Mass Timber - The State of Industry in 2024

Pete Kobelt, Director of Mass Timber Solutions at Structure Tone

Since the first commercial mass timber installation in the U.S. in August, 2011 in Whitefish, Montana, the Mass Timber industry has achieved significant milestones and subsequently witnessed tremendous sustained growth across North America.  So much so that we are closing the gap on our European colleagues who got their start in the 1990s in Austria, Germany & Switzerland.  Today, if we make a volumetric comparison between the U.S. & Europe we look to be only ten years behind on production of Cross Laminated Timber (CLT).

Combined European CLT production in cubic meters (424bf = 1 cubic meter) Courtesy of TU Graz

If we compare the graphs and impose the U.S. volumes onto the EU chart above we are probably sitting near 2013 which puts us only ten years behind but clearly entering a cycle where the trajectory of growth becomes quite steep.  (Use arrow to place U.S. on chart around 2012 / 2013

Growth and proliferation of Mass Timber projects across the U.S. Courtesy of woodworks.org

What’s driving the growth? 

Mass Timber has numerous attributes and can offer diverse stakeholders different values and advantages. 

One sector where mass timber has broad and deep appeal is the Higher Education market, where many, if not all, schools have urgent climate initiatives while also facing stiff competition for enrollment. A pioneering university campus project at the University of Arkansas, the Adohi Hall student housing took home no less than twenty-one architectural and design awards and has become a prominent feature on the campus tour for prospective parents and students.

As Peter MacKeith, Dean of the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design at the University of Arkansas, notes: “Adohi Hall, from concept to occupancy and active use, has been an unqualified success for the university - particularly for its students. The project’s character as an innovative ‘living-learning community’ for contemporary student life is paralleled by its innovative design and construction in mass timber. Coming online on time and within budget, the facility met the expectations of our university administrators; the high demand for its rooms and easy maintenance meet the needs of the university housing staff. Our students are highly alert to the university’s commitments to quality of life and sustainability; Adohi Hall’s demonstrated warmth, comfort, and low-carbon materiality inspire confidence in the institution. Of course, the national and international recognition of the project for the university is a value-added bonus for everyone!”

MacKeith’s comments point out how Mass Timber leverages offsite fabrication of structural components often exposed to visual surfaces throughout the building. 

The prefabrication affords a dramatic reduction in build times; it’s quiet, has no waste, and smaller crews and MEPF trades can chase the timber installer floor by floor. These attributes appeal to campuses where the safety of thousands of students and staff is the utmost priority, and schedules warrant shorter build seasons to not interfere with campus operations. If a building can be more quickly erected during the summer months, then there is real value in that.

Arkansas is one of several southern states with prolific and fast-growing Southern Yellow Pine forests. 

Across all species, Arkansas grows seventy-one tons of wood fiber every sixty seconds. If we use that measure, the Adohi dorm, which utilized nearly 5,000 cubic meters of timber, could be regrown in Arkansas in two hours & thirty minutes. At about the same time, it takes one truck of timber to travel from Mercer’s Conway, Arkansas factory over to the university.

Market response to Demand – There are now five Canadian Mas Timber manufacturing/fabrication plants and another seven in the U.S., with the Europeans making plans for one in the U.S. and others exporting from Europe into the U.S. 

In addition, NA contractors like Structure Tone Building Group are getting in the game - Chief Strategy Officer Amy Wincko added her view: “From a strategy perspective, we see significant opportunity not just for growth but the kind of growth that promises positive impacts on our industry, clients, and climate. Mass Timber helps us deliver that promise.”

In response to significant market acceptance, recent manufacturing news includes Mercer Mass Timber's acquisition of Structurlam, giving Mercer three significant plants in the U.S. & Canada. 

Similar sentiments echoed by Sandra Lupien, Director, MassTimber@MSU at Michigan State University – “One of the most valuable tools in our toolkit is our mass timber STEM Teaching and Learning Facility, which we have been able to successfully use as a living laboratory to teach AEC industry professionals, forestry and forest products industry folks, policymakers, building code officials, economic development professionals, students, and others about the benefits and opportunities associated with mass timber.”

Smartlam, who delivered North America's largest Southern Pine mass timber structure, is investing nearly $100mm in expanding their Alabama and Montana facilities. Element5 in St. Thomas, Ontario, is adding a significant Glulam capacity, as is Vaagen Timbers in Colville, Washington, and even the Austrians powerhouse Binderholz has invested in significant sawmilling capacity in the Southeast, heralding the arrival of mass timber component manufacturing in the coming years.

As new markets take notice of the growth of mass timber and manufacturing capacity and capability respond accordingly, it appears Mass Timber is here to stay, and that’s a good thing.

Author Bio:
Pete Kobelt is Director of Mass Timber Solutions for STO Building Group, an international General Contractor & Construction Management firm working on several of the largest Mass Timber projects in the U.S.