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No. 536 November 2013 WHA Board of Directors
Mike Lipke President
Lee Jimerson Vice President
Kurt Landwehr Treasurer
Darrin Hastings Immediate Past President
Adam Brennan
Nils Dickmann
Jeff Marthaller
John Smith
Lindy Stallard David Sweitzer Secretary/Manager P.O. Box 1095 Camas, WA 98607 Ph: (360) 835-1600 Fax: (360) 835-1910 Web: www.westernhardwood.org Email: [email protected]
Zena Forest to Contribute to Library
WHA member Zena Forest Products has been chosen to provide the wood com-
ponents for the renovation to the Children’s section of the Salem Public Library in
Salem, OR. All the wood for the whimsical artwork in these pieces will come from
Zena Forest, a sustainable forest run by the Deumling family in Salem, Ore-
gon. Mother Sarah manages the forest, and her son Ben manages the Zena Forest
Products mill.
Sarah took Kristin out and she chose the tree she wanted, marking it with pink
and green markers (not the usual Zena forest marking system!) Then the tree is cut,
loaded and milled…
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Continued recovery in U.S. home building
markets is critical to the health of the hardwood
industry. We have commented many times about the
unreliability of government statistics on housing
activity. The data is often inflated on initial release and
then quietly revised down in subsequent months.
Employment and unemployment statistics can be
equally misleading. The public and unwary business
decision-makers are lured by an ‘Alice In Wonderland’
picture that obscures the truth. –excerpted from Hardwood
Review Express
Hardwood supplier s on the
West Coast indicated supply is tight
and prices continue to rise. One
Washington contact noted that
although business isn’t back to what
it was in 2005, it is definitely a
marked improvement.
* Welcome New Members
* Outlook
* News in the News
* ICE
* Legislative Update
* Upcoming Events
* Get Motivated
In This Issue:
J o i n W H A First time membership is $150 the first year and for a limited time, $150 for the second year also.
The WHA is the only organization dedicated exclusively to the availability and promotion of Western Hardwoods. Membership benefits include: online membership directory listing one free newsletter ad company profile in newsletter our monthly email newsletter important industry updates by email a free banner ad on WHA’s website cost effective newsletter advertising networking at the Annual Meeting discounts on Association meeting registration
Joining is quick and easy. Use the online membership application and simply pay by credit card, www.westernhardwood.org.
A California hardwood supplier said
transportation issues are mild. They are
right in the supply line so their trucking runs
heavy. They utilize that supply line and run
their own trucks.
A supplier from Oregon said that
business is a little slower than it has been
throughout this year. While the month was
slower, he attributed most of that to seasonal
slow down. Some customers are extremely
busy and others are slow. August was very good and
September was average, but everything still points to good
conditions.
Ontario logging companies and sawmills ramped
up production following the wet summer
weather. Log supplies and mill output
increased despite tight controls for
processing whitewoods. The added
volume supported the growing demand for
all grades of lumber. The rise in U.S.
residential construction fueled the demand for millwork,
cabinets, furniture, flooring and moulding. Certain areas
across the province were also hit with floods during the
summer months, resulting in an increased demand for
repairs and replacement of these goods as well.
Comments in Quebec from several
hardwood industry companies noted that
business over the summer months has been
better than anticipated. With demand
holding up for most grades and species,
production was generally adequate,
although there was not a great deal of built up inventory.
From the market perspective, demand is slowly increasing.
This is being brought on by improved housing conditions
in the U.S. business picking up for railway ties and the oil
and gas sectors, as well for export markets.
In July, year-over-year growth in manufactur ing
production was 1.2 percent, the slowest pace of growth in
output for the sector since January 2010. It was the
culmination of weaknesses experienced among
manufacturers since mid-2012 as a global demand and
domestic uncertainties weighed heavily on overall
production, pushing it to disappointingly low levels. Since
then, however, we have begun to see a pickup in new
orders and overall sentiment. The year-over-year pace of
manufacturing production was 3.3 percent in the Federal
Reserve Board’s most recent industrial production report.
Manufacturing output has risen 1.1 percent in just the past
three months, with capacity utilization up from 75.7
percent to 76.2 percent over that time frame. - excerpted
from NAM Monday Economic Report
The Washington Forest Protection Association
hosted at a legislators panel at its recent annual meeting in
Olympia. The audience was privy to expectations that the
coming biennium would have a budget surplus. Each of
the four law-makers were encouraging about the prospect
of cooperation of the legislature and the forest products
industry to make gains in timber harvesting while
decreasing the fire danger with slash and forest floor
debris cleanup. Panel consisted of Senators Kirk Pearson
and Christine Rolfes and Representatives J.T. Wilcox and
Kathy Haigh. Discussing "A New Direction for
Washington" were Maia Bellon, Director, Dept of
Ecology; Carol Nelson, Director, Dept of Revenue; and
Joel Sacks, Director, Dept of Labor &
Industries. Similarly, they were positive in their
willingness to turn over a new leaf and cooperate with the
forest products industry. They recognize that forestry is
the 2nd largest industry in Washington employing 50,000
and contributing $5.5 Billion to the economy. There was a
atmosphere of a better future for the Washington economy
through a spirit of cooperation that we have not seen in
many years.
The ITC vote is in. The U.S. International Trade
Commission has made their decision in the case of unfair
trade of hardwood plywood imported from China. The
final determination was that U.S. industry is not
materially injured or threatened due to Chinese imports of
hardwood plywood sold at less than fair value. This
means there will be no new antidumping or
countervailing duty orders issued. The Coalition for Fair
Trade of Hardwood Plywood, who filed the unfair trade
petition, expressed disappointment.
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The U.S. Department of Agr iculture Animal and
Plant Service (USDA APHIS) recently updated its policy
concerning the acceptable proof of treatment for hardwood
lumber shipments to obtain a Phytosanitary Certificate. .
KD Verification
1) An authorized contracting officer will conduct a visual
inspection, verify the KD marks on the wood or cover,
and measure the moisture content to ensure it is below
20 percent. The marks must be from companies listed
in Appendix 1 of the Export Manual and specifically
display KD.
OR
2) A facility operated under the MOU PPQ has with the
National Hardwood Lumber Association (NHLA);
Phytosanitary certification is based on the treatment
certificate provided by the facility (See Appendix 2 of
the Export Manual). Shipments are subject to random
phytosanitary inspection.
OR
3) An ACO verifies the treatment meets the required
temperature and duration at the facility, as outlined in
chapter 7 of the Dry Kiln Operators Manual. The
facility must provide a copy of a kiln certification
(calibration) performed in the last year and validation
of low moisture content. Phytosanitary certification is
based on the verification of kiln inspection, the ACO’s
verification of treatment, recorded results and the
provided validation of moisture content.
The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) r ecently published
a final rule improving the agency’s ability to restore lands
affected by roads, trails, structures such as levees, culverts,
and drainage tiles and disturbance events such as floods
and hurricanes.
Three national Environmental Policy Act categorical
exclusions will be used when restoring uplands, wetlands,
flood plains and riparian systems to their natural
conditions by removing levees and other disturbance
events and restoring lands occupied by roads and trails.
Through these more efficient processes, the Forest Service
Upcoming Meetings
December 3, 2013 Markets, Methods, & Innovations Driving PNW Timber Production Vancouver, WA Email: [email protected]
December 18, 2013 Washington Hardwoods Commission Meeting Olympia, WA Email: w hc@wahardwoodscom m .com
January 15, 2014 WHA Board Meeting & Dinner Tualatin, OR Email: [email protected]
January 17-21,2014 Western Pallet Association Annual Meeting Rancho Mirage, CA Email: [email protected]
January 23, 2014 Mapping the Course Vancouver, WA Email: [email protected]
February 4 -5, 2014 How to Use Skyline XL & LogCost/Haul Spreadsheets Grand Mound, WA Email: [email protected]
February 11 -12, 2014 How to Use Skyline XL & LogCost/Haul Spreadsheets Redding, CA Email: [email protected]
Have upcoming event or company news? Let us know and we’ll help you get the word out, both here and on our website. Drop us a line and let us know!
2nd Annual
OWIC Wood Innovation Days
March 6-7, 2014 In previous Oregon Wood Innovation Center at Oregon
State University newsletters, you have learned about our
change to offering a BS degree in Renewable Materials.
We are excited that at 70 + students, our undergraduate
enrollment is now higher than any time in the last two
decades. This means that we have a much higher need
for internships for our students AND that there will be
many more highly qualified people to fill your entry-
level positions in the coming years. Last year, we devel-
oped a new event called OWIC Innovation Days in an
effort to help connect our students with industry profes-
sionals and to share the state-of-the art in innovation in
our industry. WHA is a partner in the program.
will speed the pace of restoration efforts and stimulate
rural economies by creating jobs.
“This rule will help us improve the resiliency, health
and diversity of our forests and grasslands,” said US.
Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell. “We will now be able
to move forward with our partners to focus more energy
on action, and less on paperwork, to restore more acres in
less time.”
AHEC conventions and seminars in Europe, Asia,
Latin America and the Middle East are vitally important to
U.S. hardwood promotion. The recently completed
meeting in Budapest focused on technological
developments and new markets that could provide U.S.
hardwood producers with opportunities to significantly
increase business in the future.. The main thrust of the
meeting was hardwood use in structural and exterior
applications—where hardwoods have traditionally seen
little use—and steps AHEC is taking to promote US.
Hardwoods in these markets.
AHEC helps the entire industry. From its
near D.C. and network
of overseas offices, AHEC effectively promotes
American hardwoods in over 50 worldwide markets.
Each year, AHEC sponsors and attends conventions,
expositions, meetings, grading courses and design
seminars, providing exporters with dozens of
opportunities to promote their products. AHEC is also
markets such as
the and nities in
The U.S. exports nearly 40% of all
grade to our estimates.
This China is on pace to over 600
million board feet (MMBF) of
to just 12 MMBF 1993, and total exports
are on pace to reach a 1.415 billion board feet.
AHEC activities have greatly to this
growth. AHEC
your you are a direct or
not. With industry AHEC could
even more to help the industry, and your
According to the American Hardwood Export
Council (AHEC), between 2007 and 2010, approximately
96% of US hardwood exports were concentrated in 4
main geographic regions: North America (Canada &
Mexico), Asia (East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia),
European Union and Middle East. In the past 5 years,
Asia has surpassed all other regions in the amount of
hardwoods being imported from the U.S. According to
AHEC, “China is now by far the biggest player across the
board.” Between 1999 and 2006, China’s consumption
of U.S. hardwood jumped due to a furniture
manufacturing shift from the U.S. and Mexico to China.
Between 2006 and 2009, U.S. hardwood exports
increased due to U.S. housing burst and worldwide
economic turmoil. In addition, between 2009 and 2012,
China’s consumption of U.S. hardwood more than
doubled, mostly to satisfy China’s growing middle class.
According to the Hardwood Leader (Oct. 2013), over the
next decade, as many as 280 million Chinese will move
from suburban areas to the cities, stimulating the housing
and furniture demand. This domestic demand for
hardwoods in China should continue to grow, resulting in
less wood products exported.
Vietnam is one of the primary countries in Asia that
has steadily increased the import of U.S. hardwoods,
attributing to a growing furniture and flooring market.
As U.S. hardwood manufacturers understand the new
EU “illegal wood” regulations it is expected they will
increase exports to the EU. The United Kingdom and
Italy were the top European importers of lumber and logs
from the U.S. in 2012. Increasing the need for U.S.
hardwoods, home renovations in Germany and the U.K.
have fueled the door, furniture, and flooring industry.
The Hardwood Federation reports on industry
issues:
HF is cautiously
optimistic about the chances
of increased funding for
Lacey Act enforcement in the
2014 and 2015 budgets. HF is working with their fellow
Lacey Act Coalition members on outreach, particularly to
members of the House and Senate appropriations
committees
The Senate Agriculture Committee's Subcommittee on
Conservation, Forestry and Natural Resources held a
hearing entitled, "Shortchanging Our Forests: How Tight
Budgets and Management Decisions Can Increase the
Risk of Wildfire". All witnesses, including Jim Hubbard,
the Deputy Chief of the US Forest Service agreed that
changes need to be made to US Forest management
practices in order to mitigate the risk of wildfire, including
increased timber harvests, NEPA reform and enhanced
pest control.
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This event will bring together primary producers, secondary producers, wholesalers, and importers and exporters for the opportunity to establish relationships and develop future business. Anyone who works with or supplies goods and services to attending companies will also benefit from the opportunity to make contact with key people.
A proposed rule listing creosote treated rail ties as a
"non-waste fuel" is pending at the Office of Management
Budget for review. Although the rule under review-the
Nonhazardous Secondary Material rule-is positive in that it lists these ties as fuels, the industry is concerned about
language in the proposed rule that would precondition
combustion of rail ties to only those boilers that are
"designed to burn" a comparable fuel. In the case of rail
ties, a comparable fuel is fuel oil, which requires that
boilers be equipped with nozzles and multi-fuel burners. The problem is that many boiler owners have eliminated
nozzles since they no longer use oil as a start-up
fuel. Thus, there is concern that retention of this language
would unnecessarily restrict use of rail ties as a fuel
source.
A coalition of environmental groups (Sier ra Club,
Dogwood Alliance, NRDC and others) sent a letter to the Senate last week asking for biomass to be removed from
the Sec. 45 production tax credit as well as programs at
DOE and in the Farm Bill that incentivize biomass
use. The letter is very critical of biomass as a renewable
energy source, citing that its emissions can be worse than
fossil fuels.
Earlier this week the chimney sweep we have used to
clean our chimney several times over the years showed up for his scheduled
appointment. This was the second time we
had set an appointment with him this
year. I'm not sure why he didn't follow
through the first time and had to
reschedule. When I answered the door, he
surprised me by saying, "You know, I forgot my cleats." It's true that we have a very steep roof. He
and his assistant walked around, gazing up at the roof a
little longer and then left. We didn't hear from him for
several days.
This is my question; how can a chimney sweep forget
his cleats? When I mentioned this to my wife, she said, "Well, not all roofs are as steep as ours." I know this,
but shouldn't a chimney sweep be prepared for all kinds of
roofs?
This is a dramatic example of not planning ahead,
failing to be prepared for every possibility. A lack of
adequate preparation almost always leads to
rework. Merriam-Webster's definition of rework is "to work again or anew." Rework is one of the most costly
occurrences in any business, and rework occurs in most
businesses far more than anyone realizes. Anytime
someone has to ask a question about an indistinguishable
specification or has to ask for additional information, that
is rework. Our challenge to you is to take an objective
look at your processes, methods, and most important of all, your standard practices. Look at the daily routines of
the people on your team. How often are they retracing
their steps, going back, before they can go forward -
getting a tool, checking a dimension, clarifying a
detail? Peter Drucker said over 25% of the work being
performed in most businesses is rework. Imagine what would happen to your throughput speed, customer service,
cost of materials, and profits if you could eliminate
rework. What if you could eliminate 25% of your activity,
25% of your labor costs, 25% of your material costs? It's
not just lowering your hard costs that you cut when you
eliminate rework; you improve morale; people don't like
doing the same thing over and over again. They especially don't like doing it over if someone gave them bad
information, they did it wrong, and now they have to do it
over again. If you are in a leadership role and you are
doing rework, you are providing a very poor example for
others to follow, and you help perpetuate a culture of
rework.
When you eliminate rework, customer service improves; customers don't like seeing rework and you
don't look professional when you show up
unprepared. Instead you look unreliable. People don't like
to have to ask the same question a second time, or have to
call the office for backup. Think how your lead times will
improve when you eliminate all rework. Would shorter required lead times give you a competitive
advantage? The action I call you to take is ask your team
at the end of the day, "Did you do any rework today?" If
their answer is "yes," ask, "What can we do to eliminate
it?" and then listen! away from the process that gives
them their desired outcome. Larry Dennis is the founder of Turbo Leadership Systems, an
executive team building and leadership skills development
organization. For more information about his programs, please visit
www.turbols.com.
AND ANOTHER THING..............An industrious farmer was always experimenting with breeding to perfect a better turkey. His family was especially fond of drumsticks for dinner and there were never enough for everyone. After many frustrating attempts, the farmer was relating the results of his breeding to friends at the local general store. "Well, I finally did it! I bred a turkey with six legs so everyone could have a drumstick," he said. They all asked how it tasted. "I don't know," said the farmer. "I could never catch the darn thing."
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