Timber Talk 6/17/2025

Jenna Reese
Jun 17
6 min read

OFA Update

We have been busy this year!

As we approach the half-way point of 2025, we would like to thank you all for your active contributions to the forest products industry in Ohio and beyond. OFA has been hard at work curating annual member events; developing the future workforce; producing training events for forestry professionals; and actively influencing legislative change that impacts Ohio’s forest enterprises. We take great pride in representing our members and are humbled by your continued support of our efforts to do so. Look out via email for standalone updates about important matters happening in Ohio.

We want you to attend our Summer Outing

Major thanks to our sponsors from Pixelle Specialty Solutions, Superior Hardwoods of Ohio, Maverick Environmental Equipment, Hummel Group, Powell Valley Millwork,

R.L. Lute Logging, Scioto Land Company, and Rudd Equipment.

This year’s version of OFA’s Summer Outing will be one to remember. We are looking forward to some time on the beautiful Lake Erie with our esteemed members and forestry friends. We hope that opportunities like our Summer Outing will help facilitate the chance for some of the wisest minds within the Ohio Forest Products industry to come together and share ideas. Please register asap to reserve your spot. Contact us to sponsor a unique element of this event.

Summer Outing Schedule of Events:

Tuesday, July 8, 2025

4:00 PM - Reception

Wednesday, July 9, 2025

5:00 AM - Registration at Sawmill Creek Resort

6:00 AM - Registration at Wild Wings Marina

6:30 AM - Fishing Tournament

1:30 PM - Boats return to Wild Wings Marina

A valid Ohio fishing license is required to participate. Please plan for extra time to purchase one at the marina if you do not already have one.

Please bring a cooler to transport your fish home.

Kiln Drying Short Course

Yoder Lumber Company is happy to host enriching opportunities for our short course event registrants. Our annual Lumber Grading course is happening this week with a full capacity. Follow the link below for more details and to reserve a spot at our Kiln Drying Course in August. We look forward to advancing the knowledge of some of the most capable foresters in Ohio with the help of Yoder Lumber Company.

KILN DRYING

Market Update

HardwoodReview Forecasting

Unfortunately, we are unable to say “we are not issuing guidance” at this time due to the ongoing tariff uncertainty, as a lot of public companies are now doing with regard to projected earnings. Instead, our forecasts this month are based on the most likely scenario of at least a dozen we could see playing out. With lumber production and log decks scaled back due to Canadian and Chinese tariffs, and uncertainty elsewhere, it is quite possible lumber shortages could materialize over the next several months.

The pauses on Chinese, Canadian and European tariffs will afford some short-term sales, but “pauses” leave enough uncertainty about the future that mills will remain cautious about ramping up production, even if they have the logs and labor to do so. At the same time, foreign buyers are not likely to demand much additional lumber with the lingering threat of tariffs on the sale of their manufactured goods back into the U.S. As such, a market “stalemate” seems more likely than a boom or bust over the next several months. Especially for the more export-dependent species, which have seen sales slow more than other species, the tariff pauses—together with the new UK trade deal—will work to stabilize prices and provide a window to

turn some inventory.

Ohio Sales Tax Holiday

Ohio will have a sales tax holiday from 12:00 a.m. Friday, August 1 until 11:59 p.m. Thursday, August 14, 2025. During the holiday, the exemption will apply to all sales of goods that are $500 or less except for certain watercraft, motor vehicles, alcoholic beverages, tobacco, vapor products, or an item that contains marijuana. For more information regarding the sales tax holiday, please refer to the Ohio Department of Taxation’s Sales Tax Holiday Information Sheet available on the ODT website at https://tax.ohio.gov/salestaxholiday

If you have any additional questions regarding this information, please contact ODT at 1-888-405-4039 or e-mail us at https://tax.ohio.gov/help-center/email-us .

Legislative Update

The following is brought to us by our national partner, the Forest Resources Association (FRA)

Tax/Budget Reconciliation

The Senate began the process of crafting its version of the budget reconciliation bill this week. Already Senate committees have begun rolling out their portions of the measure. Yesterday, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee unveiled its draft text. Provisions in that proposal repeal a number of programs authorized by the Inflation Reduction Act, including funding to develop and implement an environmental product declaration program advertising the environmental impact/attributes of products. The measure also rescinds funding for the General Services Administration to acquire building materials with lower levels of embodied greenhouse gas emissions related to the materials’ entire lifecycles from production to disposal. It also repeals EPA’s “Multi-Pollutant Emissions Standards for Model Years 2027 and Later Light-Duty and Medium-Duty Vehicles.” A summary of the proposal may be found HERE.

The Senate Finance Committee, which holds the pen on the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) business tax benefits, as well as how the renewable energy tax credits are treated, will be the last panel to roll out text. Majority Leader Thune opined this week that he felt that an outright repeal of the estate and gift tax is unlikely and that the House’s approach of keeping the current exemption levels in place would be the direction the Senate would take.

EUDR

Yesterday, staff from the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce and the U.S. Trade Representative hosted a roundtable to discuss forestry and forest product sector value chain concerns around compliance with the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). The discussion focused on a number of areas, particularly the inability for U.S. producers to meet EUDR’s strict geolocation requirements. As a non-tariff trade barrier, we have been communicating with officials about the need to address this in the context of the ongoing trade negotiations with the European Union. The FRA team will continue to press the Administration and our champions on Capitol Hill to seek changes or accommodations that would lead to a reasonable pathway to compliance.

Trade

On Tuesday, the White House announced that it would raise tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum and derivative products to 50 percent beginning on Wednesday, June 4. The White House announcement may be found HERE.

Safety Update

Sedgwick Safety Services

The power of your TPA claims examiner relationship

As a Sedgwick TPA customer our goal is to always provide you with comprehensive and immediate service for all of your workers’ compensation claim needs. Part of that service includes a dedicated claims examiner assigned to your account who can offer a detailed plan of action to assist you in navigating the Ohio workers’ compensation system.

When your company experiences a workers’ compensation claim, your assigned claims examiner will typically receive notice of the claim within a few days of the filing. Their immediate goal is to complete a claim review of all documentation available so that they can notify you of any concerns with the information on file. Some of the caution signs they monitor include:

• Prior medical history to the same body part

• A delay in seeking treatment

• Vague or inconclusive injury descriptions

• Medical treatment discrepancies

• The injury is reported soon after a known employer discipline

• Hobbies or extracurricular activities that could cause the reported injury

• Medical conditions that co-exist alongside the primary diagnosis (comorbidities)

Once the validity of a claim is verified your claims examiner will develop a detailed plan of action to monitor and help move the claim to final resolution either through full and final settlement of the claim or a full duty return to work.

Early communication with your claims examiner can provide clarity in the investigation process, reduce administration delays and ensure forward motion of the claim, which is a benefit to both you and your injured worker.

While it is an unfortunate fact that workers do get injured on the job and the majority of those claims are credible, a strong relationship with your assigned claims examiner who can review what options are available to you as the employer to mitigate time and expense in the claim is one of the best tools you have in your toolbox. Their expert knowledge of the Ohio Workers’ Compensation system can help you make informed decisions that will lead to successful claim outcomes.

If you have any questions, contact our Sedgwick program manager, Peyton Rosier, at (614)506-8195 or peyton.rosier@sedgwick.com.