
Paul Kiernan of The Wall Street Journal reports that a series of shocks has accelerated the decline of the hardwood industry. Keirnan reports:
There aren’t many men like Alex Zimmerman left in the forests of northwest Pennsylvania. When the weather is cold or dry enough, the 28-year-old logger can be found roaming the woods, chain saw in hand, bringing down big hardwoods for a nearby sawmill.
The most imminent threat to his livelihood is falling tree limbs, like the one that broke his back in July, waylaying him for three months. Another, longer-term threat hangs over Zimmerman: Appalachia’s hardwood industry comprising loggers, sawmills, truckers and manufacturers is struggling to survive.
The industry, a fixture of the regional economy, has been in decline for decades. A series of shocks since 2018 has accelerated the decline: a trade war with China, a collapse in exports due to Covid, China’s real-estate slump, and falling U.S. home building. […]
“The issues that tariffs pose for our industry are quite significant when you see how the stage is set,” said Brownlee. He was in Shanghai on the day China retaliated and said prices dropped immediately. […]
Wolford, whose house on a winding two-lane highway is festooned with Trump flags, said he remembers hearing about the trade war but is more worried by Democrats’ talk of phasing out fossil fuels.
“Out here in the real world, this equipment don’t run on unicorn piss and fairy dust,” Wolford said. “We got to have diesel fuel, and the price of fuel is ridiculous.” […]
Recently engaged and with a 16-month-old toddler, Zimmerman wonders how someone younger could follow the same path. “I think in 10 years, the industry is going to be hurting for young guys to be doing this.” For him, though, there is nothing to compare. “Once you get it in your blood, it’s hard to do anything else.”
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