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July/August 2011 Page 25Ontario/QuebecBusiness TrendsBy Michelle KellerAssociate EditorFor those who areable to take advantageof foreign markets, the Softwoodlumber trade is seeing better days. Butfor those who are restricted, either bychoice or design to domestic sales,the prospect of improved numbersremains elusive. Despite this, mill andwholesale owners remain optimisticthat the market, even on the domesticfront, will improve. The only questionthat remains is when.The purchasing agent for an Ontariomill said his company’s internationalsales had increased over the pastyear, but added that production numbersfor the United States andCanada remained unimpressive atbest.“If you’re looking at the global picture,I would say it had probably gone up,”he said of demand. “But if you arelooking at North America, I’d say itwas flat.”He tied the anemic domestic numbersdirectly to the U.S. economy,specifically the housing market. Henoted that annual housing starts in theU.S. dipped from approximately twomillion several years ago to about500,000 today. The Canadian markethas slowed as well, but from 200,000housing starts down to about 180,000.In contrast, he noted, there has beena significant increase in constructionstarts in China, leading to moredemand for two-by-fours. He addedthat he is seeing a lot more wideboards heading to China, where theyare ripped down.If the Chinese economy continues togrow, he predicted an increaseddemand for Softwood that would beused as substrates for the furnitureconstruction industry. In this case, thePine base would be used as a substructurefor veneers and laminates,as in the case of some tabletops.“I think the Chinese market is goingto continue to grow and we’ll see moreemerging markets for SPF now thatwe can export,” he said, citingchanges to the tariff codes. He predictedthat, in addition to China,Canadian Softwood lumber producerswould also find greener markets indeveloping nations such as India.Although some have decried the risingfuel costs as one of the factors thathas continued to batter the Softwoodmarket, this purchaser said that thecost is often passed downstream tothe consumer.“When the surcharge goes up, weshift to rail,” he said, adding that if andwhen rail costs rise, they will likelyswitch back to trucks.At a Quebec mill, one sales representativeshared much the same storyregarding the level of domesticdemand. “It’s probably a little bit lessthan what we were expecting,” he saidof market growth. “Last year, everyonewas expecting it would be better, but ithas not been as nice as expectations.”He added that from a domestic pointof view, everyone he knows is hopingfor a better year in 2012.Unfortunately, he noted, thereContinued on page 31South/SoutheastBusiness TrendsBy Gary MillerManaging EditorAccording tosources in thesoutheast region, prices of SouthernYellow Pine (SYP) have been off forthe higher grades, forcing industrialgrades to soften.“About this time lastyear prices of No. 2 SYP hit their highand stayed there for quite awhile.Early this year those prices started tofall and prices on the lower gradeshave decreased also,” a supplier inMississippi mentioned.When asked about the factorsinvolved in his operation’s currentbusiness conditions, the contact said,“Overall the economy is not makinglarge enough gains to keep demandfor upper grade lumber moving. Pricesare especially low in the 2x6’s.”Whether or not prices will continue totrend lower, the source said, dependson upper grade pricing along withother factors. “As we continue to growour No. 3 and 4 inventories, prices ofindustrials are subject to more cuts,”he explained. He also said some buyershave shown more interest in 4x4’ssince the price of the 8’ dropped about$100 in recent weeks. Another factorhe mentioned is paper mills. “We’vehad some wet months and the papermills have been going strong and payingbig bucks for logs, which hasmade it difficult for sawmills to competewhen trying to purchase logs.”As for transportation costs the suppliersaid while they are rising, he isn’texperiencing anything out of the ordinaryfor this time of year. “As we hitthe summer months, fuel rates alwaysincrease. The area of concern withtransportation for us right now is ashortage of trucks. We have ordersready to ship but are unable to getthem out for a couple of days as aresult of trucking availability.”When asked about the outlook for theremainder of 2011 the contact said, “Ithink we’ll do good if we break eventhis year. Anything is bound to be animprovement over 2010.”In Tennessee a Softwood suppliersaid his prices for treated SYP haveimproved. “Warmer weather haslargely contributed to our sales overall.Fuel prices are still a primary concernfor us. Surcharges continue torise and we try to absorb some of it,but it’s getting harder.”As for what lies ahead in the remaininghalf of 2011 the source is optimistic.“We’ve seen some goodmonths since April, so I think businesswill continue to stabilize.”An Alabama supplier said marketconditions are better from a year agobut recovery is marginal. “I think ourprimary concern is the bank’s unwillingnessto loan money to the builders.”Handling Southern Yellow Pine,Cypress, Cedar and Spruce, the contactsaid he is not having many availabilityissues. “There does seem to bea little shortage of Cypress out there.However, most of the Softwoodspecies of lumber are in relativelygood supply right now.He did mention his inventory levelsare down about ten percent. “AgainContinued on page 32
Page 26COLLINS -Continued from page 23and 3x7’s, and another for our boards,cutting 4/4 and 5/4.”Jimerson also said the green chainconsists of sixteen slanted sort bins,allowing them to sort by thickness andlength. From the sort bins, the lumberheads down the green chain to theMoCo stickering stacker, which makes8’ wide by almost 6’ high units.The mill also utilizes five dry kilnsmanufactured by SII Dry Kilns locatedin Lexington, N.C. “The kilns are SIIside loading cross flow dry kilns withfive chambers each holding 125,000board feet per charge on a 4/4 basis,”Jimerson explained. “SII kilns are fantastic.However, you don’t see manySII kilns on the West Coast. They giveyou very even air flow through theunits, better than most other kilns, inpart, because the lumber is stacked in8-foot wide units and are only stackedtwo units deep in the kilns.”“In the beginning the green lumberweighs in at about five pounds aboard foot,” Jimerson continued.“When it dries, it’s about 1.6 poundsper board foot.”The kilns and planer facility are locatednine miles from the sawmill at thePort of Morrow, due to the pre-existingsteam from the PGE Coyote SpringsElectrical Co-Gen facility. The steam isa by-product of the co-gen operation,thereby eliminating the necessity ofinstalling a boiler.Transportation doesn’t get much easierfor a sawmill. “We have a UnionPacific rail siding at the planer, and weare less than a mile away from thePort of Morrow dock where the containersare located on a barge thatgoes down the Columbia River to thePort of Portland for export,” Jimersonsaid. In addition, we are right on highwayI-84, so we’re on a terrific transportationhub.”Available at the mill’s onsite conferenceroom and online atwww.CollinsWood.com are photos ofeach grade of the lumber with thegrade specifications.Jimerson went on to explain withstaining, Pacific Albus may be finishedto look like many other speciesbecause of its light color. “You canmake it look like maple, alder, cherry,walnut or even Incense Cedar.”Among the benefits, he said, theproduct is great for resawing. “It sandsreally well, embosses well and,because of its low density, it’s verygood for applications where weight iscritical such as snowboards, tradeshow booths and pallet/packaging.The low density also makes it ideal forthermal insulated applications andacoustic applications, such as woodenceiling grids.”Collins’ target markets for PacificAlbus include the entire supply chain.“We market to exporters, distributors,retailers and OEM’s,” Jimerson noted.The family-owned Collins Cos. wasestablished in 1855, when T.D.Collins began timber operations inPennsylvania. By the turn of the century,the family had expanded west tomanage 94,000 acres in northeasternCalifornia. Today the firm’s holdingsalso include three forests, each withan associated sawmill, including the120,000 acre Collins’ Pennsylvaniaforest with Kane Hardwood sawmill;the 91,000 acre Collins’ LakeviewForest in southern Oregon and northernCalifornia with Lakeview Sawmill(Fremont Sawmill); and the 95,000acre Collins’ Almanor forest in northernCalifornia with Chester Sawmill(Collins Pine). Additionally, Collinsowns Richwood Hardwood sawmill inWest Virginia. Collins Products LLC,which manufactures TruWood ® Sidingand Trim and Collins PineParticleboard ® , are both availableFSC certified. For more information,visit www.CollinsWood.com.WRCLA -Continued from page 7•alternative non-wood building materialsfor residential decking and sidingapplications. The study by Canada’sleading forestry research laboratory,FPInnovations-Forintek compared arange of environmental impacts similarto those in EPDs. Cedar substantiallyoutperformed its competitors inevery category.“We are very confident thatEnvironmental Product Declarations,once put into wide use in NorthAmerica, will arrive at the same conclusion,that Western Red Cedar representsthe most authentic, trulygreen siding and decking choice forarchitects and consumers,” said JackDraper, WRCLA managing director.WRCLA believes “apples-to-applescomparisons” of the environmentalperformance of building products is inthe public interest.“Sustainability means leaving theearth as good, or better, than youfound it – on Earth Day and everyday,” he added. “Real Cedar is carbonneutral, renewable and recyclablewhen compared to building materialsmade from carbon contributing composites.”About Western Red Cedar LumberAssociation:Western Red Cedar LumberAssociation is a Vancouver, B.C.The Softwood Forest Products Buyerbased non-profit association knownas “the voice of the Cedarindustry.” Founded in 1954, the associationoperates architect advisoryand technical service programsthroughout the U.S. and Canada. Itseeks to inspire, inform and instructarchitects and consumers aboutWestern Red Cedar, its uses and benefits.Western Red Cedar is one ofnature’s truly remarkable buildingmaterials. Not only does it have distinctivebeauty, natural durability andcenturies of proven performance,Western Red Cedar is the ultimategreen product. It produces fewergreenhouse gases, generates lesswater and air pollution, requires lessenergy to produce than alternativesand comes from a renewable and sustainableresource. Equally important,Western Red Cedar is carbon neutral.For more information, please visitwww.wrcla.org.•MIDWEST TRENDS -Continued from page 16“Because of the Pine Beetle infestation,ESLP was in short supply lastyear. We were beginning to see someavailability in recent months, but thatseems to have tightened back upagain,” he said.The contact also mentioned that he isexpecting a mild increase in businessactivity for the coming months. “Wehave seen some positive signs thisyear already. I think we’ll come out onthe better side at the end of 2011,” hecommented.An Iowa supplier said his prices aresteady and activity is good. “We’vebeen able to supply the needs of ourContinued on page 30CHARACTER BUILDINGBuilding with Eastern White Pine is character building.are, how you chooseto live and your commitmentto authenticity. To learnmore about buildingwitheastern white pine visit www.easternwhitepine.or.org.It is a reflection of who youWill your next project have character?
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