The Indonesian Furniture Entrepreneurs Association (Asmindo) is aiming to supply 5 percent of the world's furniture demand within 10 years.
Asmindo Chairman, Taufik Gani, said Indonesia's current international furniture trade is small compared to countries such as Vietnam, Poland and Brazil, which contribute around 2 percent, or China which contributes around 30 percent to the world trade in wooden furniture.
It has been estimated that the Indonesian wood processing industry employs around 4 million direct and indirect workers making the sector one of Indonesia's priority areas for development.
Previously, Asmindo had targeted US$2 billion in furniture exports but this has been revised given the success and international acceptance of the country's timber legality verification system (SVLK). Last year, the industry exported furniture worth US$1.83 billion.
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Södra merges sawn timber and interior wood divisions
Södra is pooling its sawn and planed timber resources with interior wood by merging the Södra Timber and Södra Interiör business areas. As the company says in a press release, the merger will strengthen Södra's market presence and yield synergies in administration, technology, logistics and sales.
"By merging Timber and Interior, we are taking a structural approach to sawn and planed timber as well as interior wood. We are strengthening our market presence and industrial structures, enabling us to realise synergies throughout the supply chain, from raw material to customer. By doing this, we will be able to provide an enhanced offering to our customers, thereby boosting their competitiveness," commented Lars Idermark, CEO of Södra.
Södra says that the merger also strengthens the company's forest owners' range of sawn timber and interior wood, and thus also the profitability of forest estates.
"The move is in line with our efforts to improve our internal efficiency, which is something we are working with on all fronts," added Idermark.
The decision to initiate union negotiations regarding the merger of the business areas was taken by Södra's Board on Tuesday, 7th October. Håkan Svensson, currently president of Södra Timber, has been appointed president of the merged business area. Håkan Svensson has worked in the Södra Group since 2005 and has served as President of Södra Interiör and Södra Skog.
Södra Timber produces sawn timber and reported revenue in 2013 of approximately SEK 3.3 billion (EUR 361 million). Södra Interiör produces planed and turned timber products for interior use, such as mouldings, panelling, flooring, poles, glued-joints and other interior fittings in wood and reported revenue in 2013 of approximately SEK 1.2 billion (EUR 131 million). The new business area, which will be called Södra Wood, will have a combined revenue of approximately SEK 5.5 billion (EUR 602 million) and about 1,500 employees.
Kastamonu starts large MDF and flooring plant in Russia
The Turkish company Kastamonu Entegre, one of the world's largest producers of wood-based panels, launched on 24 September a large mill in Russia, in the Alabuga special economic zone (Tatarstan). As Whatwood.ru reports, the investment amounted US$ 600 million.
In the first stage, the company will produce at the mill around 475,000 m3 of MDF and 20 million m2 of wooden flooring.
Moreover, in 2016, Kastamonu will also open a 725,000 m3 chipboard facility there, while in 2017-2018, the start of a 575,000 m3 OSB capacity is planned.
Ghana: Timber exports up 9%
According to data available from the Timber Industry Development Division (TIDD) of the Forestry Commission, Ghana's timber exports for the period January to July climbed by just over 9% year on year.
The total export volume of 177,399 cubic metres for the first seven months earned the country euro71.9 million; only marginally up from the euro 71.56 million from 162,410 cubic metres in the same period last year.
Table below shows the wood product classifica tions performance for 2014/2013.
| Product | cu.m. | euro |
| Primary | 20,735 | 2,999,459 |
| Secondary | 150,267 | 65,509,212 |
| Tertiary | 6,397 | 3,417,397 |
| Total | 177,399 | 71,926,068 |
Secondary wood products accounted for 91% of the total wood export for the first seven mon ths of 2014 and these included air and kiln dry sawnwood, veneers, plywood and blockboard.
Primary and tertiary wood products each accounted for between 4-5% of exports during the period reviewed.
The export of poles increased to 4,688 cu.m from a volume 36 cu.m in the same period in 2013. Profile boards (mouldings) exports doubled.
2014 International Softwood Conference this month in Berlin
On 16 and 17 October, 2014, the ninth International Softwood Conference (ISC) takes place at the “Steigenberger Hotel am Kanzleramt” in Berlin. This year’s conference is jointly hosted by the German Organization of the Sawmill and Timber Industry (DeSH), the European Organization of the Sawmill Industry (EOS) and the European Timber Trade Federation (ETTF).
"Participants can expect a varied program. We want to discuss current challenges of the sawmill and timber industry in an international context", says Norbert Buddendick, head of department for market and products at DeSH. Lectures and discussions will focus on all relevant issues concerning the industry.
The conference opens with a global market analysis from the perspective of top-class international speakers. Furthermore, strategies to ensure roundwood supplies in the years ahead will be discussed. On second day special attention will be given to the European wood industry. The ISC is accompanied by a diverse social program.
Beside a welcome evening event over Berlin’s roofs the conference highlight will be an extraordinary gastronomical and cultural event at the well-known vaudeville “Chamäleon”. Accompanying persons are also invited to guided city tours.
For more information and to register please visit www.isc2014.de
Chinese redwood imports spike in the first half of 2014
According to data from China's Customs, first half timber imports rose 21% to 44.39 million cubic metres while the value of timber imports was up 40% to US$10.44 billion. Of the total, 'redwood' imports increased more than 300% to 1.21 million cubic metres valued at US$1.66 billion, up more than 500% in value from the same period of 2013.
Around 80% of the total redwood imports were through Guangdong, Shanghai and Yunnan provinces (84% of the total) and amounted to 990,000 cubic metres.
China's Redwood Committee notes that the surge in redwood imports reflects the current huge demand for redwood products in domestic market.
The rapid growth of redwood imports has tied up huge amounts of private capital and many enterprises are now feeling the financial strain from investing so heavily in redwood stocks.
European beech exports to China rise by 39%
The values of European beech log exports (HS 44039210) to China have increased again significantly in the first six months of this year. Already, the overall value exported in the first half (EUR 55,1 million) has surpassed the value exported in the whole 2012 ( EUR 50,3 million) and is close to the entire annual export of 2013 (EUR 60 million) (See graphic below).
Against the first half of 2013, EU deliveries of beech logs to China are almost 40% higher. Around 97% of the values come from Germany, France, Belgium, Denmark and the Czech Republic.
In particular, Germany has increased its exports (+ 53% to EUR 37 million) and thus expanded its market share in China from 61% to 68%.
France, Belgium and Denmark, however, have lost market shares. The Czech Republic managed to quadruple the values of beech logs exported to China up to EUR 1.4 million.
Schweighofer inaugurates glulam plant in Romania
Schweighofer's new glulam plant in Radauti, Romania is going into activation. The company's complete glulam production is now concentrated in the factory in the north of Romania. 100.000 m³ BEAMs will be produced in addition to the 140.000 m³ POSTs.
Schweighofer invested 14 Mio Euro were, and in 2014 40 additional working places will be established in this new production process in the factory in Radauti.
The BEAMs are made of pine wood and premium glulam products are destined especially for the needs of the Japanese market.
EACOM Timber to start production at Ear Falls sawmill
Four years after it was bought from the former owner, Domtar, Ear Falls sawmill located in northwestern Ontario has started production in early August. The new owner, the Canadian EACOM Timber Corporation, has invested more than $5 million to retrofit the plant with upgrades to the electrical system, planer mill, optimizer scanner, and other machinery in the four to five months leading up to the Aug. 5 production startup, says northernontariobusiness.com.
Ear Falls is one of seven sawmills in Ontario and Quebec that EACOM acquired from Domtar in a $127-million deal in 2010 that included Timmins, Nairn Centre, Gogama and Elk Lake.
EACOM targets an annual production of 70-75 million board feet ((165-170 thousand cubic meters). A second shift, planned for 2015, could boost that to 140 to 150 million (330-350 tsd m3).
The mill is capable of producing two-by-three, two-by-four, and two-by-six dimensional lumber of lengths between six and nine feet.
Production will mainly directed to U.S. building sector, as construction has been recently picking up.
About EACOM
EACOM Timber Corporation ("EACOM") is a global timber company formed in 2008. Its head office is located in Montreal, Quebec, with regional offices located in Timmins, Ontario and Val d'Or, Quebec.
EACOM is one of the major producers in the Eastern Canadian timber industry. Operations include the manufacturing, marketing and distribution of lumber and wood-based value-added products, and the management of forest resources. EACOM currently owns eight sawmills in Ontario and Quebec, one remanufacturing facility and a partnership operation. It has a production capacity of approximately 900 million board feet of lumber and holds Crown logging rights of approximately 3.5 million cubic meters annually.
EACOM is one of the major producers in the Eastern Canadian timber industry. Operations include the manufacturing, marketing and distribution of lumber and wood-based value-added products, and the management of forest resources. EACOM currently owns eight sawmills in Ontario and Quebec, one remanufacturing facility and a partnership operation. It has a production capacity of approximately 900 million board feet of lumber and holds Crown logging rights of approximately 3.5 million cubic meters annually.
German Pellets increases turnover
German Pellets GmbH has presented its group financial report for the first half of 2014 and confirmed its preliminary consolidated net earnings figures. As of June 30, 2014, the world’s largest producer and trader of wood pellets generated consolidated sales of Euro 260.6 million (+10% yoy growth). Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) improved to around Euro 25.0 million in the first half of 2014 from Euro 18.8 million in the previous year’s period.
As the company says in a press release, the key growth and profit driver was the launch of the first US plant, located in Woodville, Texas, that started operations in Q3 /2013. Overall, the wood pellet market has grown in nearly all Western European markets despite the mild winter; this market growth is chiefly attributable to the persistently high level of fossil fuel prices, says German Pellets. The group plans to launch production of the second US plant in in Urania, Louisiana, at the end of this year.
German Pellets plans to further expand its sales network in Europe in the second half of the year. Existing sales capacities have already been expanded. To further boost its sales activities in Germany, the company acquired as of September 1, 2014 the wood pellet business from Michael Wäsler GmbH, known under the “Münchenpellets” brand, which has a well-established customer base in the Greater Munich region.
Furthermore, German Pellets is in an ongoing dialogue with European energy players interested in converting their power plants to use wood pellets, as well as with wood pellet industrial plant operators of medium-sized boilers in the market for business and industrial customers. Here, the company recently concluded a ten-year fuel supply agreement with a German combined heat and power (CHP) plant.
German Pellets currently expects to maintain its growth course in the second half of the year. The world’s leading producer and trader of wood pellets expects demand to pick up significantly in the fourth quarter. This is due to the mild winter at the beginning of this year, which led existing customers and new installations to postpone stockpiling to the second half of the year. For the financial year as a whole, German Pellets has budgeted consolidated sales of around Euro 550 million.
Japanese government aims to double forest products exports by 2020
Export of wood products from Japan has been increasing consistently and the amount of the export for the first half of this year was yen 8.164 billion, 51.1% more than the same period of last year. This is much faster pace compared to the increase by 30% of last year.
By item, log export was yen 3.165 billion, 173.8% more than the same period of last year, exceeded total amount of last year in six months. Weaker yen made the Japanese logs much competitive so the log export to China, Korea and Taiwan has been climbing rapidly.
Meantime, export of other products like lumber and plywood has also been increasing by 13.9% and 23.4% respectively.
The government plans to increase the export of forest products from yen 12.3 billion in 2012 to yen 25 billion in 2020 and the Forestry Agency allocated sixty million yen budget for performance experiments in China by Chinese standard, promotion to use the Japanese products in China, holding seminars and exhibition and making guidance manuals.
Logs for China are mainly C grade logs for crating lumber and engineering works. In Japan, thinning used to be abandoned in the woods but now they are encouraged to haul out so that the supply of C grade logs has been increasing.
China: Bamboo industry to see massive surge by 2020
China has 7.2 million hectares of bamboo forest, accounting for one fourth of the global total of which 4.2 million hectares are unmixed bamboo forest and mainly distributed in 20 provinces of the Yangtze River Basin, southern China and the southwest region.
Moso bamboo (tortoise - shell bamboo, or mao zhu) is a temperate species of giant timber bamboo and is widely distributed China. At present, the annual value of China's bamboo industry output is US$14.5 billion.
According to the China Bamboo Industry Development Plan formulated in 2013, the total value of China's bamboo industry output will be US$48 billion by 2020 and direct employment in the bamboo industry could grow to 10 million.
There are thousands of bamboo products which can be grouped into the following major categories: bamboo products for daily use, bamboo arts and crafts, bamboo panels, bamboo charcoal, paper making, furniture, packaging, medicine, food and textiles.
Bamboo has even been used to make keyboards and hardware framework. However, there are some problems in China's bamboo processing industry. Currently most of China's bamboo processing industries are very small scale.
The number of bamboo processing enterprises with annual output value of RMB10 million account for only 8% of all enterprises. The quality of bamboo products from many small enterprises is said to be poor.
Swedish softwood lumber shipments increase by 7.6%
By the end of July, Sweden increased its exports of sawn and planed softwood lumber compared to the same period last year by 7.6%, up to 7.3 million cubic meters. During the same period in 2013 there were 6.8 million cbm. Also, the amount is higher in July with 880,000 cbm or 4.3% over July 2013.
The main export destinations for the Swedish wood were the UK, Egypt and Norway. Germany is almost on a par with Norway on fourth. A significant amount of growth was in exports to Egypt, Great Britain, Denmark and China. The largest declines were in deliveries to Japan, France and Saudi Arabia.
Along with the volume, also the average value of exports has increased by 7.6%. By the end of July, one cubic meter of exported Swedish softwood lumber was priced on average at 1,986 SEK / cbm FOB (~ 218 EUR). In the previous year the price was 1847 SEK / cbm FOB (~ 203 EUR).
| Country | VII 2013 (1.000 cbm) |
VII 2014 (1.000 cbm) |
Change in % |
| United Kingdom | 1354.0 | 1548.3 | 14,35% |
| Egypt | 493.5 | 963.7 | 95,28% |
| Norway | 577.8 | 583.6 | 1,00% |
| Germany | 616.3 | 582.8 | -5,44% |
| Denmark | 426.6 | 493.5 | 15,68% |
| Netherlands | 422.4 | 464.4 | 9,94% |
| Japan | 587.4 | 408.8 | -30,41% |
| Algeria | 324.4 | 340.7 | 5,02% |
| China | 183.9 | 267.7 | 45,57% |
| Morocco | 239.6 | 225.8 | -5,76% |
| France | 251.8 | 214.0 | -15,01% |
| Saudi Arabia | 229.4 | 192.9 | -15,91% |
| Belgium | 152.7 | 180.4 | 18,2% |
| Poland | 83.3 | 87.4 | 4,92% |
North American timber harvests up 3%
Timber harvests in North America were up for the fourth consecutive year in 2013, reaching 510 million m3, based on analysis by WRI (Wood Resource International). Despite an annual increase of three percent each of the past four years, harvest levels in North America are still substantially lower than what they were before the great recession. Ten years ago, the total timber harvest in North America was about 40% higher than in 2013, and the harvest in the US itself at that time was more than what was logged in all of North America.
In 2013, softwood removals in the US were up by three percent from the previous year, primarily as a result of higher log exports to Asia and increased domestic lumber production. Higher manufacturing of hardwood lumber and of OSB were the main drivers of the increase in hardwood timber harvests last year.
Demand for logs from the pulp sector, which consumed about 45% of the total timber harvest in 2013, fell as a result of lower pulp production and increased availability of residuals chips from the sawmilling sector. However, logging activities varied throughout the country with some regions, such as the northeast and part of the South, recording only modest increases in roundwood removals, while for example the forest-rich western Oregon harvested 13% more volume in 2013 than in 2012 thanks to log and lumber exports to Asia.
Timber harvests in Canada have gone up every year since 2009, reaching over 130 million m3 in 2013, almost 30% more than in 2009. A combination of higher log exports to China, a rise in OSB production, and increased demand for logs from the domestic lumber industry have been the major drivers for higher log demand the past few years.
The timber harvest trend in Canada has mirrored the US trend with much higher harvest volumes ten years ago, a sharp decline in 2008-2009, followed by a slow and steady increase the past four years. End-uses for harvested timber in Canadian are quite different from those of the US with as much as 71% of the logs being consumed by the sawmilling sector and only 15% by the pulp sector.
Norvik to double capacity in Russia
Norvik Timber Industries’ Russia subsidiary Norwood will start second production shift in January 2015 in order to double the production.
“During 2014 the production has been developing favorably and the results have been encouraging. Starting the second shift in January will the next step of the sawmill’s development”, says Aleksander Panyukov, Managing Director of Norwood.
The sawmill will increase production to about 90 000 m3 annually and the production will continue to be sold to ex CIS markets and to Byko-Lat, which is part of the Norvik Timber Industries, for further processing.
“Our commitment to the Russian forest industry is long term regardless of the current political turmoil”, says Sampsa Auvinen, CEO of Norvik Timber Industries.
About
Norvik Timber Industries is a privately owned European forest industry company operating in Latvia, Estonia, Russia, Sweden and the United Kingdom. The group operates in forest harvesting, sawmilling, planing, manufacturing doors & windows and prefabricated houses, importing and distribution of forest products and logistics. All the group companies operate independently and offer their products and services autonomously to their local & global partners
Norwood, based in Syktyvkar the capital Komi Republic, has 2 logging companies, 2 sawmills and a trading company in North East European Russia. Products and traded goods are sold domestically in Russia and exported to Latvia and the ex CIS markets.
Global trade of softwood lumber rises in H1/2014
Global trade of softwood lumber was up seven percent in the first six months of 2014, with Russia, Germany and Sweden increasing shipments the most, reports the Wood Resource Quarterly. Higher demand for wood products following the global recession has resulted in a steadily increasing trade in softwood lumber the past five years.
Demand for softwood lumber has been steadily increasing on a worldwide basis since the great recession. The higher consumption of lumber has resulted in a rise in the global trade of lumber with shipments in 2014 on pace to be the highest since 2006 and 36% higher than five years ago, which was the bottom of the decline in lumber trade.
About two-thirds of the world’s lumber production is consumed domestically, while the remaining third is traded internationally, either to countries that consume large volumes of wood products such as the US, China and Japan, or to countries with limited domestic forest resources, including Egypt, Italy, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.
During the first half of 2014, global lumber trade was seven percent higher than during the same period in 2013. Most major exporting countries have shipped more lumber this year than last year, with only New Zealand bucking that trend.
Russian exporting sawmills have ramped up production to record levels this year and the export volumes are up almost 15% as compared to the same period last year. Much of the rise in shipments has been to China, Egypt and the CIS countries. Lumber producers in both Sweden and Germany have also shipped more lumber in the 1H/14 than they did in the 1H/13. Export volumes for these two countries may in fact reach their highest levels in at least seven years if lumber demand in particularly Egypt, China and countries in Western Europe continues to stay strong.
Lumber importation volumes to China, the largest softwood lumber importer in the world, have zigzagged their way upward so far this year, starting from as low as 1.1 million m3 in February and reaching the highest monthly import volume on record in July.
Russia and Canada are still the two dominating suppliers, accounting for 77% of the total import volume. This share was unchanged from 2013. Other supplying countries, including Chile, the US and Sweden continue to keep about the same share of the market this year as they did in 2013.
Canfor to build 2 pellet plants
Canfor Corporation plans to construct a pellet plant at each of the company’s Chetwynd and Fort St. John sawmill sites. The pellet plants will be constructed and operated in partnership with Pacific Bioenergy Corporation.
The two plants will have a combined annual production capacity of 175,000 tonnes of wood pellets, the sale of which is tied to a long term agreement with a power utility customer. The total investment of $58 million will include electrical self- generation capacity of 3 megawatts supported through BC Hydro’s Power Smart Load Displacement Program.
The pellet plants are scheduled to commence production in the third and fourth quarters of 2015.
Romanian wood products export doubled in five years
Romanian exports of wood and wood products, except furniture, doubled between 2008-2013, reaching EUR 1.9 billion. This represents a level five times higher than imports, according to a report issued by the Romanian magazine Business Construct, which has compiled official data from the Romanian National Statistics Institute (INS).
Holzindustrie Schweighofer is Romania's largest exporter in the wood industry; the Austrians are now on the 16th place among Romania's largest exporters in the economy, with export values comparable to those of the US company Delphi, which sells auto parts. According to INS, other major players from the wood industry, like Kronospan are on the 44th position, while Kastamonu occupies the 96th place.
Usually, an increase in exports should be a cause of celebration in the economy. However, the problems of the Romanian furniture industry poses some problems: its dependency on domestic timber production, and insufficient raw material, makes it unable to compete with other large markets.
Moreover, the increase in wood exports came along with foreign investments of hundreds of million euros into facilities in Romania. Their production is meant mainly for export. These investments and the expanding number of companies which buy Romanian wood, especially Chinese, have also raised timber prices. For example, at roundwood auctions organized by Romanian authorities, a price increase of 32% was registered in 2014, compared to 2013.
New trimmer for Setra at Nyby sawmill
Last week, Thursday 18 September, the new trimmer at the Setra Nyby sawmill was inaugurated. New machinery, a new cutting system and installation of automated sorting have adapted the sawmill.
“We are extremely pleased that the new trimmer is in place. Now we will be able to supply even better products for many years to come. Productivity will rise, flexibility will improve and quality will become more consistent,” says Karl Pontus Larsson, Manager of Setra Nyby.
Work with the new trimmer was carried out in cooperation with ScanWare, which supplied a BoardMaster NOVA, and CGV (C. Gunnarssons Verkstads AB) which delivered the machinery and control system. The investment in the sawmill is part of the efficiency improvement programme underway at Setra designed to further strengthen the wood products company’s competitiveness.
Setra Nyby, which is located in Björklinge just north of Uppsala, is a specialised redwood sawmill with approximately 60 employees. The Setra Group has a total of nine sawmills, three processing units and two modular building factories.
Latvia's forest products export up 12.6%
During the first seven months of 2014, Latvian forest industry's export increased by 12.6%, reaching EUR 1.189 billion, compared to EUR 1.056 billion in the same period in 2013, reports the Baltic Course, compiling data provided by the Latvian Forest Department of the Ministry of Agriculture.
Latvia's largest export markets were Great Britain, Sweden and Germany. A total of 11.2% of forest industry's exports went to Great Britain, 15.2% to Sweden and 10.9% to Germany.
Meanwhile, forest industry imports the first seven month of 2014, reached EUR 391.92 million, which is 16.8% more than in the respective period of 2013. The largest part of imports came from Lithuania – 20.3%, Estonia – 12%, and Poland – 11.1%.
