Hardwood Industry Coalition Gains Momentum In Washington Effort 

Hardwood Industry Coalition Gains Momentum In Washington Effort

NHLA-led advocacy push aims to unify industry voice and strengthen federal engagement

Hardwood industry leaders across multiple sectors are rallying behind a major new advocacy effort designed to strengthen the industry’s voice in Washington, DC, as stakeholders work to unify outreach efforts and increase federal engagement on issues impacting hardwood markets, manufacturing and long-term industry sustainability.

During a recent conversation with Terry Miller of National Hardwood Magazine, Bill Courtney, CEO of Classic American Hardwoods Inc. and chair of the National Hardwood Lumber Association (NHLA) Governmental Affairs Fundraising Task Force, discussed the NHLA board’s unanimous decision to engage Public Policy Holding Company (PPHC) and its flagship firm, Crossroads Strategies, a bipartisan government relations and public policy organization based in Washington.

According to Courtney, the engagement represents one of the most coordinated federal outreach efforts the hardwood industry has undertaken in years and reflects growing concern among stakeholders regarding regulatory pressures, market challenges and the need for stronger representation at the national level.

“We have sat on the sidelines for far too long,” Courtney said. “There are a lot of organizations doing good work for hardwood across the country, but we’ve never all pulled together in the same direction with one unified voice.”

Crossroads Strategies works directly with policymakers, members of Congress and federal agencies to help industries communicate priorities and advocate for policy initiatives. Courtney said industry leaders believe the partnership will help hardwood stakeholders gain stronger access to decision-makers while increasing awareness surrounding the industry’s economic importance.

The engagement with PPHC represents a two-year, $1 million commitment. Courtney said the NHLA board established two important conditions before formally moving forward with the effort.

First, the board agreed existing support for organizations such as the Hardwood Federation and the Real American Hardwood Coalition would remain intact.

“We didn’t want to take away from organizations already doing important work for the industry,” Courtney said. “Those organizations are valuable, and we wanted this effort to complement what’s already being done, not compete with it.”

Second, the board required 100 percent of the funding to be raised before officially engaging the firm. “I am pleased to say in four days we raised $365,000 and to date $715,000. The largest contribution is $50,000 and the smallest is $500.”

“The NHLA doesn’t have a million dollars sitting around,” Courtney said. “We didn’t want to expose the organization financially to an obligation it couldn’t sustain.”

To oversee the campaign, NHLA established separate task forces focused on governmental affairs and fundraising. Courtney said the response from hardwood companies and industry stakeholders has exceeded expectations since the initiative was first introduced.

“In just four days, we raised a substantial amount of support,” Courtney said. “And there are still dozens of companies discussing participation internally.”

Courtney, who described himself as “a data guy,” said the participation rate alone demonstrates how strongly the industry feels about the need for increased representation in Washington.

“Of all the companies we’ve contacted so far, 82 percent have committed support,” Courtney said. “That speaks volumes about how strongly this industry feels about finally having the opportunity to compete in the big leagues in DC and get policy enacted that can actually help our industry.”

The companies participating in the campaign represent a broad cross-section of the hardwood industry, including sawmills, concentration yards, manufacturers, distributors and other hardwood-related operations from multiple regions of the country. These different segments in the industry that are supporting this initiative are small, medium and large companies.

Courtney said that level of broad participation is particularly important because the hardwood industry itself is highly independent and diverse.

“There are almost an infinite number of ways people make a living with a hardwood tree,” Courtney said. “Sawmills, concentration yards, distributors, flooring manufacturers, dimension plants. Northern operations focus on different species than Southern operations, but we’re still one industry.”

Courtney compared the industry to a One Common board, noting that while hardwood businesses may differ greatly in size, product mix and regional focus, they remain interconnected through the larger hardwood supply chain.

“There are all kinds of different boards that still qualify as One Common,” Courtney said. “The hardwood industry is very similar. We may all look different, but we’re still connected and we still depend on the overall health of the industry.”

The advocacy effort comes at a time when many hardwood companies continue facing pressure from substitute products, environmental narratives, utilization concerns and broader economic uncertainty. Courtney said those challenges have increasingly highlighted the need for stronger industry coordination and representation.

“We’re facing serious headwinds,” Courtney said. “The problem is we’ve never really engaged collectively at a high level.”

According to Courtney, one of the most important aspects of the campaign involves helping lawmakers and policymakers better understand the hardwood industry’s broader role in the American economy beyond furniture and appearance-grade products.

“If you lose this industry, it’s much bigger than somebody not getting the coffee table they want,” Courtney said. “You’re talking about railroad ties, crane mats, transportation infrastructure and products tied directly to national defense.”

Courtney said many policymakers simply do not fully understand how extensively hardwood products are used throughout industrial, transportation and infrastructure markets across the country.

“Washington leaders need to hear those stories,” Courtney said. “But to do that, you have to have access to them, and that’s what this effort is about.”

Courtney said the outreach campaign also includes a second fundraising component designed specifically to support relationship-building with lawmakers and federal officials willing to advocate for hardwood industry interests.

“It’s about educating policymakers and building relationships with people willing to champion our industry,” Courtney said. “That’s simply the reality of how things work in Washington.”

Industry stakeholders are already pledging both financial support and personal time to travel to Washington, meet directly with policymakers and discuss the challenges facing hardwood businesses across the country.

Courtney emphasized that the campaign is intended to support the entire hardwood industry, including companies currently struggling with difficult market conditions.

“A lot of companies are struggling right now,” Courtney said. “Many of the businesses that haven’t contributed simply can’t afford to, but those are the exact companies we’re fighting for.”

According to Courtney, many companies unable to participate financially have still expressed strong support for the effort and its goals.

“There are companies worried about payroll and day-to-day survival,” Courtney said. “That’s reality right now for some operations, and those are the people we want to help keep in business.”

Despite ongoing market uncertainty, Courtney said the level of participation and cooperation surrounding the campaign has been encouraging and represents a rare moment of alignment across multiple sectors of the hardwood industry.

“For the first time in a long time,” Courtney said, “it feels like this industry is finally pulling in the same direction.”

For more information, visit nhla.com.