Cross Laminated Timber Update – Maine Forest Products Council

One of MFPC’s highest priority bills for this year is a bond bill to incentivize the entrance of a cross-laminated timber (CLT) manufacturing facility to Maine. The bond bill, LD 798, “An Act to Authorize a General Fund Bond Issue to Fund Mass Timber Manufacturing” was carried over from last session.

The Northern Border Regional Commission (NBRC), the Northern Forest Center (NFC), and the US Forest Service (USFS) recently published an analysis, A Current‑to‑Future Analysis for Mass Timber in the Northern Forest, that provides strong arguments in favor of the effort. Mass timber has the opportunity to be a major new market for the forest products sector in Maine. Further diversification of the forest industry reduces risk with growing markets for value-added products sourced from our forests.

According to the report, “The next 2-3 years will be critical: if even one CLT or LVL facility breaks ground, it could catalyze a cluster (suppliers, secondary processors) in the region. State and federal support – through grants, loans or anchor customer commitments – may determine which of these plans come to fruition.” Maine has been a leader on CLT, and it was early to adopt the 2021 International Building Code, which allows for mass timber buildings up to 18 stories. “This was a game changer for Maine: it eliminated the need for case-by-case variances for taller than six-story timber buildings.”

“Maine and Massachusetts are enabling tall timber, and others will follow.” Maine is one of 28 states nationwide that have adopted the 2021 International Building Code (IBC) tall timber provisions. As the report states, Maine is currently a consumer, not a producer, of mass timber. But with LD 798, Maine’s position as a regional leader would be cemented, adding value to our supply chain, and our economy. Additionally, locally-manufactured CLT could help Maine ease the housing crisis by reducing construction time by 20-25%. This reduced timeframe mitigates financial risk and can make CLT highly competitive with traditional building materials.

“Maine’s millions of acres of spruce-fir and hemlock that used to feed paper mills could now feed a CLT plant. Encouragingly, a new mass timber market could improve forest management by creating demand for underused species like hemlock.”