2017 International Forest Industries Magazines May 2017 SHOW Special | Page 30
LUMBER PROCESSING NEWS
New record high for globally traded wood chips
Global trade of wood chips has
seen spectacular development
the past 15 years with a steady
increase of about four percent
annually (volumes year-over-year
were up 11 of the past 14 years),
according to the Wood Resource
Quarterly (WRQ).
In 2016, an estimated 35.6
million tons were shipped,
predominantly to pulp mills in
China and Japan, which can be
compared to only 21 million tons 15
years ago. While trade of hardwood
chips reached a record high in
2016, shipments of softwood chips
have levelled out the past few
years with 2016 volumes being
slightly lower than the ten-year
average.
Japan and China are by far
the two dominant consumers
of globally traded wood chips.
Their dominance is particularly
accentuated for hardwood chips,
where they imported 84 percent of
the world’s total imports in 2016,
up from 75 percent in 2007. China
has surpassed Japan as the largest
importer of chips in the world, and
with expansion of pulp capacity
on the horizon in China, it is likely
that the country will be the number
one destination for wood chips for
many years to come.
The major sources of hardwood
chips for the two dominant
importers include (in ranking order
in the 4Q/16); Vietnam, Australia,
Chile and South Africa. The biggest
change on the supply side the
past three years has been the
sharp increases in hardwood chip
shipments from Australia, South
Africa, Brazil and Chile, while
exports have fallen from Indonesia,
Uruguay and Thailand.
About 30% of global chip trade
occurs outside of the Pacific Rim
with Finland, Sweden and Turkey
being the major destinations. The
Finnish forest industry has long
been reliant on both logs and
wood chips from neighbouring
Russia and the Baltic States. In
2016, Finland imported almost
1.7 million tons of chips to its
country’s pulp industry, of which a
majority was softwood chips from
Russia. Current import volumes are
down about 25% from five years
ago, partly because of increased
availability of domestic chips and
higher usage of pulplogs.
Holmen to acquire Rörvik Timber’s sawmill
Holmen has signed an agreement
to acquire Linghem Sawmill from
its present owner, Rörvik Timber.
The sawmill has a new saw line
with capacity to produce 75,000
cubic metres per year. Logs more
slender than those sawn at the
Group’s Braviken Sawmill, 40 km
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26 International Forest Industries | APRIL / MAY 2017
from Linghem, are used as raw
material. The purchase price is SEK
48 million ($5.5 million), as the
company says in the press release
received by Lesprom Network. A
planing mill is also included the
sawmill, which employs 28 people.
The takeover has been planned
to take place on 28 April. Ongoing
measures are being taken at
Holmen’s two existing sawmills to
refine the business. At Braviken
Sawmill, two types of wood are
now being sawn, distribution has
been streamlined and the degree
of added value is being increased
through the construction of a wood
treatment plant.
At Iggesund Sawmill,
investments in the plant have
increased capacity by 15% over
the past year. Furthermore,
opportunities to establish
production of solid wood wall
modules (cross laminated timber)
are being investigated as a result
of the greater interest in wood
construction.
Canfor Southern Pine’s
president is elected to
AWC’s board
President of Canfor Southern Pine
Fred Stimpson has been elected
to the American Wood Council
(AWC) board to complete the
two-year term of Aubra Anthony
who recently retired from Anthony
Forest Products. Stimpson joined
Canfor in 2013 and was appointed
president in 2015.
“AWC is pleased to have Fred
join our board,” AWC President
and CEO Robert Glowinski said.
“Fred is well known by many in
the industry, having been involved
for over 30 years. The AWC Board
of Directors will benefit from his
Fred Stimpson, Canfor
Southern Pine’s president
depth of experience on wood
products gained from his time at
Canfor as well as at both Scotch
Gulf Lumber and Gulf Lumber
Company before that.