Item 1A. Risk Factors
Item 1A. RISK FACTORS
The following supplements and updates the risk factors in Part I, Item 1A "Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020. If any of the risks discussed below or in our Annual Report on Form 10-K occur, our business, prospects, liquidity, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.
Catastrophic events may adversely affect the markets for our products and our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition.
We are subject to the risk of various catastrophic events, including but not limited to the occurrence of significant fires on one or more of our properties, severe regional or local weather events or trends, major earthquakes, significant geopolitical conditions or developments such as significant international trade disputes, terrorist attacks, armed conflict, domestic political unrest and regional health epidemics or global health pandemics. Any one or more of these events or conditions, or other catastrophic events or developments, could significantly affect our ability to operate our businesses and adversely affect domestic and global general economic conditions and thus market demand for our products.
In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of a novel strain of coronavirus (“COVID-19”) a global pandemic. In response, federal, state and local governments in the United States, as well as governments throughout the world, declared states of emergency and ordered preventative measures to contain and mitigate the spread of the virus. These measures, which have included shelter-in-place and similar mandates for individuals and closure or significant curtailment of many businesses, have caused significant economic disruption and uncertainty as well as disruption and volatility in global capital markets. As a result, there have been periodic adverse effects on the demand for our timber and wood products and disruptions to our supply chain and the manufacturing, distribution and export of our timber and wood products, all of which could worsen in the future. Any one or more of these consequences of COVID-19, as well as other unpredictable events, could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition. The COVID-19 outbreak continues to rapidly evolve, with periods of improvement followed by periods of higher infection rates in various geographical locations throughout the world. The extent to which COVID-19 may further affect our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition, as well as our plans and decisions relating to various capital expenditures, other discretionary items and capital allocation priorities, including the timing and amount of our dividends to shareholders, are therefore highly uncertain and will depend on future developments, which cannot be predicted with confidence. Such developments include, but are not limited to: the future rate of occurrence or further mutation of COVID-19 or the outbreak of another virulent disease; continuation of or changes in governmental responses to disease outbreak, including without limitation the impact of any future vaccine mandates and testing requirements and employee and company contractor responses to such mandates and requirements; the duration of disease outbreak and consequential restrictions and business disruptions; the effectiveness of responsive government actions to contain and manage the disease; and the timing and effectiveness of treatment and testing options, including the ongoing efficacy and availability of vaccines.
The impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak and related restrictions have led to significant periodic increases in national unemployment since the outset of the pandemic. An extended continuation or worsening of domestic unemployment may adversely affect demand for our products and thus negatively impact our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition. In addition, the impact of COVID-19 or other virulent disease may also trigger the occurrence, or exacerbate, other risks discussed herein, any one of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition. For more discussion on the current effects of COVID-19 on our business and operations, see our discussion under Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (MD&A) – Economic and Market Conditions Affecting our Operations .
Text extracted from the filing as submitted to EDGAR. Formatting, tables and exhibits are simplified for reading; the original document is authoritative for anything you rely on.