The wood-products industry is undergoing root-and-branch change

IN THE BUCOLICDIY low-rise surroundings of Norway’s biggest lake, Mjostarnet stands out. At 85 metres tall, this building of flats, offices and a hotel, completed in 2019, is Norway’s third-tallest. It is the highest in the world built of wood. Similar structures have sprung up in other countries. So, in many more places, have wooden additions to existing buildings, which weigh around a fifth of what an equivalent steel-and-concrete one would, and therefore risk less damage to the building below.Mjostarnet stands as a proud example of wood’s comeback after a century of steel, concrete and plastic. Global exports of forest products, including sawn wood, pulp and paper, grew by 68% between 2000 and 2019, to $244bn. Demand is reaching redwood-like heights, fertilised by a pandemic boom. Having ranged between $200 and $400 for much of the past decade, the price of 1,000 square feet of one-inch-thick timber has exceeded $1,400—and hoisted the share prices of wood producers up with it. The stockmarket value of many big ones such as Weyerhaeuser has roughly doubled in the past year; the American giant is now worth $30bn.