Import:Export Wood Purchasing News - February/March
www.woodpurchasingnews.com Vol. 44 No. 4 Serving Forest Products Buyers Worldwide FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018 In 2018 The Transportation Industry Faces Acclimation To Recent Mergers, Alongside Adapting To Recent Labor Laws That Limit Truck Driver’s Schedules Sources in the transportation industry who ship North American wood products around the world shared with Import/Export Wood Purchasing News their insight about current market activity and export challenges that may arise in 2018. Curtis Struyk TMX Shipping Co. Morehead City, North Carolina Brett Bleichrodt, Collins, Littleton, CO; Lee Jimerson, Collins, Wilsonville, OR; and Brian Hurdle, Collins, Roseville, CA Orlando Welcomes Thousands at International Builders' Show Photos by Terry Miller and Zach Miller Orlando, Florida–The Orange County Convention Center, located here, was the recent site of the 2018 National Association of Home Builders International Builders’ Show (IBS). This year IBS was held in conjunction with the National Kitchen & Bath Association’s Kitchen & Bath Industry Show during Design & Construction Week®. The event was expected to bring together approximately 80,000 building industry professionals from around the globe. In addition to a packed exhibitor tradeshow, the IBS featured a multitude of Continued on page 12 TMX Shipping Company Inc. had another record year for lumber and log exports in 2017 with a 17 percent increase over the previous year. China led the way with 65 percent of the market, Curtis Struyk followed by Vietnam at 6.5 percent and Great Britain at 5 percent. With ocean freight rates holding at record low levels, the first quarter of 2018 is shaping up to look much the same. Ocean carriers tried to increase rates throughout 2017 without much success. We expect they will continue to push for general rate increases which have to be mitigated and dealt with on a carrier by carrier basis. This trend will likely carry over well into 2018 as larger ships compete for export market share. We are currently experiencing container deficits at some major rail ramps. Those ramps, like Nashville for instance, are dependent on import containers to replenish container pools, and are especially affected during certain times of the year. Equipment shortages are something we have dealt with in the past and have always found a way to manage it. As we continue to benefit from a shippers market, I believe 2018 will be another record-breaking year. North American Representatives Attend PEFC Annual General Assembly By Michael Buckley Continued on page 13 Zach Miller, Import/Export Wood Purchasing News, Memphis, TN; Michael DeJong and Christine Belus, U-C Coatings LLC, Buffalo, NY; Matt Pryor, Americana Deck By Bingaman Lumber Co., Kreamer, PA; and Tim Cutler, U-C Coatings LLC Additional photos on pages 6 & 8 PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID NASHVILLE, TN PERMIT NO. 781 Address Service Requested Import/Export Wood Purchasing News P.O. Box 34908 Memphis, TN 38184-0908 U.S. delegate John Metnick (pictured 2nd from right), with the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, was among the American delegates offering input at the recent Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) Week, held in Helsinki, Finland. To Metnick’s right is Sarah Crow, Senior Director, Sustainability Solutions, American Forest Foundation, which runs the PEFC-endorsed American Tree Farm System, and Canada’s John Dunford (to Metnick’s left). The program for this PEFC event brought together over 250 people from 50 countries. The next PEFC International Week will be held in Geneva, Switzerland in November this year. Helsinki, Finland–The annual Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) Week, held here recently, was themed “Making Certification Smart,” at which the stakeholders dialogue called for “purposeful innovation.” “We need a paradigm shift in how society perceives the whole forest/tree value chain,” said Ben Gunneberg, CEO of PEFC International, as he opened Continued on page 12
