The coronavirus pandemic is likely to cause a global economic depression. Many sectors are being and will continue to be strongly negatively affected. Many people will suffer both from the disease and from the economic fallout. The magnitude and reach of this crisis is huge and far reaching. This article will focus on how the pandemic will impact one small sector: the industrial wood pellet industry.

The two primary pathways for the evolution of this pandemic are: (1) The pandemic accelerates uncontrollably and millions of people die; or (2) The pandemic is attenuated by policies and rules restricting contact with other people that limits the spread of the disease and greatly reduces the number of deaths. Both pathways will shock national economies.