2018 International Forest Industries IFI Aug Sept 2018 Digital | Page 24

Western U.S.
sawmills produced
7.1% more lumber
in H1/2018
Western U.S. sawmills produced 7.406 billion
board ft. (bbf ) of softwood lumber in the first
half of 2018, a 7.1% increase from 6.915 bbf in
the first six months of 2017, the Western Wood
Products Assn. (WWPA) of Portland, Oregon,
reported.
Of the six-month total, Coastal mills
accounted for 4.678 bbf, up 8.1% from 4.326 bbf
last year, while inland mills produced 2.517 bbf,
up 6.8% from 2.356 bbf in the first half of 2017.
California redwood production dropped to 212
million board ft. (mmbf ), down 9.4% from 234
mmbf in the previous year.
In June alone, Western U.S. sawmills
produced 1.226 bbf, a decline of 1.0% from 1.239
bbf in the year before, and down 4.3% from 1.281
bbf in May 2018.
Coastal mills contributed 766 mmbf to June’s
output, a year-over-year gain of 0.7% from 770
mmbf, but down 3.6% from 805 mmbf in May
2018. Inland mills accounted for 408 mmbf –
down 3.3% from 422 mmbf a year earlier, and
down 5.8% from 433 mmbf in the previous
month.
California redwood production in June was
43 mmbf, an 8.9% year-over-year drop from 47
mmbf, and 1.1% lower that output in May 2018
of 43 mmbf.
Western softwood lumber inventories in June
grew 5.4% to 1.231 bbf from last year’s 1.167 bbf.
Production as a percent of practical capacity
was 83% in June, level with 83% in May 2018
and up from 80% in June last year. Average
production as a percent of practical capacity for
the six months to June was 83%, up from 77% in
the first half of 2017.
Dieffenbacher to
supply OSB dryer
to Vanachai
Vanachai has ordered from Dieffenbacher a
32-meter long, 6-meter diameter drum dryer, a
wet strand bin and automation of the front-end
from the debarker to the strander.
After the particleboard and MDF boom
of earlier years, OSB production is gaining
momentum in the Southeast Asian wood-
based panel market. Confirming this trend is
the first continuous OSB plant in Thailand,
being constructed for the Vanachai Group, one
of the leading Asian particleboard and MDF
manufacturers.
22 International Forest Industries | AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2018