harmful than concrete and steel, as well as more beautiful and longer-lasting. Read more here.
Insights on the Competition
Build With Strength Campaign Continues to Advocate Against Wood Construction
The Coalition of the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association continues it’s “America is Burning” campaign with news headlines and spokesperson statements that disparage wood materials in multi-family residential structures.
“The fire, which is expected to be the most destructive in Manteca’s history, comes at a time when a number of buildings of a similar type have been the site of intense fires, fueled by the combustible materials in their construction – most notably in Denver, CO; Los Angeles, CA; Princeton, NJ; East Boston, MA; Lakewood, NJ; Weymouth, MA; Haverhill, MA; Waltham, MA; Charlotte, NC; Warner Robins, GA; Midvale, UT; Oakland, CA; Dorchester, MA; Lawrence, MA; East Hollywood, CA; Lowell, MA; Waterbury, CT, Emeryville, CA; St. Petersburg, FL; Arlington, VA; College Park, MD; Overland Park, KS; Raleigh, NC; and Maplewood, NJ. There have been dozens over the last few years.… The impact these fires have on the communities they burn cannot be understated. From the cost of property damage and cleanup to the time and resources spent battling these blazes, preventable fires in combustible buildings are a drain on local budgets. In this case, the fire also led to several fender bender accidents on the neighboring highway overpass.” Read full press release here.
This continued aggressive de-positionining by competitors is why the SLB, its programs and outside partners are pursuing a unified and proactive response based on in-depth opposition research and market analysis in 2018.
The Coalition of the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association continues it’s “America is Burning” campaign with news headlines and spokesperson statements that disparage wood materials in multi-family residential structures.
“The fire, which is expected to be the most destructive in Manteca’s history, comes at a time when a number of buildings of a similar type have been the site of intense fires, fueled by the combustible materials in their construction – most notably in Denver, CO; Los Angeles, CA; Princeton, NJ; East Boston, MA; Lakewood, NJ; Weymouth, MA; Haverhill, MA; Waltham, MA; Charlotte, NC; Warner Robins, GA; Midvale, UT; Oakland, CA; Dorchester, MA; Lawrence, MA; East Hollywood, CA; Lowell, MA; Waterbury, CT, Emeryville, CA; St. Petersburg, FL; Arlington, VA; College Park, MD; Overland Park, KS; Raleigh, NC; and Maplewood, NJ. There have been dozens over the last few years.… The impact these fires have on the communities they burn cannot be understated. From the cost of property damage and cleanup to the time and resources spent battling these blazes, preventable fires in combustible buildings are a drain on local budgets. In this case, the fire also led to several fender bender accidents on the neighboring highway overpass.” Read full press release here.
This continued aggressive de-positionining by competitors is why the SLB, its programs and outside partners are pursuing a unified and proactive response based on in-depth opposition research and market analysis in 2018.
Trex Tops 2018 Builder Brand Study
“Proving its unparalleled quality and reputation among trade professionals, Trex Company (NYSE:TREX), the world’s #1 premium decking and railing brand, edged out its competitors once again to secure the highest number of top spots in Builder magazine’s 2018 Brand Use Study.
For the 11th year in a row – an unprecedented streak achieved by no other manufacturer – Trex® was honored as the “brand used most” and “brand used most in the past two years” for the composite/PVC decking category. Trex also took the top position in the “quality” category in this year’s study.” Read more here.
Industry Resources
FEA’s Housing Dashboard
This housing dashboard is provided compliments of Forest Economic Advisors (FEA).
Virginia Tech’s Monthly Housing Report
This monthly housing commentary report is a free service of Virginia Tech and is intended to help one gauge future business activity in the U.S. housing market.
February 2018 Reports
- Part 1: February 2018 Main Housing Commentary
- Part 2: February 2018 Economic Conditions