2018 International Forest Industries IFI April May 2018 Digital | Page 16

LUMBER PROCESSING NEWS
OneFortyOne Plantations to halt sawlog exports
OneFortyOne Plantations (OFO)
has announced that as a result
of strong domestic demand and
the continued outperformance
across the building industry, it has
advised customers that there will
be no sawlog exported from its
estate for the next financial year.
OFO’s CEO, Linda Sewell said:
“The volume of sawlog we export
has been steadily in decline in
recent times due to high demand
from our domestic customers.
Whilst demand remains strong,
we will further support the local
industry by retaining the logs
onshore.”
This announcement comes
as the domestic timber industry
continues to experience its
strongest performance in 15 years,
and follows OFO’s previously
announced decisions in 2017 to
cease exporting large saw logs
and to formally withdraw from the
Korean export market.
As the local industry processors
have made significant investments
in their mills and operating
technology over the past five
years, the Company has found its
customers are seeking more fibre
than ever before.
“We have been meeting the
rising domestic demand where
we could do so sustainably. Our
focus is to support the current
capacity of the domestic industry
and not compromise the longterm
sustainability of our forests by
expanding beyond its means”.
The Company has confirmed
that it will continue to export
surplus pulplogs produced from
critical forest thinning programs
that are needed to ensure healthy
forests. Whilst domestic demand is
currently strong, the Company does
not preclude exporting sawlogs
in the future, if market conditions
change.
OFO’s focus on the domestic
industry has seen the company
increase the number of local
customers, and increase the
volume supplied to those
customers by more than 45% over
the past five years.
Tolko invests in new USNR edger line with BioVision
Tolko is investing in a new
BioVision Edger line for its sawmill
at Armstrong, BC. The new line
will comprise an unscrambler,
Maximizer positioning infeed
with dual fetchers, 4-saw edger,
and close-coupled picker tailer.
The optimizer is a BioVision
system utilizing data from the
new transverse scanner fitted with
BioLuma 2900LV vision sensors.
Also included is a MillTrak™
lumber flow control system
comprising two sensors mounted
above the unscrambler.
BioVision’s edger grade
evaluation adds overall value
through re-manufacture or rip,
based on the final grade of
the wood. For example, a #3
appearance due to knots can be
edged to #3 wane with confidence,
to maximize recovery. Likewise a
low grade 2x8 may be worth more
as two 2x4s, one being a higher
grade.
Columbia Forest Products to expand its
plywood mill in North Eastern Ontario
Ontario is supporting Columbia
Forest Products to expand its
plywood mill in Hearst and
Rutherglen, helping to create and
maintain almost 350 jobs and
boost economic growth.
With support from Ontario’s
Jobs and Prosperity Fund, the
company will be able to grow its
business and increase efficiency
by modernizing its infrastructure
and purchasing new equipment
to maximize production capacity,
increase competitiveness and
expand into new markets, while
ensuring resources are managed
sustainably.
Ontario’s plan to create fairness
and opportunity during this period
of rapid economic change includes
a higher minimum wage and better
working conditions, free tuition for
hundreds of thousands of students,
easier access to affordable child
care, and free prescription drugs
for everyone under 25 through the
biggest expansion of medicare in a
generation.
U.S. log exports to China jumped 24.7% in February
U.S. log exports increased 15.5%
YoY to 1.15 million m3 in February
2018, the exports value exceeded
$238.2 million (+27.4%), according
to the USDA.
U.S. log exports to China, the
largest consumer of U.S. log, have
jumped 24.7% to 544.3 thousand
m3 and 33.1% by value ($126.0
million). The exports to second-
largest consumer Canada have
declined 2.3% to 305.2 thousand
14 International Forest Industries | APRIL / MAY 2018
m3, and exports to Japan have
increased 13.5% to 171.4 thousand
m3.
The average price of U.S. log
in February 2018 was $207 per
m3, increase 10.3% from the same
period last year. The average price
of log exports to China was $231
per m3 (+6.7%), to Canada was
$98 (-2.9%), and to Japan was
$266 (+21.6%).