Import:Export Wood Purchasing News - February/March 2018

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Independence Lumber, Inc. “Trying is Believing” Overseas purchasing agents, if you havenʼt purchased containers of Appalachian Hardwood Lumber from us before, give us a try. Once you have purchased and seen our lumber, youʼll be a “believer” that we produce quality export grade lumber that youʼll want to order again and again.Come visit us, email or call us for your next order. Our email address is tony@indlbr.com or call 276-773- 3744 ext. 203, and talk with Tony Bartlett, who is in charge of export lumber sales. Nelson Weaver, general manager, at Independence Lumber, Inc. and the owner of the firm, Randall Eller, are standing in front of the companyʼs dry kilns in Independence VA. Between both sawmill locations, the firm has 940,000 board feet per charge of dry kiln capacity. To ship you the containers of lumber you need on time, on grade and as specified we have a band mill in Independence, VA with a headrig resaw, gang saw and scragg mill; and another band mill in Elkin, NC with a gang saw and scragg mill. Both of our band mill sites have modern lumber handling equipment and dry kilns. Other information about our sawmill operation is shown below: •Between our two sawmill locations we produce about 45 million board feet a year of Appalachian Hardwood lumber, cants and by-products a year. •We manufacture 4/4 through 8/4 Appalachian Hardwood lumber in excellent widths and lengths that is sold green, air dried and/or kiln dried. •Offering species of lumber like Red Oak, White Oak, Poplar, Hickory, Hard Maple, Soft Maple, Cherry, Ash, Basswood, Beech, Birch, mixed Hardwoods and Eastern White Pine. •Counting both of our sawmill facilities we have 940,000 board feet per charge of dry kiln capacity. •We have a planer and a 60 bay bin sorter at our band mill operation in Independence, VA. •Offering services like export prep, mixed container loads, lumber measured and inspected after kiln drying, length/width sorts, and color sorts. Independence Lumber, Inc. Producers of Quality Lumber Mulch Pallets Farming Operations 407 Lumber Lane - Independence, VA 24348 Ph: 276-773-3744 ext. 203 • Fax: 276-773-3723 Sales: Tony Bartlett - Cell 336-648-1430 tony@indlbr.com cc: randall@indlbr.com cc: nelson@indlbr.com Southeast - Continued from page 25 The supplier sells to a variety of customers, from cabinet makers to flooring companies, and also does some exporting. He said he’s seeing an upward trend in demand for his customers’ products. “Generally speaking, all of them seem to be pretty optimistic and were looking to increase their inventories going into the winter,” he said, adding that right now, “everybody’s looking for wood.” “Prices are steady, and I think everybody’s optimistic,” the source commented. A Mississippi provider of hardwood said the market is steady, adding his loyal customer base helps. “They’ve been steady, true-blue customers for several years. I haven’t had any trouble with anything except for low-grade Oak, and I sell most of my lumber green,” he said. He also said his company sells a lot of Red and White Oak, Poplar and Ash, with a lot of Oak going overseas. “I go to China every three months to sell the Oak, and we do really well with that too,” he commented. This source said because his company has its own trucks and uses local drivers, he hasn’t observed any problems with transportation. He also mentioned he’s not had any shortage issues. “We pretty much have what we need,” he said. Since his company sells to a lot of housing manufacturers, he’s noticed business is affected by the slow real estate market. But for the most part, he said, the market is holding steady. “I’ve seen it go really strong on the unfinished flooring. As far as anything else, they’re going strong, too,” the supplier noted. ■ West Coast Lumber representatives along the West Coast report a steady market, although the holiday season caused a little bit of a slowdown. A California source said although business was sporadic in the fall, he expected it to pick up again in the first quarter of the new year. The supplier, who sells Walnut, White Oak and Hickory, noted Walnut is selling the best, and he’s not noticing any shortage issues. “I’m able to get what I need,” he said. Also, he explained he’s not having any trouble with transportation, although he knows other areas of the country are experiencing trouble there. His customers are mostly flooring and retail operations, and he said he’s heard business remains stable for them. “They said they’ve been pretty steady,” he stated. Another California lumber representative said activity was slightly down from this time last year. “We are busy, but the pace flips from breakneck to quiet with very little in between,” he noted. “I’d like to see more consistency.” He said White Oak and Walnut are moving well for him. He added some areas of transportation were affected by the wildfires. “The Southern California wildfires have impacted inbound containers, but have not delayed or affected our ability to deliver,” he remarked. In Oregon, a mill source said the market was holding up “uncharacteristically well” prior to the Christmas season. “We’re keeping our order file fairly short at this point, because we see the market continuing to get a little stronger in the first quarter,” he said. “Normally, we expect a little more of a drop-off, and part of that is that log experts from the East Coast are helping keep prices for lumber up and log supply down.” The mill salesman said the species he carries are primarily Pacific Coast Poplar, and he brings in Hard and Soft Maple, Red Oak, Cherry from the East Coast and imports Aspen from Midwestern Canada. “Cherry is firming up,” he stated. “It’s been a slow creep the last six months, but it’s going up monthly. I’m just putting an order together now for February and we’re up modestly on all of our February shipments. Hard Maple is oversupplied and somewhat weak, at least upper-end Hard Maple; I can’t say everything is going north.” The availability of trucks has been an ongoing problem, he said, so he’s paying more to ship via rail. “I’m paying more to put three trucks on a rail car, because customers are screaming for the wood and we can’t get trucks,” he said. He said the mill sells to a wide variety of customers, including hardwood distributors, larger end users not typically supplied by distributors and some exporters. The source said about 30 to 40 percent of his business is exports. “We do export a significant amount ourselves directly into China, Continued on page 27 Page 26 Import/Export Wood Purchasing News February/March 2018
West Coast - Continued from page 26 Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, a little into Europe. Also Mexico has some good business for us as well,” he said. He added he exports “a little bit” to Canada. “I mostly export the Pacific Coast Poplar and Aspen, which don’t come out of our mills; I wholesale that,” he said. From his customers, he’s heard getting business may take a little more work. “One guy just went from Northern California to Seattle, and said work had been slow, but he did a little more footwork and came up with some more business,” the source noted. “So business isn’t giving; you need to work for it, but it’s out there.” A Washington distribution yard said the market in his area has been stable overall. “It’s been kind of steady. The Red Oak, that’s the only thing we’re seeing is Red Oak, the No. 1 Common, and the uppers are kind of hanging around, hard to sell,” he stated. He also commented that White Oak is selling “really strong,” and added that’s what customers are seeking the most often. “Everybody wants White Oak, so that’s been in demand, and Poplar is just kind of a fill-in product,” he observed. ■ BUSINESS TRENDS ABROAD INDONESIA—Overburdening regulations and problems obtaining raw material supplies have caused poor performance of the furniture sector here, as have overlapping regulations and a shortage of craftsmen. The Indonesian Timber Legality Verification System (SVLK) and the Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) license system have slowed down the industry, and FLEGT implementation has not caused a significant increase in sales, according to Andang Wahya Triyanto, Vice Chairman of the Raw Materials Sector of the Indonesian Furniture Handicraft Industry Association. Although the FLEGT license system was promoted as a way to bring more exports into the European Union, Triyanto says that’s not happened. Overall, both FLEGT and SVLK are considered to have slowed the furniture and handicraft industries. Additionally, competitors have been able to move in and grab international market share due to inadequate market promotion, and because Indonesian manufacturers have grown less competitive compared to manufacturers in Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam, according to Gati Wibawaningsih, Director General of Small and Medium Industry in the Ministry of Industry. To combat these problems, the Ministry of Industry plans to increase its support for export promotion, and manufacturers are encouraged to not only improve productivity, but come up with more creative designs. Indonesian furniture exports in 2015 totaled US$1.21 billion, but fell to US$1.04 billion in 2016. Despite the widespread problems in the furniture market, the government hopes that furniture and handicraft exports will top US$2 billion in 2018. CHINA—The Chongqing Traffic and Transportation Group has invested RMB2.5 billion for an international wood products trading center in the Jiangjin Comprehensive Bonded Zone in Chongqing municipality. The 2.2-kilometer center, which will serve western China, will offer an online trading platform for wood products such as logs, sawn wood, wood-based panels and pulp. It also will help lower transportation costs, since timbers used for processing in the Chonqing region are brought in, mainly from Zhangjiagang in Jiangsu province. The cost savings will go into effect when the new trading center is fully operational, according to publishers’ reports. The center will be strategically placed among ports, roadways and rail lines, and stands to become a significant location in the Yangtze River Economic Belt. It will link Chongqing, Kunming and the Trans-Asian Railway, also called the Eurasian Landbridge, which is the beginning of the China/Europe International Railway Corridor. The Jiangjin Comprehensive Bonded Zone is located in Jiangjin Luohuang Industrial Park, and is the third Special Customs Supervision Zone in Chongqing municipality. Manufacturers and Exporters of Fine Hardwood Lumber W. Springfield, NH MANUFACTURERS OF: NORTHERN & APPALACHIAN Hard & Soft Maple, Red & White Oak, Yellow Birch, Basswood, Cherry, Yellow Poplar, Hickory and Beech. Specializing in Mixed Containers Green, Air Dried, Kiln Dried (Thicknesses 4/4-16/4) G.H. Evarts & Co., LLC P.O. BOX 96 • 2377 ROUTE 4A WEST SPRINGFIELD, NH 03284-0096 U.S.A. Contact: GEORGE H. EVARTS TELEPHONE: (603) 763-4525 FAX: (603) 763-4701 GHEVARTS@TDS.NET WWW.GHEVARTS.COM AUSTRALIA—OneFortyOne Plantations (OFO) has signed an agreement to acquire New Zealand-based Nelson Forests, one of the island country’s leading forestry businesses, for an undisclosed sum of money. The transaction is expected to be completed this year, subject to ap- Continued on page 28 Grantham, NH Import/Export Wood Purchasing News February/March 2018 Page 27
Page 1 and 2: www.woodpurchasingnews.com Vol. 44
Page 3 and 4: Table of Contents FEATURES: 2018 IB
Page 5 and 6: Import/Export Wood Purchasing News
Page 7 and 8: Log Prices, Exports, Lumber Demand
Page 9 and 10: Rainey Millworks: Imports Contribut
Page 11 and 12: WASHINGTON SCENE Proposed Bill Woul
Page 13 and 14: BV-COC-016615 TRANSPORTATION - Cont
Page 15 and 16: HHP- Continued from page 4 Jeremy A
Page 17 and 18: SOUTHWEST CLUB - Continued from pag
Page 19 and 20: Import/Export Timber Products’ St
Page 21 and 22: Who's Who - Stoufflet Continued fro
Page 23 and 24: Ontario Continued from page 22 perc
Page 25: Northeast Continued from page 24 be
Page 29 and 30: Business Trends Abroad Continued fr
Page 31 and 32: NEWSWIRES - Continued from page 30
Page 33 and 34: NEWSWIRES - Continued from page 31
Page 35 and 36: A guide to U.S./CANADIAN SOFTWOOD F

Import:Export Wood Purchasing News - February/March 2018

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