Bus travels, Tour and transport

The state’s timber harvests rebounded in 2010 after a record low the previous year, driven by a buying boom in China, according to an annual report by the Oregon Department of Forestry.

Harvests increased for every forest ownership class except for the Bureau of Land Management, accounting for a total of 3.2 billion board feet and a 17 percent increase over the 2009 numbers, state timber economists say.

In Columbia County, the amount of timber harvested rose at a rate less than the state average, going from 113 million board feet in 2009 to 123 million board feet in 2010.

But loggers say their situation remains far from optimal. After all, 2009 saw the worst logging output since the Great Depression.

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Wood producers have called on the Environment Department to extend deadlines to haul previously-cut timber so that processors would be able to recoup their investments.

Under Executive Order 23, or the moratorium on wood harvesting, wood producers were given a three-month period to transport timber cut prior to the enforcement of the EO. The moratorium expired on May 21, three months after the February 21 reckoning date.

“Since these are wood that have been cut prior to approval of EO 23, we think it is only appropriate to allow us an extension of the deadline. This will help keep the wood industry alive until the government decides to revoke the moratorium," Philippine Woods Producers Association (PWPA) deputy director Maila Vasquez said in an interview over the weekend.

The moratorium on wood transport is not the only thing that is worrying wood producers lately.

Last week, PWPA called on government to tighten its watch over the illegal importation of plywood from China.

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Authorities in Madagascar say logging of precious woods persists in its forests despite a 2010 decree banning logging, transporting and export of such woods.

Police seized 30 tons of rosewood being transported in two trucks last month in Antalaha, on the northeastern coast of the country where the problem is most acute, Inter Press Service reported last week.

Three trucks transporting 115 rosewood logs were intercepted in the southeast of the island a few days earlier, and more than 1,000 pieces of another kind of precious rosewood found in Malagasy forests have been seized in the same region.

Madagascar has the biggest rosewood reserves in the world.

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A FARMER is about to launch a yacht that has taken him more than 20 years to complete.

Iain Tolhurst, of Hardwick Estate, Whitchurch, started building Naida in 1999 but his preparations date back more than 20 years.

The 36ft Pinky Ketch is based on those that came from the east coast of America in the early 19th century.

The craft was built entirely from either reclaimed or indigenous timber from the estate, where Mr Tolhurst runs an organic farm.

He started collecting fallen trees after the hurricanes of 1987 and 1990 and used a mobile band saw to mill them on site. The wood was then stacked to dry in a basic shed.


Mr Tolhurst, 57, said: “I have used no plywood, not even in the deck. The main deck is topped with reclaimed pitch pine, which is the only non-local timber and came from the demolition of the Huntley & Palmers biscuit factory in Reading.” He made both of the boat’s masts and some of the brass fittings while the 700sq ft sails were handmade by an artisan sails-maker.

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The Cochin port is all set to make it big in timber imports. In an effort to attract more timber imports to Kochi and thereby increase revenue from this source, the CPT has decided to provide ample discounts to timber storage in the CPT yards.

Currently, the Cochin Port is handling about 60,000 tonnes of timber imports every year. The attempt is to make it more than 1.5 lakh tonnes a year. "As of now, most of the imported timber needed for South Kerala comes to the Tuticorin port, where currently about 5.5 lakh tonnes of timber is being handled. The attempt is to attract a share of this to Kochi. We have decided to provide discounts in the storage rate in a slabwise manner. The discount is expected to attract timber imports as a major share of the expenditure goes to the storage charges," said Unnikrishnan Nair, traffic manager, Cochin Port Trust. As part of the new system there will be a 30 percent discount for timber storage at various storage yards under the CPT in the first slab. "The discount will be proportional to the volume of import. When the import increase the rate of discount will also increase. In the second slab we are planning to give a discount of 50 percent in storage charges," he said.

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South Australia's softwood timber industry will face the challenge of maintaining the quality of timber, now that more than 100 years of growth will be sold to private investors.

South Australian Treasurer Jack Snelling yesterday announced the sale of plantations would go ahead, because a regional impact statement found it wouldn't have a significant impact on the economy of the state's south-east.

A number of conditions have been included in the sale, including ForestrySA's retention of management rights for the next ten years.

Forestry analyst Robert Eastment says growth cycles and timber quality must be kept up to ensure the industry's long-term future.

"Forestry of South Australia is an extremely professional organisation," he said.

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Hardwood timber is big in Pennsylvania. That's why the nation's largest hardwood-producing industry will host Timber 2011 at Rock Springs, Pa. on June 3 and 4.

Formally known as the Pennsylvania Forest Products and Technology Expo, the event promises to put attendees "in the driver's seat" with hands-on demonstrations of state-of-the-art machinery. As many as 100 commercial exhibitors will be aiming for loggers, sawmill operators, value-added processors and forest landowners in the Northeast.

The bi-annual expo is hosted in partnership with Penn State's College of Ag Sciences and School of Forest Resources. The event will be held at the Ag Progress Days site at Rock Springs, on Pa. Route 45, nine miles southwest of State College.

Timber 2011 is an opportunity for forest products companies to hone their business skills, learn about the latest production practices and see new technology, says Penn State's Bob Oberheim, the show's manager. At this show "you can learn about the latest technologies, production methods, business practices and regulations," he adds.

Workshops will cover topics such as the proposed National Hardwood Check-off Program, equipment safety and business management issues.

Indoor and outdoor exhibits will include trucks, trailers, forklifts, plus equipment for land owners, loggers, lumbermen, sawmills, wood processors and pellet manufacturers. Exhibits also will include feller bunchers with cut-to length processor heads, forwarders, log skidders, landing loader and slashers, whole-tree chippers, walking floor trailers, sawmill equipment and firewood processors, plus horizontal grinders, chippers and shavers

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Phil Twyford’s remarks about the dangers to health presented by the requirement to use H1.2 treated timber as announced by Maurice Williamson on 14 March are way off beam says Kevin Hing of the New Zealand Timber Preservation Council.

His comments will cause unnecessary stress to consumers and homeowners.

Mr Twyford has questioned whether the government has thought about the danger to health caused by requiring timber used as framing in house construction to be H1.2 treated. He cites the EU classification of boron as a Substance of Very High Concern.

The EU classifications for boric compounds are based on exposures of animals to boron at levels that exceed any likely human exposure in treated timber by several orders of magnitude. As well, the exposure routes used including ingestion, are not routes that would be associated with normal human use of boric treated timber. The data by which the EU arrived at its classifications are based on concentrations that would never be experienced in the handling of boric treated timber here.

Boron based timber preservatives have been successfully used in New Zealand since the 1950s as a protection against attack by borers and because of its fungicidal properties. The treatment requirement for timber framing is nothing new to house construction in this country. Furthermore, to the best our knowledge, there have been no documented cases of any health issues associated with the use of boric treated timber in New Zealand.

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The climate of Mississippi and the Gulf South region presents challenges for wood preservation, making water repellents and the environment top considerations.
David Jones, assistant Extension professor in Mississippi State University's forest products department, said wood treatments can lengthen the performance of timber by decades.

"If we placed an untreated telephone pole in the ground, it would last two or three years. A treated pole will last two or three decades," Jones said. "The time to consider treatments is before the wood is in place, especially if it will be in water."

Mississippians use wooden pilings and decking extensively from the salt waters of the Gulf to the lakes, ponds and rivers throughout the state.

Even away from bodies of water, the state's humidity and rainfall can take a toll on the life expectancy of wood products.

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Timber products exports are to increase this year following higher demand from Japan which may rise by at least five per cent from its normal requirement due to reconstruction and rehabilitation projects underway after the disastrous March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

Plantation Industries and Commodities Ministry secretary-general Datin Paduka Nurmala Abdul Rahim said Japan was the main importer of Malaysian timber products.

"Japan imported RM3.7 billion worth of timber and wood-based products last year and we hope this year's exports would surpass last year's RM20.5 billion worth of exports," she told reporters after launching the Malaysian Timber Council Global Woodmart 2012 here Monday.

Malaysia's timber and timber products exports in 2008 and 2009 totalled RM22.7 billion and RM19.5 billion, respectively, while exports for January 2011 were higher at RM1.8 billion from RM1.7 billion in January last year.

Meanwhile, Malaysian Timber Council chief executive officer Cheah Kam Huan said Malaysia was experiencing tight timber supply as the output has been hit by the need to conserve Malaysian rainforests, logging areas in Peninsular Malaysia and Sarawak have shrunk and affected by uncertain weather conditions.

"However, we still hope supply will increase by between five and 10 per cent," he said.

Meanwhile, the second MTC Global Woodmart will serve as a premier one-stop selling, buying and networking platform for domestic and international timber suppliers and buyers.

The exhibition also aims to promote and encourage wider use of timber from Malaysian and international sources.

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The mega-timber and real estate company is being purchased by two pension funds for $1.03 billion, including assumed debt.

“No fundamental changes in the operations of the business are anticipated,” a press release reads. “It will be business as usual on the ground, and existing operating systems and processes will remain in place.”

The pension funds acquiring TimberWest are British Columbia Investment Management, and Public Sector Pension Investment Board, which invest on behalf of Canadian pension plans.

“As part of the definitive agreement, TimberWest has a 60-day ‘go-shop’ period during which it is permitted to solicit a superior proposal,” a TimberWest press release added.

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The South Carolina Timber Producers Association has selected State Forester Gene Kodama to receive its President's Award.

Kodama, who is the agency head of the South Carolina Forestry Commission, was recognized by the association for "outstanding support for SCTBA and commitment to the sustainable forestry industry in South Carolina." The SCTBA award also recognizes Kodama's professionalism and dedication to the advancement of the timber harvesting and timber producing segments of our state's forest products industry.

South Carolina has 13.1 million acres of forestland. This is 68 percent of the state's total land area. Forestry is No. 1 among manufacturing industries in jobs (90,624) and payroll ($4.1 billion)

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Greenwood Management has announced it is introducing a new product to its range of timbers grown in Brazilian plantations.

The firm will soon be growing a new species of timber to add to those already included in its forestry investments product range, which includes the Eucalyptus, the Black Wattle (Acacia) and Guanandi species.

The new species is semi-matured to matured Teak trees, all to be grown on plantations. Teak timber, well known for its strong grains and texture, is often used in the carpentry trade and the manufacture of furniture for boat decks, due to its high weather resistance.

A spokesperson from Greenwood Management explained that returns on investment in the Teak business are expected to be strong: "Investments are available up to eight years with returns predicted at 12 per cent per annum."

Although the management rotations for the growing of Teak were traditionally 80-100 years, this has been reduced to between 20 and 25 years for the commercial production of the wood.

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In 2010 Latvia timber exports increased by 46%, an increase from 2009 total of LVL 699.329 million to LVL 1.022 billion. Sweden, UK and Germany representing the main bulk of the Latvian timber export market.

Britain has a long standing tradition of exporting Latvian timber right back to 1403 when treaties were signed between the English King Henry IV and the Hanseatic League, an economic alliance of trading cities and their guilds that controlled trade along the coast of Northern Europe from the 13th – 17th centuries.

Baltic timber and hemp were essential shipbuilding materials. Many wars were fought over the control of the Baltic timber trade including most famously the battle of Trafalgar where Napoleon was thwarted by Nelson, despite his many attempts to cut Britain off from trading with Northern Europe.

Shipbuilding no longer requires hemp or large quantities of wood, but the UK trade in Latvian wood remains as healthy as ever. In 1999-2000 reforms were made in the Latvian forestry industry to go from volume-base to value-base. To maintain sustainability of the Latvian forests value-added products, such as kiln-dried timber, became the main focus. To achieve that end Latvian companies have invested in modern technology to produce more labour and skilled intensive joinery and carpentry products.

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