Sawmillers want consistency

Truckloads of fresh logs rumble past New Zealand sawmills in ever-increasing numbers, but fewer are diverting from their rush to the boats bound for China.

There is a depressing emptiness at times in some New Zealand log yards, and it is not hard to figure out why: the country’s forest owners are cashing in on the insatiable Chinese log market where prices and demand have been at record levels for a year.

But Red Stag Timber general manager Tim Rigter warns forest owners not to reduce log availability to local mills. “It is important that word doesn’t get out there that timber is in short supply. We don’t want a panic reaction. We all want consistent prices and supply for logs and lumber.”

Rigter sees a real risk in the timber industry being perceived as an unreliable supplier – playing into the hands of the steel and concrete sectors. His point is supported by the recent experience of the engineered wood industry where Nelson Pine Industries sales engineer Andy van Houtte says demand for LVL structural beams is strong.

The complete article is available in the February issue of In-Wood – out now.