2018 International Forest Industries December 2017 January 2018 | Page 10

LOGGING & BIOMASS NEWS
Small NZ port supplying world’s biggest timber importer
Pine trees moving across
Gisborne’s port meet an
astonishing six percent of China’s
total international demand for
soft wood, says Eastland Port
General Manager Andrew Gaddum.
The January to June 2017 figures
extracted from online industry
newsletter WoodWeek reiterate
what a significant player this
region is in a global business,
worth billions.
“Six percent may not sound like
much but when you consider that
the Chinese soft wood log market
was worth a staggering $US2.2
billion for the first half of this year,
then that’s monumental,” says
Eastland Port General Manager
Andrew Gaddum.
China is the world’s biggest
importer of timber. Nearly a quarter
(24%) of China’s soft wood comes
from New Zealand, with Russia the
second biggest supplier at 23%.
Figures from the report show that
of the 6.2 million cubic metres of
soft wood (Pinus radiata) that left
New Zealand for China in the first
half of this year, 17.5% or 1,080291
cubic metres came out of Gisborne
over the same period.
“Every time you see a log it’s
phenomenal to consider it’s going
across the wharves of a pint-sized
port at the bottom of the world and
making a big dent in wood supply
for the world’s biggest consumers.
And because of that international
demand, thousands of this region’s
families are benefiting.”
Mr Gaddum says the industry’s
attention to sustainable forest
harvesting means there’s a
continuing cycle of planting
and growth, known as rotation.
“Certainly, everyone is working
towards sustainability in this
industry for a long time yet.”
As further evidence of local
industry strength Eastland Port
recorded a solid September for
log throughput, and a significant
milestone. “Overnight, on 21
September, we handled the 2
millionth tonne of wood for this
calendar year. We’ve reached that
2 million tonne mark six weeks
ahead of last year,” says Mr
Gaddum.
This September, 225,274
tonnes of wood was loaded onto
10 log vessels. It would have been
more had bad weather not trapped
two ships at Port of Tauranga
as the month clicked over to
October. As part of its twin berth
development plans Eastland Port
submitted its first resource consent
application (to rebuild wharf 6
and 7, and reshape the slipway)
to Gisborne District Council this
month.
John Deere opens regional parts distribution center in Miami
The new John Deere Worldwide
Parts Services Regional
Distribution Center (RDC) is
officially open in south Florida.
The 115,000 square foot facility in
Miami will serve all Latin America
countries, except Brazil, Argentina
and Mexico, which currently have
in-country RDC locations. The
distribution center provides timely
and efficient delivery of more than
38,000 service parts to dealers,
and customers.
Latin America dealers were
previously serviced from the
North America Parts Distribution
Center in Milan, IL, and the South
America Parts Distribution Center
in Campinas, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Positioning inventory in Miami to
support the Latin America market
will improve cycle time on machine
down (emergency) orders and
stock orders.
“We’ve seen significant growth
in Latin America the last few
years and the opening of this
distribution center will allow us to
take our parts service to the next
level,” said Kimberly Beardsley,
vice president, Worldwide Parts
Services. “Centralizing regional
demand via the Miami gateway will
create a more consistent delivery
experience and consolidate
demand patterns to support dealer
parts management activities.”
8 International Forest Industries | DECEMBER 2017 / JANUARY 2018