The inauguration of a highly protectionist president of the United States has sparked trepidation among B.C.’s forest-dependent communities and prompted B.C. Premier Christy Clark to tout her government’s efforts to find new markets outside the United States for its softwood lumber.

Donald Trump did not wait for the keys to the Oval Office to signal a new U.S. trade agenda that threatens to tear up trade deals deemed unfavourable to homegrown industry and jobs. British Columbia, which supplies half of Canada’s softwood-lumber exports to the United States, is now bracing for what could be its toughest round of trade conflict over softwood lumber. Already, the U.S. International Trade Commission has launched an investigation into alleged harm of Canadian imports to the American softwood-lumber industry.

Speaking to the annual Truck Loggers Convention last week, Ms. Clark vowed to continue to fight for B.C.’s forest industry in the latest trade battle. “Time after time, without regard for the facts, the American government has accepted all of the allegations that have been filed by the U.S. lumber industry. You would get more fair and impartial hearings from a judge at a pro-wrestling event,” the Premier told the convention.

Ms. Clark announced that the province has made progress though in building alternative markets, with the first major shipment of B.C. lumber to India currently on its way. The concerns remain, however, about what Mr. Trump’s administration will mean for those who rely on forestry in B.C. The sector is still shrinking.

In 2001, when the B.C. Liberals took office, the province had 91,000 forestry jobs. The government launched a “revitalization plan” to tackle the decline. Today, there are about 60,000 forestry jobs and, in addition to the renewed softwood-lumber war with the United States, there is a shrinking timber supply due to the mountain pine beetle infestation.

This week, Powell River Mayor Dave Formosa signed a letter, along with mayors of seven other forest-resource communities, calling for a corporate tax break aimed at providing relief to struggling forest companies. The mayors want the province to eliminate its sales tax on industrial electricity purchases, which they say will improve competitiveness and save jobs. In an interview, Mr. Formosa said the softwood-lumber trade war isn’t just another challenge, it is part of a larger threat to keeping rural communities alive.

Source: the globeandmail

To stay ahead of the competition, loggers need to keep up at the landing, and the John Deere 437E and 337E Knuckleboom Loaders are now equipped with new grapples manufactured by John Deere to further improve productivity and machine durability.

The E-Series machines deliver five percent more swing torque and lift force over previous models, and the new grapple complements these features by improving rotator torque and response times, and enabling higher side loads and rotator lift capacity. The new grapple, available with a 48- or 52-inch opening, is made with a more durable cast design and a larger, more robust rotator, providing loggers with a heavy-duty machine designed to withstand the toughest of jobs.

“If I could describe the new grapple in one word, it would be ‘nimble’ — and my operator agrees,” said Donald Mixon, owner of Mixon Saw Mill in Bermuda, Alabama. “It’s smoother, faster and holds wood well during second thinning. Overall, it just feels tough.”

Key Grapple Features

• Rotator lift capacity: 123,000 pounds
• Rotator torque: 36,200 pounds/inch
• Built with high impact and wear-resistant custom steel

The new grapple is optimized to run from a John Deere carrier versus previous models that utilized a third-party grapple. It’s built to run better by being more integrated into the hydraulics of the machine, which also simplifies service with a John Deere dealer. To learn more, visit www.JohnDeere.com or contact your local John Deere dealer.

Chinese wood products production and demand increased in 2016, fuelling log and lumber import gains from Russia, but also from the USA, New Zealand (logs), Australia (logs), Canada (logs) and Europe (lumber).

Final year-end statistics for 2016 show that China’s imports of logs and lumber have rebounded strongly from the slowdown in 2015. Softwood lumber imports soared to new heights and recorded the highest import volumes ever.

China imported 48.7 million m³ of logs in 2016, an increase of 9% from 2015. Of the total log imports, softwood log imports were 33.7 million m³ (+13% as compared to 2015), while the hardwoods were 15.1 million m³ (+2%). China imported 31.6 million m³ of lumber in 2016, up 19% over 2015. Of the total lumber imports, softwood lumber imports were 21.1 million m³ (+21% as compared to 2015), while the hardwoods were 10.6 million m³ (+15%).

These and other year-end statistics and analysis will be featured in the February issue of WOOD MARKETS’ monthly China Bulletin that will be released after Chinese New Year in February.

With steady to increasing demand in 2016 and with well-balanced inventories, both softwood log imports and prices (in US$/ m³) increased throughout the year. New Zealand softwood log exports continue to dominate exporters to China and increased by 12% in 2016 at 11.6 million m³. This was followed by Russia (9.2 million m³), USA (4.5 million m³), Australia (3.3 million m³) and Canada (2.8 million m³). The 2016 softwood log import volumes have only been exceeded by the record volume in 2014 of 35.5 million m³.

Forico last week demonstrated its long-term commitment to the plantation forestry sector in Tasmania as it completed its extensive 2016 planting programme reports Woodweek. A total of 7 million seedlings (more than 6,300 ha) were planted during the season from September to early January.

“This is perhaps the largest current plantation establishment programme by a single company in Australia,” said CEO, Bryan Hayes. More than 60 people have been engaged by Forico and its contractors to achieve the target area of reforestation at a cost of AU$15m. “We are especially grateful for the contribution of all of our service providers and our staff in achieving this historic result,” said Mr Hayes.

Since its establishment by forestry investment manager New Forests in September 2014, Forico has planted 3,582 ha in 2015 and now 6,300 ha in 2016, clearly demonstrating that it is here for the long term.

All Forico land and forests, both plantation (100,000 ha) and native forests (81,000 ha) are certified against the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Forest Management standard and PEFC Australian Forestry Standard.

Taranaki’s logging contractors are gearing up to harvest a bumper crop over the next few years as trees planted more than two decades ago begin to mature. Many of the plots around Taranaki were planted in the 90s, with most taking between 25 and 30 years before they were ready to be cut.

New Zealand Forestry regional manager Cam Eyre said there is around 19,000ha of Radiata pine in the Taranaki region, 80 per cent of which was due to be harvested from 2015 for the next six or seven years.

“It’s all over the place, down close to Whanganui, it will all come through New Plymouth’s port, and then out near Te Kuiti, out on the Forgotten World Highway all that wood from all over the place comes through Port Taranaki which is good,” he said.

Port Taranaki has already seen an increase in logging exports coming through in the last year.

A record volume of 357,000 JAS (Japanese Agricultural Standard tonnage) was exported from the port in the 2015-16 financial year, an increase from the 209,000 JAS of the previous year, which resulted in an 80 per cent increase in revenue for the port from its log business in the 2015-16 financial year.

“Signs are good for that growth to continue,” Port Taranaki chief executive Guy Roper said.

“Our half-year throughput to 31 December is up a third on the same six months last year, and we expect trade could grow by as much as 10 per cent a year across the next four years.”

On Monday, Eyre organised a breakfast for about 150 forestry staff to remind them to look out for themselves and their work mates as they returned to work after the holiday period.

“It’s a reminder to the boys about the risks that are involved with working in the forests and this is a really hot time for us, a lot of the fatalities that happen in the forest usually happen in those first few days when everyone goes back to work, so it’s a way of getting everyone together and really having a real health and safety focus when you start up,” Eyre said.

Safety breakfasts were not uncommon in the industry around the rest of the country but it was a new thing for Taranaki as they were usually organised by the big corporations that owned the forests.

“Because all the wood in Taranaki is private, you might have had small gatherings but nothing like this so it was really good to see,” he said.

“Most of the guys know each other so it’s good to see them chat and see what the other guys are up to as well.”

Taranakipine chief executive Tom Boon said they were expecting a rise in the amount of product coming onto the market in the next few years from the plots planted in the 90s.

“Those trees are maturing now and they’re ready to harvest, it’s kind of happening now and will continue for a long time as forest owners look to harvest those trees,” he said.

While Taranakipine and other sawmills around the region would be buying some of the logs, there would be a lot of it that would be exported to Asia and the rest of the world and there was definitely a market willing to buy it, he said.

“We can’t take them all,” Boon said.

“The market is well beyond what Taranaki has got in terms of sawmilling, there’s a massive export market and that’s where a big proportion of those logs will go.”

He said it was important to ensure there was adequate infrastructure available and the manpower in the region to deal with the increase.

“The likes of Cam, they’re trying to get logging crews and trucks and roading and the port’s got to be able to handle them,” he said.

The German truck manufacturer MAN sees Europe’s forestry sector as an increasingly important market. That’s why the company is exhibiting at the world-leading forestry fair Elmia Wood 2017 in the new Load & Transport area, which brings together everything to do with logistics en route from the forest to the industrial consumers. “Our focus is on better economy for timber hauliers,” explains John-David Schnackenberg, manager of the forestry segment at MAN.

Innovations on show
While this is the first time MAN is exhibiting at the fair, the brand is not unknown in the Nordic forests. Back home in Germany the trucks are a common sight. And now the company has decided to focus more on this segment. “The big news at the fair will be improved powertrains,” Schnackenberg reveals. “One product we’re exhibiting is an engine that meets the very latest environmental demands, Euro 6 C.”

MAN is bringing three or four vehicles to Elmia Wood. Another one will be on show at the stand of crane manufacturer Epsilon. There are three models: the heavy trucks TGS and TGX, and the new family member TGE, a van in the 3.5 to 5 tonne category. It is built on a Volkswagen Crafter, which was chosen as Van of the Year 2017, but in a more professional execution with more applications.

GPS-controlled transmission and upgraded engines
MAN will present two improved engines. They are the D26, which now meets the toughest European environmental demands, and the D38, a 15-litre six-cylinder inline with 640 HP and 3,000 Nm torque. The upgrade has given both models an additional 20 HP each.
The trucks come with either manual or automatic transmission, the MAN TipMatic® TX. The design aims to reduce the haulier’s costs and improve the work environment. One of the innovations is GPS-controlled transmission. “The trucks know in advance that a slope is coming and switch to the correct gear for optimal engine speed,” Schnackenberg says, as an example of the benefits of GPS-controlled transmission.

Real-wheel or all-axle drive
At Elmia Wood MAN is also exhibiting a three-axle truck with HydroDrive® and a controllable tag axle. MAN introduced HydroDrive ten years ago and other brands have recently followed. It involves hydrostatic front-wheel drive, which can be selected as required at speeds up to 28 km/h. Normally the drive is on one wheel pair, which gives optimal fuel economy, but when accessibility requires, the front-wheel drive and rear-wheel steering can be brought into play. Another innovation is that HydroDrive can be offered in combination with automatic transmission.

New area at the fair
Elmia Wood 7–10 June 2017 is the premiere of the Load & Transport exhibition area, which focuses on the construction and maintenance of forest roads, the transport of forest raw materials, and timber handling at terminals and woodyards.

MAN is presenting its innovations there with the aim of increasing its share of the timber and forestry truck market in the Nordic region, Germany, France, the former Eastern Europe and Russia. And the message is the same everywhere: more efficient vehicles mean more money left over for the haulier.