威爾豪瑟 (WY) 2023 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Greetings, and welcome to the Weyerhaeuser Fourth Quarter 2023 Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. It is now my pleasure to introduce Andy Taylor, Vice President of Investor Relations. Thank you, Mr. Taylor. You may begin.

您好，歡迎參加惠好公司 2023 年第四季財報電話會議。 （操作員指示）謹此提醒，本次會議正在錄製中。現在我很高興向大家介紹投資者關係副總裁安迪泰勒(Andy Taylor)。謝謝你，泰勒先生。你可以開始了。

Thank you, Rob. Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us to discuss Weyerhaeuser's fourth quarter 2023 earnings. This call is being webcast at www.weyerhaeuser.com. Our earnings release and presentation materials can also be found on our website. Please review the warning statements in our press release and on the presentation slides concerning the risks associated with forward-looking statements, as forward-looking statements will be made during this conference call.

謝謝你，羅布。大家，早安。感謝您與我們一起討論惠好公司 2023 年第四季的收益。該電話會議正在 www.weyerhaeuser.com 上進行網路直播。我們的收益發布和演示材料也可以在我們的網站上找到。請查看我們的新聞稿和簡報幻燈片中有關前瞻性聲明相關風險的警告聲明，因為前瞻性聲明將在本次電話會議期間發表。

We will discuss non-GAAP financial measures, and a reconciliation of GAAP can be found in the earnings materials on our website. On the call this morning are Devin Stockfish, Chief Executive Officer; and Davie Wold, Chief Financial Officer. I will now turn the call over to Devin Stockfish.

我們將討論非 GAAP 財務指標，GAAP 的調整表可以在我們網站上的收益資料中找到。今天早上接聽電話的是執行長 Devin Stockfish；財務長戴維‧沃爾德 (Davie Wold)。我現在將把電話轉給 Devin Stockfish。

Thanks, Andy. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us. Yesterday, Weyerhaeuser reported full year GAAP earnings of $839 million or $1.15 per diluted share on net sales of $7.7 billion. Excluding special items, full year 2023 earnings totaled $749 million or $1.02 per diluted share. Adjusted EBITDA totaled $1.7 billion for the year. For the fourth quarter, we reported GAAP earnings of $219 million or $0.30 per diluted share on net sales of $1.8 billion. Excluding a net after-tax benefit of $98 million for special items, we earned $121 million or $0.16 per diluted share for the quarter. Adjusted EBITDA was $321 million.

謝謝，安迪。大家早安，感謝您加入我們。昨天，Weyerhaeuser 報告全年 GAAP 收益為 8.39 億美元，即稀釋後每股收益 1.15 美元，淨銷售額為 77 億美元。不包括特殊項目，2023 年全年收益總計 7.49 億美元，即稀釋後每股收益 1.02 美元。全年調整後 EBITDA 總額為 17 億美元。第四季度，我們公佈的 GAAP 收益為 2.19 億美元，即每股攤薄收益 0.30 美元，淨銷售額為 18 億美元。不包括特殊項目 9,800 萬美元的稅後淨收益，我們本季的獲利為 1.21 億美元，即稀釋後每股收益 0.16 美元。調整後 EBITDA 為 3.21 億美元。

I'll start this morning by thanking our employees for their solid execution and performance in 2023. Through their collective efforts, we delivered industry-leading operating performance, continued to serve our customers and drove meaningful advancements across our multiyear targets. As we enter 2024, we're well positioned to capitalize on improving market conditions and remain focused on driving superior long-term value for our shareholders.

今天早上，我首先要感謝我們的員工在2023 年的紮實執行和表現。透過他們的集體努力，我們實現了行業領先的營運業績，繼續為客戶提供服務，並在我們的多年目標中推動了有意義的進步。進入 2024 年，我們已做好充分準備，充分利用市場狀況的改善，並繼續專注於為股東創造卓越的長期價值。

As highlighted on Page 19 of our earnings slides, we generated $986 million of adjusted funds available for distribution in 2023. We announced yesterday that our Board of Directors declared a supplemental cash dividend of $0.14 per share. When combined with our quarterly base dividend of $0.76 per share, we're returning total dividends to shareholders of $0.90 per share. Including $125 million of shares repurchased during the year, Weyerhaeuser is returning $783 million of total cash to shareholders based on 2023 results or approximately 80% of 2023 adjusted FAD, which is at the high end of our annual target payout range.

正如我們收益幻燈片第 19 頁所強調的那樣，我們產生了 9.86 億美元的調整後資金可供在 2023 年分配。我們昨天宣布，董事會宣布追加每股 0.14 美元的現金股息。加上每股 0.76 美元的季度基本股息，我們向股東返還的股息總額為每股 0.90 美元。包括年內回購的 1.25 億美元股票，根據 2023 年業績，惠好公司將向股東返還 7.83 億美元現金總額，約佔 2023 年調整後 FAD 的 80%，這處於我們年度目標支付範圍的高端。

As summarized on Page 20, upon payment of the supplemental dividend, we will have returned $4.6 billion in total cash to shareholders through cash dividends and share repurchase since the first full year of our new cash framework in 2021. It's worth noting that although our adjusted FAD in 2023 was lower than the last couple of years due to challenging market conditions, we continue to demonstrate that our cash return framework is both sustainable and appropriate for the company's portfolio and the cash flow that we generate from our businesses across market cycles. Notably, we increased our base dividend by 5.6% in 2023 and returned additional cash through share repurchase in our supplemental dividend. The additional cash was fully funded within our framework and required no balance sheet or portfolio actions to cover our return commitment.

正如第20 頁所總結的，自2021 年新現金框架的第一個完整年度以來，在支付補充股息後，我們將透過現金股利和股票回購向股東返還46 億美元的現金總額。值得注意的是，儘管我們調整了由於市場條件充滿挑戰，2023 年的FAD 低於過去幾年，我們繼續證明我們的現金回報框架是可持續的，並且適合公司的投資組合以及我們在整個市場週期中從業務中產生的現金流。值得注意的是，我們在 2023 年將基本股利增加了 5.6%，並透過補充股利中的股票回購返還了額外現金。額外的現金在我們的框架內得到充分資助，不需要資產負債表或投資組合行動來履行我們的回報承諾。

And given the design of our framework, we retain 20% to 25% of our adjusted FAD annually, all of which can be utilized as we evaluate future capital allocation levers, including strategic growth opportunities. We continue to believe this framework is a powerful differentiator, one that enhances our ability to drive long-term shareholder value by returning meaningful and appropriate amounts of cash back to shareholders across a variety of market conditions and also delivers an attractive total dividend yield to our shareholders.

鑑於我們框架的設計，我們每年保留調整後的 FAD 的 20% 至 25%，所有這些都可以用於我們評估未來的資本配置槓桿，包括策略成長機會。我們仍然相信，這個框架是一個強大的差異化因素，它透過在各種市場條件下向股東返還有有意義且適量的現金，增強了我們推動長期股東價值的能力，並為我們的股東帶來了有吸引力的總股息殖利率。股東。

Before moving on to business segment results, I'd like to comment briefly on the purchase and sale transactions that we completed in the fourth quarter, which included the acquisition of high-quality timberlands in the Carolinas and Mississippi and the divestiture of less strategic acreage in upstate South Carolina. These transactions represent a unique opportunity to further optimize our Southern Timberlands portfolio with high-quality, highly productive acreage that is well integrated with our existing operations. And these transactions were structured in a tax-efficient like-kind exchange, resulting in a net cash inflow of $7 million. The gain was recorded on the sale transaction and reported as a special item in the fourth quarter.

在討論業務部門業績之前，我想簡要評論一下我們在第四季度完成的購買和銷售交易，其中包括收購卡羅來納州和密西西比州的優質林地以及剝離戰略性較低的土地在南卡羅來納州北部。這些交易代表了一個獨特的機會，可以進一步優化我們的 Southern Timberlands 投資組合，將優質、高產的土地與我們現有的業務完美結合。這些交易是在節稅的同類交易中進行的，產生了 700 萬美元的淨現金流入。該收益記錄在銷售交易中，並作為第四季度的特殊項目報告。

As highlighted on Page 22, we're progressing nicely against our target to grow our Timberlands portfolio through $1 billion of disciplined investments between 2022 and 2025. To date, we've deployed approximately $530 million towards our goal, including announced acquisitions in Washington, the Carolinas and Mississippi.

正如第22 頁所強調的那樣，我們在2022 年至2025 年間透過10 億美元的嚴格投資來擴大Timberlands 產品組合的目標取得了良好進展。迄今為止，我們已為實現這一目標部署了約5.3 億美元，包括在華盛頓宣布的收購、卡羅萊納州和密西西比州。

With that, I'll now turn to fourth quarter business results, starting with Timberlands on Pages 7 through 10 of our earnings slides. Excluding special items, Timberlands contributed $77 million to fourth quarter earnings. Adjusted EBITDA was $143 million and results across all Timberlands regions were comparable to the third quarter. Turning to the Western domestic market, log demand and pricing faced downward pressure at the outset of the fourth quarter as mills adjusted to a softening lumber market and worked through elevated log inventories. As the quarter progressed, lumber takeaway improved slightly and log supply decreased seasonally. Despite lower log prices during the quarter, our average domestic sales realizations were slightly higher compared to the third quarter, largely driven by an increased mix of grade logs.

現在，我將轉向第四季的業務業績，從我們收益投影片第 7 頁到第 10 頁的 Timberlands 開始。不計特殊項目，Timberlands 第四季收益為 7,700 萬美元。調整後 EBITDA 為 1.43 億美元，所有 Timberlands 地區的表現與第三季相當。轉向西方國內市場，原木需求和價格在第四季度初面臨下行壓力，因為工廠適應了疲軟的木材市場並解決了原木庫存增加的問題。隨著本季的進展，木材外賣略有改善，原木供應季節性減少。儘管本季原木價格較低，但我們的平均國內銷售實現量與第三季相比略有較高，這主要是由於等級原木組合的增加所致。

Our domestic sales volumes were lower in the fourth quarter as we shifted volume to China to capture higher-margin opportunities. Per unit log and haul costs were moderately higher and forestry and road costs were seasonally lower. Our fee harvest volumes were slightly lower compared to the third quarter.

由於我們將銷量轉移到中國以抓住更高利潤的機會，我們第四季度的國內銷量有所下降。每單位原木和運輸成本適度較高，林業和道路成本季節性較低。與第三季相比，我們的費用收穫量略有下降。

Moving to the Western export business. In Japan, despite ongoing consumption headwinds, inventories of European lumber imports have largely normalized, and the Japanese log market returned to a more balanced state in the fourth quarter. As a result, our average sales realizations for export volumes to Japan were comparable to the third quarter. Our Japanese sales volumes were slightly lower in the fourth quarter and continued to be impacted by reduced shipments to a customer that sustained fire damage at one of its sawmills in the third quarter of last year. That said, this customer has implemented plans to recover most of the lost production, and we continue to shift volume to other customers in Japan. As a result, we expect to increase our export volumes into the Japanese market in the first quarter.

轉向西部出口業務。在日本，儘管消費逆風持續存在，但歐洲木材進口庫存已基本正常化，日本原木市場在第四季度恢復到更平衡的狀態。因此，我們對日本的出口量的平均銷售實現與第三季相當。我們的日本銷量在第四季度略有下降，並繼續受到去年第三季度一家鋸木廠遭受火災損壞的客戶發貨量減少的影響。也就是說，該客戶已經實施了恢復大部分產量損失的計劃，我們繼續將產量轉移給日本的其他客戶。因此，我們預計第一季對日本市場的出口量將增加。

In China, log supply into the region has adjusted to lower consumption levels, and the market was largely balanced in the fourth quarter. As a result, our average sales realizations for export volumes to China were comparable to the third quarter. Given steady demand from our Chinese customers, coupled with moderating market conditions in Western domestic market, we significantly increased our sales volumes into China in the fourth quarter.

在中國，該地區的原木供應已適應較低的消費水平，第四季市場基本平衡。因此，我們對中國出口量的平均銷售實現與第三季相當。鑑於中國客戶的穩定需求，加上西方國內市場的緩和，我們第四季在中國的銷售量大幅增加。

Turning to the South. Southern sawlog and fiber markets softened slightly in the fourth quarter, largely in response to ample log supply, elevated mill inventories and reduced demand for finished goods. Despite these market dynamics, demand for our logs remained steady, given our delivered programs across the region. As a result, our average sales realizations and fee harvest volumes were comparable to the third quarter. Per unit log and haul costs were also comparable and forestry and road costs were seasonally lower.

轉向南方。第四季南方鋸材和纖維市場略有疲軟，主要是因為原木供應充足、工廠庫存增加以及成品需求減少。儘管存在這些市場動態，但考慮到我們在該地區交付的項目，對我們原木的需求仍然穩定。因此，我們的平均銷售實現和費用收入與第三季相當。每單位原木和運輸成本也相當，林業和道路成本季節性較低。

Turning now to Real Estate, Energy and Natural Resources on Pages 11 and 12. For the full year, Real Estate and ENR generated $320 million of adjusted EBITDA, slightly higher than our revised full year guidance. In the fourth quarter, the segment contributed $50 million to earnings. Adjusted EBITDA was $67 million, a $27 million decrease compared to the third quarter, largely driven by the timing and mix of properties sold. Average price per acre increased from the prior quarter and remains elevated compared to historical levels as we continue to see stable interest from buyers for HBU properties, resulting in high-value transactions with significant premiums to timber value.

現在轉向第 11 頁和第 12 頁的房地產、能源和自然資源。全年，房地產和 ENR 產生 3.2 億美元的調整後 EBITDA，略高於我們修訂後的全年指引。第四季度，該部門貢獻了 5000 萬美元的收益。調整後 EBITDA 為 6,700 萬美元，比第三季減少 2,700 萬美元，主要是由於出售房產的時間和組合所致。每英畝的平均價格較上一季有所上升，且與歷史水平相比仍處於較高水平，因為我們繼續看到買家對 HBU 房產的穩定興趣，導致高價值交易，木材價值大幅溢價。

I'll now make a few comments on our Natural Climate Solutions business. As shown on Page 23, our full year adjusted EBITDA was $47 million. This represents a 9% increase compared to 2022 and a 114% increase since the inception of this business in 2020. For 2023, we achieved solid contributions from conservation, mitigation banking and renewables, and demand for these businesses continues to grow. In addition, we achieved notable milestones in our forest carbon business in 2023, including the approval of our pilot project in Maine and the monetization of the initial credits from this project. These credits were sold in the fourth quarter at a strong price and demonstrate our commitment to offering only the highest-quality credits to the market. Looking forward, we expect the new issuance of credits from our Maine project later this year. Further, we're developing additional forest carbon projects within our U.S. timberlands. We anticipate receiving approval on 2 projects in the U.S. South in early '24 and intend to monetize additional credits in the voluntary market this year.

現在我將對我們的自然氣候解決方案業務發表一些評論。如第 23 頁所示，我們全年調整後 EBITDA 為 4,700 萬美元。與2022 年相比成長了9%，自2020 年該業務啟動以來成長了114%。2023 年，我們在保護、緩解銀行和再生能源方面取得了堅實的貢獻，並且對這些業務的需求持續成長。此外，我們在 2023 年的森林碳業務方面取得了顯著的里程碑，包括緬因州試點計畫的批准以及該計畫初始信用額的貨幣化。這些積分在第四季度以強勁的價格出售，體現了我們只向市場提供最高品質積分的承諾。展望未來，我們預計緬因州計畫將在今年稍後發放新的信貸。此外，我們正在美國林地內開發更多森林碳計畫。我們預計美國南部的 2 個項目將於 2024 年初獲得批准，並打算今年在自願市場上將額外的信貸貨幣化。

Turning to our carbon capture and sequestration business. We continue to see solid progress being made on the projects we've announced with Oxy Low Carbon Ventures and Exxon, and both are expected to be online in late 2025 or 2026. Moving forward, we continue to advance discussions with high-quality CCS developers on portions of our Southern U.S. acreage and expect to announce additional agreements in the future.

轉向我們的碳捕獲和封存業務。我們繼續看到我們與 Oxy Low Carbon Ventures 和 Exxon 宣布的項目取得了紮實進展，預計這兩個項目將於 2025 年末或 2026 年上線。展望未來，我們將繼續推進與優質 CCS 開發商的討論我們在美國南部的部分土地上進行了合作，並預計未來將宣布更多協議。

As we look back over the last several years, I'm extremely proud of the progress that we've made in our Natural Climate Solutions business and the leadership we've demonstrated along the way. We were the first company in our space to embark on this journey in a comprehensive manner and had delivered notable accomplishments across all of our NCS businesses. And in the process, we built a world-class team with deep technical expertise and a strong commercial focus. We've laid the foundation to develop and advance our NCS offerings in-house, allowing Weyerhaeuser to capture the vast majority of the economics associated with these opportunities. And we've quickly established a peer-leading position in emerging carbon markets.

回顧過去幾年，我對我們在自然氣候解決方案業務方面取得的進步以及我們一路走來所展現的領導力感到非常自豪。我們是該領域第一家全面踏上這一旅程的公司，並在所有 NCS 業務中取得了顯著的成就。在此過程中，我們建立了一支擁有深厚技術專長和強烈商業關注的世界級團隊。我們已經為內部開發和推進 NCS 產品奠定了基礎，使 Weyerhaeuser 能夠抓住與這些機會相關的絕大多數經濟效益。我們很快就在新興碳市場上確立了同業領先地位。

As we think about the future, we remain focused on growing our NCS business to $100 million of EBITDA by year-end 2025, and we see significant future upside as markets continue to develop, particularly in carbon and renewables. And with the work we've already completed and the prospects of advancing NCS across our expansive timberland holdings, we have a lot of conviction that there is no company in this space with the capabilities or asset base to deliver on this value creation opportunity at scale like Weyerhaeuser.

當我們思考未來時，我們仍然專注於到2025 年底將NCS 業務發展到EBITDA 達到1 億美元，並且隨著市場的不斷發展，特別是在碳和可再生能源領域，我們看到了未來的巨大上升空間。憑藉我們已經完成的工作以及在我們廣闊的林地資產中推進 NCS 的前景，我們堅信，這個領域沒有一家公司擁有能力或資產基礎來大規模提供這一價值創造機會像惠好。

So now moving on to Wood Products on Pages 13 through 15. Wood Products contributed $105 million to earnings before special items in the fourth quarter. Adjusted EBITDA was $159 million, a 52% reduction from the third quarter, largely driven by lower commodity pricing. Starting with lumber. Fourth quarter adjusted EBITDA was a $34 million loss. Weaker product pricing was the primary driver as the framing lumber composite posted its lowest quarterly average in a number of years. Our average sales realizations decreased 14% compared to the third quarter. This was driven by cautious buyer sentiment and ample lumber supply in the North American market.

現在轉到第 13 頁到第 15 頁的木製品。第四季木製品為不計特殊項目的收益貢獻了 1.05 億美元。調整後 EBITDA 為 1.59 億美元，較第三季下降 52%，主要是由於大宗商品定價下降所致。從木材開始。第四季調整後 EBITDA 虧損 3,400 萬美元。產品定價疲軟是主要驅動因素，因為框架木材複合材料的季度平均值創下多年來的最低水準。與第三季相比，我們的平均銷售額下降了 14%。這是由謹慎的買家情緒和北美市場充足的木材供應所推動的。

That said, buyer sentiment and product pricing started to improve toward the end of the year, following stronger-than-expected housing starts data and positive signals from the Fed on the trajectory of interest rates. Our fourth quarter performance was further impacted by a decrease in production levels, which resulted in lower sales volumes and higher unit manufacturing costs. This was largely driven by a combination of taking additional holiday downtime at our Pacific Northwest mills, a period of downtime at our mill in British Columbia and operating challenges at certain facilities. Market conditions were particularly challenging in the Northwest in the fourth quarter, given the more rapid decline in lumber pricing compared to log prices.

儘管如此，在房屋開工數據強於預期以及聯準會就利率走勢發出正面訊號後，買家信心和產品定價在年底開始改善。我們第四季的業績受到生產水準下降的進一步影響，導致銷售下降和單位製造成本上升。這主要是由於我們太平洋西北工廠額外的假期停機、不列顛哥倫比亞省工廠的一段停機時間以及某些設施的運營挑戰共同推動的。由於木材價格比原木價格下降更快，第四季西北地區的市場狀況尤其具有挑戰性。

As we enter 2024, market conditions are starting to improve, and we expect stronger performance from our lumber business in the first quarter. Adjusted EBITDA for OSB was $73 million, a decrease of $45 million compared to the third quarter, primarily due to lower product pricing. Benchmark pricing for OSB began the quarter on a downward trajectory but stabilized by the end of October and increased through year-end. This improvement was largely driven by lean inventories, supply limitations and a resilient demand from new home construction activity. As a result, our OSB pricing exited the quarter at a higher level than where we entered. However, our fourth quarter average realizations decreased by 17% compared to the prior quarter. Our sales volumes and fiber costs were comparable to the third quarter, and unit manufacturing costs were moderately lower.

進入 2024 年，市場狀況開始改善，我們預計第一季木材業務將取得更強勁的業績。 OSB 調整後 EBITDA 為 7,300 萬美元，比第三季減少 4,500 萬美元，主要是因為產品定價下降。 OSB 的基準定價本季開始呈下降趨勢，但到 10 月底趨於穩定，並在年底有所上升。這項改善主要是由於庫存減少、供應限制和新房屋建設活動的彈性需求所推動的。因此，我們的 OSB 定價在本季結束時的水平高於我們進入時的水平。然而，我們第四季的平均實現量比上一季下降了 17%。我們的銷售量和纖維成本與第三季相當，單位製造成本略有下降。

Engineered Wood Products delivered $104 million of adjusted EBITDA, a decrease of $21 million compared to the third quarter. Sales realizations for most products decreased slightly as supply and demand continue to rebalance in certain markets. I would note, however, that pricing remains quite healthy on a historical basis. Sales volumes were lower for most products compared to the third quarter, driven by seasonally lower demand and improving supply across the EWP market. Unit manufacturing costs were slightly lower in the fourth quarter, and raw material costs increased primarily for OSB web stock.

工程木製品公司的調整後 EBITDA 為 1.04 億美元，較第三季減少 2,100 萬美元。由於某些市場的供需繼續重新平衡，大多數產品的銷售實現略有下降。不過，我要指出的是，從歷史角度來看，定價仍然相當健康。與第三季相比，大多數產品的銷售量有所下降，原因是季節性需求下降和 EWP 市場供應改善。第四季單位製造成本略有下降，原料成本增加主要是 OSB 捲材庫存。

In distribution, adjusted EBITDA decreased $15 million compared to the third quarter, largely driven by a decrease in commodity realizations and seasonally lower sales volumes. With that, I'll turn the call over to Davie to discuss some financial items and our first quarter and 2024 outlook.

在分銷方面，調整後的 EBITDA 與第三季相比減少了 1500 萬美元，這主要是由於商品變現減少和季節性銷售下降所致。接下來，我將把電話轉給 Davie，討論一些財務事項以及我們第一季和 2024 年的前景。

Thank you, Devin, and good morning, everyone. I'll be covering key financial items and fourth quarter financial performance before moving into our first quarter and full year 2024 outlook. I'll begin with key financial items which are summarized on Page 17. We generated $288 million of cash from operations in the fourth quarter, bringing our total for the year to more than $1.4 billion. As Devin mentioned, we are returning $783 million to shareholders based on 2023 results, which includes $125 million of share repurchases. Fourth quarter share repurchase activity totaled $15 million, and we have now completed approximately $750 million of activity under our $1 billion share repurchase authorization. Entering 2024, we will continue to leverage our flexible cash return framework and look to repurchase shares opportunistically when we believe it will create shareholder value.

謝謝你，德文，大家早安。在進入 2024 年第一季和全年展望之前，我將介紹關鍵財務項目和第四季的財務表現。我將從第 17 頁總結的關鍵財務項目開始。第四季我們從營運中產生了 2.88 億美元的現金，使我們全年的現金總額超過 14 億美元。正如 Devin 所提到的，根據 2023 年的業績，我們將向股東返還 7.83 億美元，其中包括 1.25 億美元的股票回購。第四季的股票回購活動總額為 1,500 萬美元，目前我們已根據 10 億美元的股票回購授權完成了約 7.5 億美元的活動。進入2024年，我們將繼續利用靈活的現金回報框架，並在我們認為能夠創造股東價值時適時回購股票。

Turning to the balance sheet. We ended the year with approximately $1.2 billion of cash and cash equivalents, of which $102 million is earmarked for the supplemental dividend we announced yesterday that will be paid in February. In December, we repaid our $860 million, 5.2% private note at maturity and also closed on a 5-year $250 million variable rate term loan. This completes a series of transactions over the course of the year, along with our $750 million bond issuance in May to refinance approximately $1 billion of debt. We ended the year with gross debt of $5.1 billion, consistent with our total as of the prior year-end, and we have no further debt maturities until 2025.

轉向資產負債表。截至年底，我們擁有約 12 億美元的現金和現金等價物，其中 1.02 億美元專門用於我們昨天宣布的將於 2 月支付的補充股息。 12 月，我們償還了 8.6 億美元、利率 5.2% 的到期私人票據，並完成了 5 年期 2.5 億美元的可變利率定期貸款。這完成了全年的一系列交易，同時我們也於 5 月發行了 7.5 億美元的債券，為約 10 億美元的債務進行了再融資。截至今年年底，我們的債務總額為 51 億美元，與上一年底的債務總額一致，並且在 2025 年之前我們沒有進一步的債務到期。

Fourth quarter results for our unallocated items are summarized on Page 16. Adjusted EBITDA for this segment increased by $8 million compared to the third quarter. This increase was primarily attributable to changes in intersegment profit elimination and LIFO. Key outlook items for the first quarter and full year 2024 are presented on Pages 24 and 25. In our Timberlands business, we expect first quarter earnings before special items and adjusted EBITDA to be comparable to the fourth quarter of 2023.

第 16 頁總結了我們未分配項目的第四季度業績。與第三季度相比，該部門的調整後 EBITDA 增加了 800 萬美元。此成長主要歸因於分部間利潤抵銷和後進先出法的變化。第24 和25 頁介紹了2024 年第一季和全年的主要展望項目。在我們的Timberlands 業務中，我們預計第一季不計特殊項目的收益和調整後的EBITDA 將與2023 年第四季相當。

Turning to our Western Timberlands operations, we expect steady log demand in the domestic market in the first quarter as mills respond to seasonally lower log supply and the prospect of improving lumber takeaway ahead of the spring building season. Given this dynamic, we expect higher domestic sales volumes compared to the fourth quarter. That said, we anticipate a slight decrease in our overall and our average domestic sales realizations largely driven by a lower mix of grade logs. Absent weather-related disruptions, we expect our fee harvest volumes to be moderately higher in the first quarter. Per unit log and haul costs are expected to be significantly lower as we make the seasonal transition to lower elevation and lower-cost harvest operations. And forestry and road costs are expected to be moderately lower due to the seasonal nature of these activities.

談到我們的 Western Timberlands 業務，我們預計第一季度國內市場的原木需求將保持穩定，因為工廠應對季節性原木供應量下降以及春季建築季節之前木材採購量改善的前景。鑑於這種動態，我們預計國內銷量將高於第四季。也就是說，我們預計我們的整體和平均國內銷售實現量將略有下降，這主要是由於原木等級較低的組合所致。如果沒有與天氣相關的干擾，我們預計第一季的費用收穫量將適度增加。隨著我們季節性過渡到海拔較低和成本較低的採伐作業，每單位原木和運輸成本預計將顯著降低。由於這些活動的季節性，林業和道路成本預計將適度降低。

Moving to the export markets, starting with Japan. As Devin mentioned, we expect to deliver higher sales volumes into the Japanese market in the first quarter. This is largely in response to measures taken by one of our customers to increase production following a fire at their sawmill in the third quarter of last year. With a more balanced Japanese log market and improving conditions in the Western domestic market, we anticipate slightly higher average sales realizations for our export logs into Japan in the first quarter.

轉向出口市場，首先是日本。正如德文所提到的，我們預計第一季日本市場的銷售量將更高。這主要是為了回應我們的一位客戶在去年第三季鋸木廠發生火災後採取的提高產量的措施。隨著日本原木市場更加平衡以及西方國內市場狀況的改善，我們預計第一季向日本出口原木的平均銷售額將略有上升。

In China, log demand is expected to moderate in the first quarter in response to reduced consumption during the Lunar New Year holiday. Given this dynamic, coupled with improving Western domestic market conditions, we expect to significantly decrease our sales volumes into China during the quarter. Our average sales realizations are expected to be comparable to the fourth quarter.

在中國，由於農曆新年假期消費減少，預計第一季原木需求將放緩。鑑於這種動態，加上西方國內市場狀況的改善，我們預計本季中國的銷售將大幅減少。我們的平均銷售實現預計將與第四季相當。

Turning to the South. Despite ample log inventories, Southern log markets are expected to be fairly stable in the first quarter as mills respond to a seasonal reduction in log supply and the prospect of increased demand for finished goods. As a result, we expect our average sales realizations to be comparable to the fourth quarter. Our fee harvest volumes and forestry and road costs are expected to be moderately lower due to wet weather conditions that are typical in the first quarter, and we anticipate comparable per unit log and haul costs. In the North, our fee harvest volumes are expected to be comparable to the fourth quarter, and we anticipate moderately higher sales realizations due to mix. Turning to our full year harvest plan. For 2024, we expect total company fee harvest volumes to increase to approximately 35.5 million tons, with all regions delivering slightly higher volumes compared to 2023 levels.

轉向南方。儘管原木庫存充足，但隨著工廠應對原木供應的季節性減少和成品需求增加的前景，南方原木市場預計第一季將相當穩定。因此，我們預計我們的平均銷售實現將與第四季度相當。由於第一季典型的潮濕天氣條件，我們的採伐量以及林業和道路成本預計將適度降低，並且我們預計每單位原木和運輸成本將相當。在北方，我們的費用收入預計將與第四季度相當，我們預計由於混合，銷售實現將適度增長。轉向我們的全年收穫計劃。到 2024 年，我們預計公司費用總收穫量將增加至約 3,550 萬噸，所有地區的產量均略高於 2023 年的水準。

Moving to our Real Estate, Energy and Natural Resources segment. We anticipate steady demand for our real estate properties in 2024 and continue to expect a consistent flow of transactions with significant premiums to timber value. In our Natural Climate Solutions business, we anticipate a significant increase in EBITDA in 2024 as we continue to advance toward our $100 million target. For the segment, we expect full year 2024 adjusted EBITDA of approximately $320 million. Basis as a percentage of real estate sales is expected to be approximately 35% to 45% for the year. First quarter earnings are expected to be comparable to the fourth quarter of 2023, while adjusted EBITDA is expected to be approximately $15 million higher primarily due to the timing and mix of real estate sales.

轉向我們的房地產、能源和自然資源部門。我們預計 2024 年我們的房地產需求將保持穩定，並繼續預計交易量將持續穩定，木材價值將大幅溢價。在我們的自然氣候解決方案業務中，隨著我們繼續朝著 1 億美元的目標邁進，我們預計 2024 年 EBITDA 將大幅成長。對於該細分市場，我們預計 2024 年全年調整後 EBITDA 約為 3.2 億美元。預計今年基礎銷售額佔房地產銷售額的百分比約為 35% 至 45%。第一季收益預計將與 2023 年第四季相當，而調整後的 EBITDA 預計將增加約 1500 萬美元，這主要是由於房地產銷售的時機和組合。

Turning to our Wood Products segment. Benchmark prices for lumber and OSB have increased from lower levels in the fourth quarter but have remained fairly stable over the last several weeks. As the quarter progresses, we expect improving market conditions and demand for both products heading into the spring building season. Excluding the effects of changes in average sales realizations for lumber and OSB, we expect first quarter adjusted EBITDA and earnings before special items to be slightly higher compared to the fourth quarter of 2023. For our lumber business, we expect higher production and sales volumes in the first quarter and moderately lower unit manufacturing costs as operating conditions improve. Log costs are expected to be slightly lower, primarily in Canada.

轉向我們的木製品部門。木材和定向刨花板的基準價格從第四季度的較低水平開始上漲，但在過去幾週內保持相當穩定。隨著本季的進展，我們預計市場狀況和這兩種產品的需求將在春季建築季節有所改善。排除木材和OSB 平均銷售實現變化的影響，我們預計第一季調整後EBITDA 和不計特殊項目的收益將略高於2023 年第四季。對於我們的木材業務，我們預計2023 年第一季的產量和銷售量將會更高。隨著經營狀況改善，第一季單位製造成本適度下降。預計原木成本將略低，主要是在加拿大。

For our oriented strand board business, we anticipate sales volumes to be moderately higher compared to the fourth quarter with slightly lower unit manufacturing costs. Fiber costs are expected to be slightly higher in the first quarter. As shown on Page 26, our current and quarter-to-date average sales realizations for lumber and OSB are slightly higher than the fourth quarter averages.

對於我們的定向刨花板業務，我們預計銷售量將比第四季略有增加，單位製造成本略有下降。預計第一季光纖成本將小幅上漲。如第 26 頁所示，我們目前和本季迄今的木材和 OSB 平均銷售實現略高於第四季度的平均水準。

Turning to our Engineered Wood Products business. We expect improving demand heading into the spring building season. As a result, we anticipate moderately higher sales volumes in the first quarter, primarily for solid section products. Our average sales realizations are expected to be slightly lower for most products as previously determined price adjustments take effect in certain markets. Raw material costs are expected to be slightly lower compared to the fourth quarter. For our distribution business, we expect adjusted EBITDA to be higher compared to the fourth quarter, primarily driven by an increase in commodity realizations and higher sales volumes.

轉向我們的工程木製品業務。我們預計春季建築季節到來時需求將會改善。因此，我們預期第一季的銷售量將適度成長，主要是實心型材產品。由於先前確定的價格調整在某些市場生效，我們大多數產品的平均銷售實現預計將略低。預計原料成本較第四季略有下降。對於我們的分銷業務，我們預計調整後的 EBITDA 將高於第四季度，這主要是由於商品變現的增加和銷售的增加。

I'll wrap up with some additional full year outlook items highlighted on Page 25. Our full year 2023 interest expense was $280 million. For full year 2024, we expect interest expense will be approximately $275 million. Turning to taxes, our full year 2023 effective tax rate was approximately 12%, excluding special items. For first quarter and full year 2024, we expect our effective tax rate will be between 13% and 16% before special items based on the forecasted mix of earnings between our REIT and taxable REIT subsidiary. For cash taxes, we paid $63 million for full year 2023, which was lower than our tax expense excluding special items due to the timing of U.S. and Canadian tax payments. We expect our 2024 cash taxes will be comparable to our overall tax expense.

最後，我將在第 25 頁重點介紹一些額外的全年展望項目。我們 2023 年全年的利息支出為 2.8 億美元。 2024 年全年，我們預計利息支出約為 2.75 億美元。說到稅收，我們 2023 年全年的有效稅率約為 12%，不包括特殊項目。根據我們的 REIT 和應稅 REIT 子公司之間的預測收益組合，我們預計 2024 年第一季和全年，不計特殊項目的有效稅率將在 13% 至 16% 之間。對於現金稅，我們在 2023 年全年繳納了 6,300 萬美元，由於美國和加拿大的納稅時間安排，這低於不包括特殊項目的稅收支出。我們預計 2024 年的現金稅將與我們的整體稅收支出相當。

For pension and post-employment plans, our noncash, nonoperating pension and post-employment expense was $45 million in 2023. For 2024, we expect this expense will be comparable to 2023. Cash paid for pension and post-employment plans in 2023 was $20 million. In 2024, we do not anticipate any cash contributions to our U.S. qualified pension plan, and our required cash payments for all other plans will be approximately $20 million.

對於退休金和離職後計劃，2023 年我們的非現金、非營運退休金和離職後費用為4500 萬美元。對於2024 年，我們預計這筆費用將與2023 年相當。2023 年退休金和離職後計劃支付的現金為20 美元百萬。到 2024 年，我們預計不會向我們的美國合格退休金計劃提供任何現金繳款，而所有其他計劃所需的現金支付將約為 2000 萬美元。

Turning now to capital expenditures. Our full year 2023 capital investments totaled $440 million plus $7 million of capitalized interest. We expect total capital for 2024 will be comparable at approximately $440 million, which includes: $115 million for Timberlands, inclusive of reforestation costs; $310 million for Wood Products; and $15 million for planned corporate IT system investments. With that, I'll now turn the call back to Devin and look forward to your questions.

現在轉向資本支出。我們 2023 年全年的資本投資總額為 4.4 億美元，外加 700 萬美元的資本利息。我們預計 2024 年的總資本將約為 4.4 億美元，其中包括： Timberlands 的 1.15 億美元，包括重新造林成本； 3.1億美元用於木製品； 1500 萬美元用於計劃的企業 IT 系統投資。現在，我將把電話轉回德文，並期待您的提問。

Thanks, Davie. Before wrapping up this morning, I'll make a few comments on the housing and repair and remodel markets and touch briefly on our multiyear targets. Starting with housing. Despite elevated mortgage interest rates for most of the year, the housing market remained resilient in 2023, particularly in the single-family segment. This was supported by a limited inventory of existing homes on the market, combined with the homebuilder's ability to offer mortgage rate buy-downs and other incentives and underpinned by a strong overall demand for housing.

謝謝，戴維。在今天早上結束之前，我將對住房、維修和改造市場發表一些評論，並簡要地談談我們的多年目標。從住房開始。儘管今年大部分時間抵押貸款利率都在上升，但 2023 年房地產市場仍保持彈性，尤其是單戶住宅市場。這是由市場上現有房屋庫存有限、房屋建築商提供抵押貸款利率下調和其他激勵措施的能力以及強勁的住房總體需求支撐的。

Given the tailwinds from last year, along with improving mortgage rates and a more favorable macro environment, our outlook for single-family housing demand in 2024 is more optimistic relative to this time last year. And that aligns with what we are hearing from our homebuilder customers. We are, however, somewhat less optimistic about the multifamily segment in the near term, largely driven by the recent and upcoming influx of multifamily units entering the market. As a reminder, single-family construction is a much more important demand driver for our business than multifamily. All in all, we're more positive on the housing setup for 2024 and believe we should see an uptick in demand for our products. And our longer-term view on housing fundamentals continues to be very favorable, supported by strong demographic trends and a vastly underbuilt housing stock.

考慮到去年的利多因素，加上抵押貸款利率的改善和更有利的宏觀環境，我們對 2024 年單戶住房需求的前景相對於去年同期更為樂觀。這與我們從住宅建築商客戶那裡聽到的情況相符。然而，我們對短期內的多戶住宅市場不太樂觀，這主要是由於近期和即將湧入市場的多戶住宅單元的推動。提醒一下，單戶住宅建設是我們業務比多戶住宅更重要的需求驅動因素。總而言之，我們對 2024 年的住房設置更加樂觀，並相信我們的產品需求將會上升。在強勁的人口趨勢和嚴重不足的住房存量的支持下，我們對住房基本面的長期看法仍然非常有利。

Turning to repair and remodel. Activity in the fourth quarter remained steady. And barring significant weather disruptions, we expect a similar level of repair and remodel demand in the first quarter. As for 2024, we believe the underlying demand fundamentals are incrementally more positive compared to last year, supported by otherwise prospective homebuyers choosing to remodel in lieu of purchasing a new home in a higher mortgage rate environment, combined with a healthier economy. And based on recent trends, we think activity will be more heavily weighted toward the pro segment versus DIY. Looking beyond 2024, most of the key drivers supporting healthy repair and remodel demand remain intact, including favorable home equity levels and an aging housing stock.

轉向修復和改造。第四季的活動保持穩定。除非出現嚴重的天氣幹擾，我們預計第一季的維修和改造需求將達到類似水準。至於2024 年，我們認為，與去年相比，潛在的需求基本面將逐漸更加積極，這得益於潛在購房者選擇在抵押貸款利率較高的環境下進行改造而不是購買新房，再加上經濟更加健康。根據最近的趨勢，我們認為與 DIY 相比，專業領域的活動將更加重要。展望 2024 年後，支持健康維修和改造需求的大多數關鍵驅動因素仍然完好無損，包括有利的房屋淨值水準和老化的房屋存量。

Finally, I'd like to provide an update on the progress we've made against the multiyear targets we announced during our Investor Day in September of 2021. As highlighted on Slide 21, we've made notable advancements on all fronts. Starting with our portfolio, we've more than -- we're more than halfway to our $1 billion Timberlands growth target, and we've increased Natural Climate Solutions EBITDA by 114% since the inception of that business. In terms of our operating performance, we've made progress against all of our OpEx priorities and have captured $77 million of margin improvements over the last 2 years. Additionally, through the third quarter of 2023, we delivered peer-leading EBITDA margins across all of our Wood Products businesses and are #1 in EBITDA per acre in Western Timberlands. On the ESG front, we're making progress on reducing our greenhouse gas emissions and have committed to net zero emissions by 2040.

最後，我想介紹一下我們在 2021 年 9 月投資者日期間宣布的多年目標所取得的進展的最新情況。正如幻燈片 21 所強調的那樣，我們在所有方面都取得了顯著的進步。從我們的產品組合開始，我們已經實現了 Timberlands 10 億美元成長目標的一半以上，並且自該業務成立以來，我們已將 Natural Climate Solutions 的 EBITDA 增加了 114%。就我們的營運績效而言，我們在所有營運支出優先事項上都取得了進展，並且在過去 2 年中實現了 7700 萬美元的利潤率改善。此外，到 2023 年第三季度，我們的所有木製品業務均實現了同業領先的 EBITDA 利潤率，並且在 Western Timberlands 每英畝 EBITDA 方面排名第一。在 ESG 方面，我們在減少溫室氣體排放方面取得了進展，並承諾在 2040 年實現淨零排放。

And finally, we continue to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to disciplined capital allocation by increasing our quarterly dividend by more than 5% annually and returning nearly $4.6 billion of cash to shareholders based on our results from 2021 through 2023. We're incredibly proud of these accomplishments, all of which have made Weyerhaeuser a stronger and more valuable company. Looking forward, we remain committed to driving continued improvements across each of these areas and are well positioned to achieve our strategic targets by year-end 2025.

最後，根據 2021 年至 2023 年的業績，我們將季度股息每年增加 5% 以上，並向股東返還近 46 億美元現金，繼續證明我們對嚴格資本配置的持續承諾。我們對此感到無比自豪所有這些成就都使惠好成為更強大、更有價值的公司。展望未來，我們仍致力於推動這些領域的持續改進，並做好充分準備，在 2025 年底前實現我們的策略目標。

So in closing, our performance in 2023 reflects solid execution across our businesses. As we enter 2024, we're encouraged by resiliency in the housing market and maintain a favorable long-term outlook for the demand fundamentals that will drive growth for our businesses. Our balance sheet is exceptionally strong, and we remain focused on serving our customers and driving long-term value for shareholders through our unrivaled portfolio, industry-leading performance, strong ESG foundation and disciplined capital allocation. So with that, I think we can open it up for questions.

因此，最後，我們 2023 年的業績反映了我們整個業務的紮實執行力。進入 2024 年，我們對房地產市場的彈性感到鼓舞，並對推動我們業務成長的需求基本面保持有利的長期前景。我們的資產負債表異常強勁，我們始終致力於透過無與倫比的投資組合、業界領先的業績、強大的 ESG 基礎和嚴格的資本配置，為客戶提供服務並為股東帶來長期價值。因此，我認為我們可以開放提問。

(Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from Susan Maklari with Goldman Sachs.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自高盛的 Susan Maklari。

Just start with the outline that you gave, framing the housing outlook for this year was helpful. And when you think about Weyerhaeuser's positioning relative to that, can you talk about the ability to ramp your production across the different product categories? Where do you think you're sort of best able to really capture the benefits of that lift, especially perhaps if some of the R&R activity comes back this year? And then any thoughts on the channel inventories across the different products and how they're positioned going into the spring?

從您給出的概述開始，框架今年的住房前景是有幫助的。當您考慮惠好公司的相對定位時，您能談談在不同產品類別中提高產量的能力嗎？您認為您在哪裡最能真正獲得這種提升的好處，特別是如果今年一些 R&R 活動回歸的話？那麼對不同產品的通路庫存以及它們在春季的定位有何想法？

Sure. Well, I'll start with the first question and sort of go product by product. On the lumber side, that's the business where we have the most flexibility to increase production. And I would say just as a baseline, we would expect to see a pretty significant increase in our production levels in 2024 as we've made a lot of capital investments over the last several years that are really starting to come to fruition. But we do have some upside there. Lumber is one of those areas where you can add shifts, you can add some overtime to take advantage of strong markets when those present themselves.

當然。好吧，我將從第一個問題開始，逐一產品討論。在木材方面，這是我們增加產量最靈活的業務。我想說，作為基準，我們預計 2024 年我們的生產水準將出現相當顯著的成長，因為我們在過去幾年中進行了大量的資本投資，這些投資確實開始取得成果。但我們確實有一些優勢。木材是您可以增加輪班的領域之一，您可以增加一些加班時間，以便在市場出現時充分利用強勁的市場。

OSB, it's a little bit more difficult. Those operations typically run 24/7 already, so there's really not a whole lot of flex on the OSB side. I would say on the EWP side, there's a little bit of flexibility but those typically have an operating posture where you just don't have as much slack in the system. So really, for the most part, it's going to be lumber and, to a large extent, distribution as well is another area where you can take advantage of strong markets.

OSB，有點困難。這些操作通常已經 24/7 運行，因此 OSB 方面實際上沒有太多的靈活性。我想說，在 EWP 方面，有一點靈活性，但它們通常具有一種操作姿勢，您在系統中不會有太多的鬆弛。因此，實際上，在很大程度上，這將是木材，並且在很大程度上，分銷也是您可以利用強大市場的另一個領域。

On the inventory and the channel question, I would say lumber inventory right now is still pretty lean across the system. OSB, I would say, is more or less normal for this time of year. Before the weather events, I would say that the South maybe on the OSB side was a little leaner than normal but otherwise mostly balanced across the system. And then on EWP, I'd say it's about normal for this time of year.

關於庫存和渠道問題，我想說，目前整個系統的木材庫存仍然相當少。我想說，OSB 在每年的這個時候或多或少是正常的。在天氣事件發生之前，我想說的是，OSB 一側的南方可能比正常情況要少一些，但在整個系統中基本上保持平衡。然後在 EWP 上，我想說這在一年中的這個時候是正常的。

Okay, that's helpful. And then you mentioned the $77 million of OpEx that you have realized in the last 2 years. As you think about 2024, any thoughts on some of the initiatives you'll be focused on, perhaps areas that you are planning to do certain initiatives in? Can you just give us some color on that?

好的，這很有幫助。然後您提到了過去 2 年實現的 7700 萬美元的營運支出。當您考慮 2024 年時，您對您將重點關注的一些舉措有什麼想法，也許是您計劃實施某些舉措的領域？你能給我們一些顏色嗎？

Sure. Well, just a quick note on that $77 million. Given the inflationary backdrop that we've been operating in over the last several years, that's really a remarkable number. And as we think about rolling into 2024, a lot of the initiatives are the same ones we've been working on. It's reliability in the Wood Products business, taking advantage of all of those capital projects and just the operating improvements. It's looking for opportunities to improve recovery, to make sure that you're capturing the full value of the raw materials entering the mill set.

當然。好吧，簡單介紹一下這 7700 萬美元。考慮到過去幾年我們一直在通貨膨脹的背景下運作，這確實是一個了不起的數字。當我們考慮進入 2024 年時，許多舉措與我們一直在努力的舉措相同。它是木製品業務的可靠性，利用所有這些資本項目和營運改進。它正在尋找提高回收率的機會，以確保您獲得進入工廠的原材料的全部價值。

We're continuing to work on innovation across the system all throughout Wood Products, and I think that's going to start really delivering some value. On the Timberlands side, it's continuing to look for ways to reduce our log and haul costs, improve how we build roads, really just across the whole system, looking for opportunities to take cost out of the system and improve efficiency and reliability. So it's a lot of the same things that we've been working on for a long time.

我們將繼續致力於整個木製品系統的創新，我認為這將開始真正帶來一些價值。在 Timberlands 方面，它正在繼續尋找方法來降低我們的木材和運輸成本，改善我們的道路建設方式，實際上只是在整個系統中，尋找機會降低系統成本並提高效率和可靠性。因此，我們長期以來一直在做很多相同的事情。

I think the good news is that OpEx is deeply ingrained in the culture. We have a lot of buy-in all up and down the organization, and we're going to stay really focused. And assuming that we're going to be in an environment this year with inflation where it's back to a more normalized level, I think we'll see an uptick in the OpEx that we deliver this year relative to the last couple.

我認為好消息是營運支出在文化中根深蒂固。我們得到了組織上下的大力支持，我們將保持真正的專注。假設今年我們將處於通膨回到更正常化水平的環境中，我認為我們今年交付的營運支出將比過去幾年有所上升。

Our next question is from George Staphos, Bank of America.

我們的下一個問題來自美國銀行的喬治·斯塔福斯。

Congratulations on the year overall. My 2 questions, I wanted to maybe piggyback, it's a good segue from Susan's questions. So certainly, there's been a lot of progress in Wood Products and in lumber, in particular, over the years through black at the bottom. Yet it was interesting that, in fact, lumber did have a bit of a loss here in the fourth quarter. Obviously, at pricing headwinds, you had some seasonality, yet there are some other issues as well in terms of maybe some additional downtime relative to normal. But tell us how you think about maybe the need to go back to black at the bottom and see if there's a need for more significant work, given what you said to Susan's question about the fact there's been more inflation. How should we think about that, Devin?

整體祝賀這一年。我的兩個問題，我想也許是附帶的，這是蘇珊問題的一個很好的延續。當然，木製品和木材領域已經取得了很大的進步，特別是多年來底部的黑色。但有趣的是，事實上，木材在第四季確實出現了一些虧損。顯然，在定價逆風下，存在一些季節性，但也存在一些其他問題，即相對於正常情況可能會出現一些額外的停機時間。但請告訴我們，考慮到您對蘇珊提出的有關通貨膨脹加劇的問題所說的內容，您如何看待也許需要回到底部的黑色，看看是否需要進行更重要的工作。我們該如何看待這個問題，德文？

Sure. Good question. George, candidly, Q4 was a very challenging quarter in the lumber markets. The product pricing, really the key driver when you see prices going back to the lowest levels in several years, combined with log prices really not going down nearly as much, that just creates a very challenging operating environment. I think as we look at black at the bottom, we think about that not just on a quarterly basis but really over a year-long period. And even in what was a more challenging environment last year, we're obviously still profitable in lumber.

當然。好問題。喬治，坦白說，第四季是木材市場非常具有挑戰性的季度。當你看到價格回到幾年來的最低水平時，產品定價確實是關鍵驅動因素，再加上原木價格實際上沒有下降那麼多，這只會創造一個非常具有挑戰性的營運環境。我認為，當我們觀察底部的黑色時，我們不僅會按季度進行思考，而且會在一年的時間內進行思考。即使去年環境更具挑戰性，我們在木材方面顯然仍然有利可圖。

That all being said, we're never satisfied. And I do think one of the things you'll see in 2024 is we're going to really ramp up the OpEx in really not just in lumber, across Wood Products as we're facing less headwinds from labor inflation, supplies and equipment inflation. Ordinarily, we can more than offset that through our OpEx work. This last year was just a little bit more challenging. So I expect to see more traction on that front.

話雖如此，我們永遠不會滿足。我確實認為2024 年你會看到的一件事是，我們將真正提高營運支出，不僅限於木材，還包括整個木製品行業，因為我們面臨的勞動力通膨、供應和設備通膨帶來的阻力越來越小。通常，我們可以透過營運支出工作來抵消這一影響。去年的情況更具挑戰性。因此，我希望在這方面看到更多的關注。

And then the other thing is we've been doing a lot of work around CapEx over the last several years. And I think in '24, you're going to see some of that result. Holden will be up and fully running this year. We've had a number of other capital projects underway that I think you're going to see the benefits of this year. So we feel pretty good about where we are, notwithstanding a difficult Q4. As we look across the industry and the cost curve, I still think we're in pretty good shape there.

另一件事是，過去幾年我們圍繞著資本支出做了很多工作。我認為在 24 年，你會看到一些結果。霍頓將於今年全面投入營運。我們還有許多其他資本項目正在進行中，我想你們今年將會看到這些項目的好處。因此，儘管第四季很困難，但我們對自己的處境感到非常滿意。當我們縱觀整個產業和成本曲線時，我仍然認為我們的狀況相當不錯。

You've been around lumber for a long time, George. From time to time, you see these moments in time where the pricing dips below what's probably reasonable. It will eventually recover, and we think we're on that path here even just as we head into Q1. But we're never satisfied. We're going to keep pushing. We want to be industry-leading from a cost standpoint, from a production standpoint, from an efficiency standpoint, and we're not going to stop until we're there.

喬治，你從事木材行業已經很久了。有時，您會看到價格低於可能合理水平的時刻。它最終會恢復，我們認為即使我們進入第一季度，我們也正走在這條路上。但我們永遠不會滿足。我們將繼續努力。我們希望從成本、生產、效率的角度成為行業領先，並且在實現這一目標之前我們不會停下來。

Appreciate the thoughts on that, Devin. And certainly, we'll look to mark the progress. My other question, again, is on the lumber side, but in this case, EWP and Engineered Product. So can you talk about why you're seeing, I guess, realization as flat to down? I don't want to paraphrase poorly but that was my take on your commentary, looking out into 1Q. I realize it's a regional market, you get sometimes some imbalances. But what's your view on the year relative to supply-demand, your operating stance, and how that will translate overall into commercial realizations?

德文，很欣賞對此的想法。當然，我們會關注進展。我的另一個問題是關於木材方面的，但在本例中是 EWP 和工程產品。那麼您能談談為什麼您認為實現水平持平甚至下降嗎？我不想解釋得不好，但這就是我對你的評論的看法，展望 1Q。我意識到這是一個區域市場，有時會出現一些不平衡。但您對今年的供需、營運立場有何看法，以及這將如何整體轉化為商業實現？

Sure, George. On the realization side, as we look at the EWP market, unlike OSB and lumber, which price minute to minute, EWP pricing actions typically have a lag. And so as much as anything, Q1, the commentary on realizations is just over the course of 2023, as that market was rebalancing, there were a variety of different price actions in different geographies. And so Q1 is really when those are hitting in full. The EWP market as a whole, I think, is still pretty solid. Pricing overall, if you look back on a historical basis, is still very strong.

當然，喬治。在實現方面，當我們觀察 EWP 市場時，與每分鐘都在定價的 OSB 和木材不同，EWP 定價行為通常存在滯後。無論如何，第一季度，對實現的評論是在 2023 年剛結束時，隨著市場正在重新平衡，不同地區出現了各種不同的價格行為。所以第一季確實是這些因素全面發揮的時候。我認為，整個 EWP 市場仍然相當穩定。如果回顧歷史，整體定價仍然非常強勁。

As we look into '24, we're getting some pretty strong optimistic signals from our builder customers. And so we're expecting steady demand. Pricing is always just a reflection in each individual market of what the supply-demand dynamic looks like. But in a stronger housing environment, with what we expect to be mortgage rates continuing to come down, we think the setup for EWP is good. And to the extent that, that market really develops and picks up, we'll be in good shape from an EWP standpoint.

當我們展望 24 年時，我們從建築商客戶那裡得到了一些非常強烈的樂觀訊號。因此，我們預期需求會穩定。定價始終只是每個市場供需動態的反映。但在更強勁的房屋環境中，隨著我們預計抵押貸款利率將繼續下降，我們認為 EWP 的設定是好的。如果該市場真正發展並回升，從 EWP 的角度來看，我們將處於良好狀態。

Our next question comes from Anthony Pettinari with Citi.

我們的下一個問題來自花旗銀行的安東尼‧佩蒂納裡 (Anthony Pettinari)。

Looking at the market for Timberlands, when you look back at 2023, can you talk about maybe what kind of price appreciation trends you saw in the market maybe on average for good quality Southern Timberlands and the volume of transactions that you saw? And then as we start out the year here, any kind of further comments on just how you see the market in terms of availability of timberlands, who you're competing with for some of these transactions? Or has there been any sort of change there?

看看 Timberlands 的市場，當您回顧 2023 年時，您能否談談您在市場上看到的優質 Southern Timberlands 的平均價格上漲趨勢以及您看到的交易量？然後，當我們開始新的一年時，您對林地可用性方面如何看待市場以及您在其中一些交易中與誰競爭有任何進一步的評論嗎？或者那裡有什麼變化嗎？

Sure. Well, when we look back at 2023, I think the year as a whole is pretty typical in terms of transaction volume, somewhere in that $2.5 billion mark. Last year was a little bit more heavily weighted to the back half of the year. We saw more activity as we got towards the end of 2023. In terms of the overall appreciation, you can look back just really over the last several years. It wasn't that long ago where $2,000 an acre for good timberlands in the South was pretty typical.

當然。好吧，當我們回顧 2023 年時，我認為全年的交易量非常典型，約為 25 億美元。去年下半年的權重稍重。到 2023 年底，我們看到了更多的活動。就整體升值而言，您可以回顧過去幾年的情況。就在不久之前，南方優質林地的價格為每英畝 2,000 美元還相當普遍。

Those values have increased pretty substantially. We've seen examples of really high-quality timberlands in the South going as much as $4,000 an acre, and it's not atypical to see above-average properties going in the high 2s. So we've seen a pretty strong value appreciation in U.S. Southern Timberlands prices. Same thing for the West, I would say, just as an example. As we think about 2024, still very early in the year. There aren't a whole lot of transactions in the market right now. That's not unusual in January. But as we think about the year as a whole, we're expecting a pretty typical year, anywhere between $2 billion and $3 billion of transaction value for the year. I would expect those deals to continue to be very competitive. Still seems to be a lot of interest in this asset class.

這些價值已經大幅增加。我們已經看到了南方真正優質林地的價格高達每英畝 4,000 美元的例子，並且看到高於平均水平的房產價格高達 2 美元的情況並不罕見。因此，我們看到美國南部 Timberlands 的價格出現了相當強勁的升值。我想說，西方也是如此，只是舉個例子。當我們思考 2024 年時，現在還很早。目前市場上的交易量並不大。一月份這並不罕見。但當我們把今年作為一個整體來考慮時，我們預計這一年將是非常典型的一年，全年交易額將在 20 億美元到 30 億美元之間。我預計這些交易將繼續極具競爭力。人們似乎仍然對這一資產類別很感興趣。

And in terms of who we're going to be competing for deals, it's going to, I'm sure, be the same cast of characters. The TIMOs will be active. The timber REITs, I assume, will be into some of those deals, maybe not quite as much, given some of the announcements from some of our competitors. But I suspect they'll still be having their toe in the water to some extent. But then I think you're also going to continue to see some of these new entrants, some of the alternative entities that are looking for carbon values or others that haven't historically been active.

至於我們將與誰競爭交易，我確信，這將是相同的角色。 TIMO 將處於活動狀態。我認為，考慮到我們的一些競爭對手發布的一些公告，木材房地產投資信託基金將參與其中一些交易，但可能不會那麼多。但我懷疑他們在某種程度上仍然會嘗試。但我認為你也會繼續看到一些新進入者、一些正在尋找碳價值的替代實體或其他歷史上並不活躍的實體。

So we're expecting it to continue to be competitive. We'll be very active as we have been over a number of years. We'll continue to look for opportunities to improve the value of our asset but at the same time being disciplined to make sure that we pay the right price for those assets.

因此，我們預計它將繼續保持競爭力。我們將像多年來一樣非常活躍。我們將繼續尋找機會提高我們的資產價值，但同時遵守紀律，確保我們為這些資產支付合適的價格。

Okay. Okay, that's helpful. And then just shifting gears to Wood Products. In the Pacific Northwest, I think recently, you had a competitor that closed a sawmill in Oregon. And they expressed concerns around potentially restrictive policies on harvests on state forests. And I'm just curious, I mean, does that have any impact on the market or your business maybe not directly but just in terms of availability of contractors, competitive dynamics? I'm just curious if there's any read-through there.

好的。好的，這很有幫助。然後就轉向木製品。我想最近在太平洋西北地區，您的競爭對手關閉了俄勒岡州的一家鋸木廠。他們也對國有森林採伐可能受到的限制性政策表示擔憂。我只是很好奇，我的意思是，這是否會對市場或您的業務產生任何影響，也許不是直接影響，而只是在承包商的可用性和競爭動態方面？我只是好奇那裡是否有任何通讀。

Sure. Well, the reference there from that mill closure was with respect to some new regulations in Oregon that came into full implementation on January 1 of this year. And the reality is Oregon was already a very tensioned wood basket and with these new regulations, which I'll say just by the way, these regulations are really just bringing Oregon closer to the regulations in Washington. So it's -- we've done business in Washington for a long time under those regulations, and we'll be just fine under these new regulations.

當然。嗯，工廠關閉所指的是俄勒岡州今年 1 月 1 日全面實施的一些新法規。現實情況是，俄勒岡州已經是一個非常緊張的木籃子，有了這些新法規，我順便說一句，這些法規實際上只是讓俄勒岡州更接近華盛頓的法規。所以，我們已經在華盛頓根據這些規定開展業務很長時間了，而且在這些新規定下我們也會沒事的。

But the reality is it's going to make Oregon somewhat more tensioned than it already was. And so fiber supply will be challenged for certain participants depending on the geography. For Weyerhaeuser, we're in a beneficial position in that we have our own fee timberlands. And so I don't anticipate any issues with fiber availability for our mills. But it may ultimately push the price of logs up in that market as there's less timber supply across the stable manufacturing base.

但現實是，這將使俄勒岡州的局勢比以前更加緊張。因此，根據地理位置的不同，某些參與者的纖維供應將面臨挑戰。對於惠好公司來說，我們處於有利地位，因為我們擁有自己的收費林地。因此，我預計我們工廠的纖維可用性不會有任何問題。但由於整個穩定的製造基地的木材供應減少，這最終可能會推高該市場原木的價格。

Our next question comes from Kurt Yinger with D.A. Davidson.

我們的下一個問題來自 D.A. 的 Kurt Yiner。戴維森。

I just had one question. Can you maybe talk a little bit more about what you're seeing in terms of European lumber imports over the second half of the year? And in addition to that, we've heard at least that there's been a growing amount of imported LVL showing up as well. How are you thinking about that potentially impacting the EWP market in '24? And longer term, I guess, the potential that European competitors could try to, I guess, become bigger participants in the domestic market here?

我只有一個問題。您能否多談談您對今年下半年歐洲木材進口的看法？除此之外，我們至少聽說進口 LVL 的數量也在增加。您如何看待這對 24 年 EWP 市場的潛在影響？我想，從長遠來看，歐洲競爭對手可能會嘗試成為國內市場的更大參與者？

Well, with respect to your first question on European lumber, we certainly saw that come down over the back half of 2023. I think that's a reflection of primarily lumber prices and just the all-in cost to get lumber from Europe to the U.S. Relative to the pricing dynamic, it just didn't make a lot of sense. So that certainly came down over the course of '23.

嗯，關於你關於歐洲木材的第一個問題，我們確實看到了 2023 年下半年的下降。我認為這主要反映了木材價格以及從歐洲運往美國的總成本就定價動態而言，這沒有多大意義。所以這個數字在23年期間肯定有所下降。

On a go-forward basis, as we think about lumber, European lumber coming into the market, a couple of things I would point out. First of all, one of the things that was making that trip a little easier is with all of the salvage activity in Central Europe from the beetle infestation, they were getting very, very cheap logs. That salvage activity is starting to wind down. And certainly, we've seen that in terms of the fewer logs going into China from Europe from salvage. And we've heard anecdotally, a lot of the salvageable -- economically salvageable wood is working through. So there won't be as much cheap fiber to compete in this market.

展望未來，當我們考慮木材時，歐洲木材進入市場，我想指出一些事情。首先，讓這次旅行變得更容易的一件事是，隨著中歐甲蟲侵擾的所有打撈活動，他們得到了非常非常便宜的原木。打撈活動開始逐漸結束。當然，我們已經看到從歐洲回收的原木進入中國的數量減少了。據我們所知，許多可回收的、經濟上可回收的木材正在被破壞。因此，在這個市場上不會有那麼多便宜的光纖來競爭。

And then over the longer term, given that beetle infestation, the loss of Russian lumber into that market, at some point, the European economy will improve and the domestic demand for European lumber will improve. And I think you'll see more of that lumber staying in that market over the long term.

從長遠來看，考慮到甲蟲的侵擾以及俄羅斯木材進入該市場的流失，在某個時候，歐洲經濟將會改善，國內對歐洲木材的需求將會改善。我認為從長遠來看，您會看到更多的木材留在該市場。

With respect to your question about LVL, I think that anecdotally, I think that's true around the margins. You are seeing more of that coming into the U.S. I still think it's more or less a rounding error at this point. For us, in the market that we participate in on the EWP space, it comes with a heavy service component. And there's a customer service aspect that we're able to provide to our customers that one of the reasons is why Trus Joist is such a respected brand. It's not just the quality but the service component. And I think that will be hard for people that are importing a small amount of LVL to compete with. So it's something we'll watch, but I'm not overly concerned about it at this point.

關於你關於 LVL 的問題，我認為，從傳聞來看，我認為這在邊緣是正確的。你會看到更多的東西進入美國。我仍然認為目前這或多或少是一個舍入誤差。對我們來說，在我們參與的 EWP 領域的市場中，它帶有大量的服務組件。我們能夠為客戶提供客戶服務，這也是 Trus Joist 成為如此受人尊敬的品牌的原因之一。這不僅是質量，還有服務。我認為對於進口少量 LVL 的人來說很難與之競爭。所以這是我們會關注的事情，但目前我並不太擔心。

Our next question is from Matthew McKellar with RBC Capital Markets.

我們的下一個問題來自加拿大皇家銀行資本市場的 Matthew McKellar。

First would be now that you're through monetizing your initial forest carbon credits for the pilot project in Maine, could you maybe share any key lessons learned through undertaking that first project? And talk to how you intend to apply those to the projects you're developing in the U.S. South and elsewhere over the next couple of years.

首先，既然您已經將緬因州試點計畫的初始森林碳信用額貨幣化，您能否分享一下透過開展第一個計畫學到的任何重要經驗教訓？並討論您打算如何將這些應用到您未來幾年在美國南部和其他地方開發的專案中。

Sure. Well, we certainly learned some things going through that project. That's why we called it a pilot project. I think the key things from my standpoint are number one, and we certainly saw this, I think, in the price that we were able to get with these initial carbon credits, quality matters. And so we put in the time upfront to build out the internal team and expertise to do these things right. And I think that will certainly serve us well.

當然。嗯，我們確實透過這個計畫學到了一些東西。這就是為什麼我們稱之為試點計畫。我認為從我的角度來看，關鍵的事情是第一位的，我認為，我們當然在我們能夠透過這些初始碳信用額獲得的價格中看到了這一點，品質很重要。因此，我們提前投入時間建立內部團隊和專業知識，以正確完成這些事情。我認為這肯定會對我們有好處。

These are complicated. And so again, that expertise to be able to navigate the -- both the development but also the interactions with the third-party auditors and the ACR, that process, having people that really know what they're doing serves you well and makes it more efficient. And I think we've learned a number of things that will make that process go much more quickly going forward. I do think there's still an opportunity to build out some of the infrastructure, particularly around third-party auditors for the amount of carbon credits that we expect to be coming to market in the years to come. We're going to need more infrastructure to ensure that, that can be done efficiently.

這些都很複雜。再說一遍，能夠駕馭開發以及與第三方審計師和 ACR 的互動的專業知識，這個過程，擁有真正知道自己在做什麼的人，可以很好地為您服務並使其成功更有效率。我認為我們已經學到了很多東西，這些知識將使這個過程向前推進得更快。我確實認為仍然有機會建立一些基礎設施，特別是圍繞我們預計在未來幾年進入市場的碳信用額度的第三方審計師。我們將需要更多的基礎設施來確保這一點能夠有效地完成。

But the good news is as we get through this project, if you bring quality projects to the market, we think there's a lot of demand. And so we're really pleased with where we are. We're building out the pipeline, 2 projects we expect to get approved in the first half. We've got 2 or 3 more in the pipeline. We expect to be monetizing additional credits this year, and those just continue to build. Each project you get layers on top of the prior ones, and you build out a nice revenue stream over time. So I think we're really well positioned and in good shape heading into 2024.

但好消息是，當我們完成這個專案時，如果你將優質專案推向市場，我們認為會有很大的需求。所以我們對我們現在的處境非常滿意。我們正在建造管道，預計上半年將有兩個項目獲得批准。我們還有 2 到 3 個正在籌備中。我們預計今年將額外的積分貨幣化，而且這些積分還在繼續增加。每個項目都會在先前的項目上分層，隨著時間的推移，您會建立起不錯的收入來源。因此，我認為進入 2024 年我們已經處於有利位置並且狀態良好。

Great. And maybe next, has there been any change at all in your confidence level or appetite around the target of acquiring that $1 billion in timberlands by 2025? It looks like you included your transaction in the Carolinas and Mississippi with FIA towards that target, but that did come with a net cash inflow. So just wondering if there's any change in your thinking, even at the margin, around being a net acquirer of timberlands with the view that prices should rise over time.

偉大的。也許接下來，您對 2025 年收購 10 億美元林地的目標的信心或興趣是否有任何變化？看起來您將卡羅萊納州和密西西比州的交易納入了國際汽聯的目標，但這確實帶來了淨現金流入。因此，我想知道您作為林地淨收購者的想法是否有任何變化，即使在邊際上，您認為價格應該隨著時間的推移而上漲。

No. We still have a high degree of conviction about the value of timberlands over time and our ability to generate strong returns off of that asset. So just a reminder, that $1 billion was really just a reflection of year-over-year through our programmatic M&A activities, we think we will, on average, bring in about $250 million of acquisitions. So there's no magic to that $1 billion. We're going to continue to buy timberlands today, tomorrow, years from now. That's just our core business.

不會。隨著時間的推移，我們仍然對林地的價值以及我們從該資產中獲得豐厚回報的能力抱有高度信心。提醒一下，10 億美元實際上只是我們計劃性併購活動的逐年反映，我們認為平均而言，我們將帶來約 2.5 億美元的收購收入。所以這 10 億美元並沒有什麼魔力。今天、明天、幾年後我們將繼續購買林地。這只是我們的核心業務。

We're also always going to be optimizing. And so from time to time, you'll see us trim the portfolio here and there. I think this FIA transaction was a great example of that. We picked up some really strong mature timber that's going to generate nice cash flow close to our other operations, close to our mills, opportunities to create synergies there, and divested some land, which was fine land. It was just -- it was a little bit more scattered in upstate South Carolina, wasn't near other operations, so just weren't able to provide some of the synergies that we can provide in other places.

我們也始終會進行優化。因此，您會不時看到我們在這裡或那裡削減投資組合。我認為國際汽聯的這筆交易就是一個很好的例子。我們挑選了一些非常堅固的成熟木材，這些木材將在我們的其他業務附近、靠近我們的工廠產生良好的現金流，在那裡創造協同效應的機會，並剝離了一些土地，這是很好的土地。只是——它在南卡羅來納州北部有點分散，不靠近其他業務，所以無法提供我們在其他地方可以提供的一些協同效應。

So those kinds of transactions will happen from time to time. It's pretty unique to be able to do those buy-sell transactions concurrently. When you find those opportunities, we're certainly happy to entertain those. But on balance, we still expect to be a net acquirer over time because we think the value of timberlands is going up, and we think we do a good job running them and continue to generate returns.

因此，此類交易會時不時發生。能夠同時進行這些買賣交易是非常獨特的。當您發現這些機會時，我們當然很樂意提供這些機會。但總的來說，隨著時間的推移，我們仍然期望成為淨收購者，因為我們認為林地的價值正在上升，我們認為我們在經營林地方面做得很好並繼續產生回報。

Our next question comes from Mike Roxland with Truist Securities.

我們的下一個問題來自 Truist Securities 的 Mike Roxland。

Congrats on the year. Just one quick question on EWP. I just want to get some color on order files and how extended they may be into 1Q, particularly as you mentioned, Devin, that those builders are actively seeking products ahead of the spring construction season. So where do order files stand at present? And can you comment on where your EWP operating rate was in 4Q? I think you called out a high 70s rate in 3Q.

恭喜過年。只是一個關於 EWP 的簡單問題。我只是想了解一些關於訂單文件的信息，以及它們可能會延續到第一季度，特別是正如您所提到的，Devin，這些建築商正在春季施工季節之前積極尋找產品。那麼訂單文件目前在哪裡呢？您能否評論一下第四季度 EWP 開工率？我認為您在第三季提到了 70 年代的高利率。

Yes. So you're a little fuzzy there. I think you're asking about order files. Across the different product lines, order files are pretty much in the normal range across lumber and OSB for this time of year. EWP, we have brought those down to a more normalized level last year. I think as we started off 2023, we were expecting a softer single-family housing market, and so we had dialed back production. It took us a good part of the year to get caught back up. Our order files extended out quite a bit for much of 2023.

是的。所以你那裡有點模糊。我認為您問的是訂單文件。在不同的產品線中，每年這個時候木材和定向刨花板的訂單量幾乎處於正常範圍內。 EWP，去年我們已將這些降低到更正常化的水平。我認為，從 2023 年開始，我們預計單戶住房市場會更加疲軟，因此我們減少了生產。我們花了一年的大部分時間才恢復過來。 2023 年的大部分時間裡，我們的訂單文件都延長了相當多的時間。

But heading into '24, I think we're in a better position, which will be, I think, appreciated by our customers. As we look at operating rates in Q4 for EWP, we were in the low 80s in terms of operating rates for EWP and we'll be up somewhat as we look to Q1 2024.

但進入 24 世紀，我認為我們處於更好的位置，我認為這將受到我們的客戶的讚賞。當我們查看第四季度 EWP 的開工率時，我們的 EWP 開工率處於 80 多歲的低位，展望 2024 年第一季度，我們將有所上升。

Appreciate that. And so then for the order files, I mean, how far do they extend in 1Q thus far? Is it to February, March? I mean, how many weeks out do they extend, particularly given the fact -- given your comment around the strong interest from the builders.

感謝。那麼對於訂單文件，我的意思是，到目前為止，它們在第一季擴展了多遠？是到二月、三月嗎？我的意思是，他們會延長多少週，特別是考慮到這一事實——考慮到您對建築商強烈興趣的評論。

Yes. I mean, it's product dependent but it can range anywhere from 3 weeks to 5 weeks is pretty much in that normal range, and that's kind of where we're sitting right now.

是的。我的意思是，這取決於產品，但它的範圍可以從 3 週到 5 週不等，幾乎在正常範圍內，這就是我們現在所處的情況。

Perfect. And then just one quick question on Timberland, especially on pulpwood. I want to get your thoughts around the mill closures, line closures that happened in terms of the number of containerboard mills that closed, the number of pulp lines have been taken offline permanently. You have Enviva going through a restructuring. So would love to get your thoughts on pulpwood demand, obviously plus [valuable inflection], but nevertheless, it helps with -- a shorter rotation helps with near-term cash flow. So how do you think about rotations, harvest planning and the like, given the changing end market dynamics?

完美的。然後是一個關於 Timberland 的簡短問題，特別是關於紙漿木材的問題。我想了解您對工廠關閉、生產線關閉的看法，包括關閉的箱板紙工廠的數量、永久關閉的紙漿生產線的數量。 Enviva 正在重組。因此，很想了解您對紙漿木材需求的想法，顯然加上[有價值的變化]，但儘管如此，它還是有幫助的——較短的輪換有助於近期現金流。那麼，考慮到不斷變化的終端市場動態，您如何看待輪作、收穫計畫等議題？

Yes, that's a great question. We've seen over the last several years, generally speaking, the pulpwood market has been somewhat in decline. We've seen a lot of mill closures over the years, as you say. Just even recently, we've had a handful of either full mill closures or line closures. And that's created some challenge, broadly speaking, in the pulpwood market. I would say for us, because of our scale, we generally have pretty strong relationships with the big consumers of pulpwood. That's true across the pulp and paper manufacturers. That's true across the pellet manufacturers.

是的，這是一個很好的問題。總體而言，我們在過去幾年中看到紙漿木材市場有所下降。正如你所說，這些年來我們看到很多工廠關閉。就在最近，我們已經關閉了一些工廠或生產線。從廣義上講，這給紙漿木材市場帶來了一些挑戰。我想說，對我們來說，由於我們的規模，我們通常與紙漿木材的大消費者有著非常牢固的關係。對於紙漿和造紙製造商都是如此。對於顆粒製造商來說都是如此。

And so as a general matter, we're typically able to move our volume. But obviously, the pricing dynamic is impacted with less demand overall, so it's something that we're certainly watching. As we think about silviculture, one of the fundamental tenets of how we think about that over the long term is to make sure that we have optionality out into the future. And so as we think about how many trees per acre, our thinning regimes, all of those things, they contemplate a future where we either need more or less grade fiber, et cetera. So we try to preserve as much flexibility out into the future as we can.

因此，一般而言，我們通常能夠移動音量。但顯然，定價動態受到整體需求減少的影響，因此我們肯定會關注這一點。當我們考慮造林時，我們長期思考這個問題的基本原則之一是確保我們對未來有選擇權。因此，當我們考慮每英畝有多少棵樹、我們的間伐制度以及所有這些事情時，他們會考慮未來我們需要更多或更少等級的纖維，等等。因此，我們盡力在未來保留盡可能多的彈性。

All of that being said, I would note on the pulpwood market, we're continuing to look -- we, Weyerhaeuser, are continuing to look for opportunities to move that volume. We're having conversations with parties in Asia about potential either pellet or pulpwood-type opportunities for export. I think there may, in the not-too-distant future, be opportunities for biofuels, sustainable aviation fuels that could tension up some of those markets as well. And so our business development team is very focused on that. And we'll make sure that we, Weyerhaeuser, are able to move our pulpwood volume over time.

話雖如此，我要指出的是，在紙漿木材市場上，我們正​​在繼續尋找——我們，Weyerhaeuser，正在繼續尋找機會來提高產量。我們正在與亞洲各方就潛在的顆粒或紙漿型出口機會進行對話。我認為，在不遠的將來，生物燃料、永續航空燃料可能會出現機會，這也可能使其中一些市場緊張。因此，我們的業務開發團隊非常關注這一點。我們將確保惠好公司能夠隨著時間的推移改變我們的紙漿木材數量。

Our final question is from Ketan Mamtora with BMO Capital Markets.

我們的最後一個問題來自 BMO 資本市場的 Ketan Mamtora。

Devin or Davie, can you talk a little bit about maybe just a couple of key projects that you have in Wood Products from a CapEx standpoint?

Devin 或 Davie，您能從資本支出的角度談談您在木製品領域的幾個關鍵項目嗎？

Yes. I mean, so I'll start with Holden. That's our latest mill rebuild brownfield project. That's coming along nicely. We started up the planer mill in Q4. We're ramping up production. We feel very good about that project. The beauty about Holden is it's going to be a phenomenal world-class mill that's completely surrounded by our fee timberlands. So a lot of synergies there, and we're excited to see that fully ramp up this year.

是的。我的意思是，我將從霍爾頓開始。這是我們最新的工廠重建棕地計畫。進展順利。我們在第四季啟動了龍門銑床。我們正在提高產量。我們對該項目感覺非常好。霍頓的美妙之處在於它將成為一個非凡的世界級工廠，完全被我們的收費林地包圍。那裡有很多協同效應，我們很高興看到今年全面加強。

Beyond that, our program is really just -- it's projects that we've already done in other places. So it's nothing super sexy. It's adding CDKs, it's adding new merchandisers, trim store stackers, gang saws. Really, the way that program is developed is every mill has a 5-year road map on how to get from where we are today to world-class. And each individual mill may have different things that are bottlenecks that they need to fix and solve to get to that point. So it's nothing really remarkable. It's just continuing to do what we have been doing, executing well and making sure we do those projects on time, on budget. And that's really the essence of our capital plan and has been, for the most part, for a number of years.

除此之外，我們的計劃實際上只是——它是我們已經在其他地方完成的項目。所以這不是什麼超級性感的事。它正在增加 CDK，它正在增加新的銷售員、裝飾店堆疊器、排鋸。事實上，該計劃的製定方式是，每個工廠都有一個五年路線圖，說明如何從今天的水平邁向世界一流水平。每個工廠可能都有不同的瓶頸，需要修復和解決才能達到這一點。所以這沒什麼了不起的。我們只是繼續做我們一直在做的事情，好好地執行並確保我們按時、按預算完成這些項目。這確實是我們資本計劃的本質，並且在很大程度上已經持續了很多年。

Understood. That's helpful. And then just one more question around capital allocation, Devin. As you sort of look to 2024 and beyond, I mean, it's been for a couple of years that you are on this sort of the new approach to capital allocation. Any sort of update around how you guys are thinking about supplemental dividend versus share repurchases? And sort of as you look at the different options, sort of how do you think about one over the other?

明白了。這很有幫助。還有一個關於資本配置的問題，Devin。當你展望 2024 年及以後時，我的意思是，你已經採用這種新的資本配置方法好幾年了。關於你們如何考慮補充股利與股票回購的任何更新？當你看到不同的選擇時，你如何看待其中一個？

Sure. You bet, Ketan. I think we really have looked at that consistently over the last few years, and I really don't see that changing substantially as we move forward. I would just say we're in a very fortunate position. We have a lot of levers, so that includes M&A, investing in the business, paying down debt, base variable dividend payments, among others. We're constantly evaluating those views on capital allocation, but those factors are dynamic so it's something we always need to be watching.

當然。你敢打賭，科坦。我認為我們在過去幾年中確實一直在關注這一點，而且我確實認為隨著我們的前進，這種情況不會發生實質變化。我只想說我們處於一個非常幸運的位置。我們有很多槓桿，包括併購、投資業務、償還債務、基本可變股息支付等。我們不斷評估這些關於資本配置的觀點，但這些因素是動態的，因此我們始終需要關注。

To your point, our capital allocation framework starts with that commitment to return 75% to 80% of our adjusted FAD back to shareholders via the base, the supplemental. And we do have the flexibility with our framework to use share repurchase as we've done over the last few years. So that portion is really earmarked for returning cash back to shareholders. And with the remaining adjusted FAD, we can allocate that across other opportunities.

就您的觀點而言，我們的資本分配框架首先承諾透過基礎補充資金將調整後的 FAD 的 75% 至 80% 返還給股東。正如我們過去幾年所做的那樣，我們的框架確實可以靈活地使用股票回購。因此，這部分實際上是專門用於將現金返還給股東的。透過剩餘的調整後的 FAD，我們可以將其分配給其他機會。

So as we move forward, I would expect we're likely going to be allocating most of that amount that we have on our balance sheet here in the near term to timberland acquisitions as part of our previously announced plan to purchase $1 billion of timberlands over the next few years. But that said, we do have the flexibility within our capital allocation approach to deploy those cash across the options when we see an opportunity to create value for shareholders.

因此，隨著我們向前邁進，我預計我們可能會在短期內將資產負債表上的大部分資金分配給林地收購，作為我們之前宣布的計劃的一部分，計劃購買 10 億美元的林地未來幾年。但話雖如此，當我們看到為股東創造價值的機會時，我們的資本配置方法確實可以靈活地在各種選擇中部署這些現金。

There are no further questions at this time. I would like to turn the floor back over to Devin Stockfish for closing comments.

目前沒有其他問題。我想將發言權轉回德文·斯托克菲什（Devin Stockfish）以徵求結束意見。

Terrific. Well, thanks everyone for joining us this morning, and thank you for your continued interest in Weyerhaeuser. Have a great day.

了不起。好的，感謝大家今天早上加入我們，並感謝您對惠好公司的持續關注。祝你有美好的一天。

This concludes today's conference. You may disconnect your lines at this time, and we thank you for your participation.

今天的會議到此結束。此時您可以斷開線路，我們感謝您的參與。