- Road Transport
- Rail Transport
- Sea Transport
- Lyttelton Port Company Ltd
- Port of Timaru Ltd
- Water
- Energy
- Land
- Labour and Employment
- Education and Training
Infrastructure for Forestry
The major facilities required to support forestry and wood processing are road and rail transport, ports, energy, water, land and labour.
Canterbury is well served with highway standard and secondary roading systems. The extensive alluvial plains provide easy transport routes and low-cost road maintenance. Canterbury’s road and rail transport infrastructure is capable of handling the predicted increases in wood volumes.
Christchurch and Timaru are located near the centre of Tranz Rail Limited’s east coast main trunk line, which runs the length of the South Island connecting the ports of Picton and Bluff. The ports at Lyttelton and Timaru are also serviced by rail. The West Coast/Canterbury railway line connects with the East Coast line at Rolleston, about 20 kilometres south of Christchurch.
The West Coast line has long been used for transporting timber into Canterbury. The rail link to Canterbury is strategically important because there are no major export ports on the West Coast, and there is minimal local demand.
Rail transport can be more cost effective than road transport, particularly over long distances. This means higher-value logs from forests in Marlborough, the West Coast and Otago can be more readily available to Canterbury processors. Veneer logs and better grades of timber for high added value processing are commonly sourced from as far afield as Southland or South Westland.
Rail use is expected to increase. Proximity to rail offers forest owners wider marketing opportunities, provides low-impact transport for the increasing volumes of logs and processed products, and reduces potential conflict with road users in urban areas.
Canterbury’s major ports at Lyttelton and Timaru have a wide range of log and timber export facilities.
Lyttelton port, 12 kilometres from Christchurch, is the South Island’s largest port with an annual trade of about seven million tonnes. Wood product exports account for approximately 10 percent of export volumes.
Cashin Quay at Lyttelton has two large container cranes. Maximum draught for the four Cashin Quay berths is 12.2 metres and the combined berth length is 860 metres. The three inner harbour wharves are 210 metres, 270 metres, and 290 metres in length, with a maximum draught of 11.2 metres. Lyttelton is the deepest commercial container port in the South Island.
The major forestry export markets serviced from Lyttelton are Australia, Asia, North America and Europe.
Timaru port has a deep draught harbour and can be used to top up log boats that have been partially loaded at other ports.
The port has nine berths in total. Two of these are suitable for container handling and two are regularly used for log exports. Container vessels up to 228 metres in length, 10.5 metres draught, and log vessels up to 200 metres in length, 10.0 metres draught, can be accommodated.
Log export shipments are accumulated at a six hectare, multi-user harbourside log yard at Evans Bay on the south side of the port.
Significant volumes of processed wood products, both containerised and in pack form, are exported from Timaru utilising regular container/breakbulk shipping services to Asia Pacific ports. Products come from as far away as Invercargill, Nelson and the West Coast.
Wood chips from Canterbury and the West Coast are exported through Timaru.
Figure 6: Sawn Timber Exports from Canterbury Ports
Source: Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
Figure 7: Log Exports from Canterbury ports
Source: Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
Canterbury’s six major rivers (Waitaki, Rangitata, Rakaia, Waimakariri, Hurunui and Waiau) have their headwaters in the Southern Alps. All flow east, creating huge aquifers beneath parts of the Canterbury plains. Ten small but significant rivers drain eastern hill country and cross the plains. The river systems are highly valued, and maintaining base flows during seasonal droughts is an important management objective for local authorities.
Although all the major rivers have sufficient average flows for high water consumption wood processing plants, low seasonal water flows could cause problems (except on the Waitaki River). Processing industries with low water requirements will have greater siting flexibility and can expect less opposition to resource consents than those with high water requirements.
In 1998 New Zealand’s wood processing industry is estimated to have accounted for around 12 percent of the country’s energy consumption. Of this, 86 percent was consumed by pulp and paper production. Panelboard production and kiln drying sawn timber used most of the remainder. The potential for co-generation of energy has been realised by the forest industry, which nationally produces around 50 percent of the energy it consumes.
The former Ministry of Commerce (Energy and Resources Division) estimated that only one-third of New Zealand’s potential hydro resource has been developed, and most of this is in the South Island. Canterbury’s hydro-electricity plant generates 1660 megawatts, about 35 percent of New Zealand’s capacity, and greater capacity is available in Canterbury and surrounding South Island regions. Electricity is distributed through the national grid.
An analysis of the land area in the Canterbury wood flow region that is suitable for forestry and is "available" for productive use is summarised in Table 6. Most new planting is occurring on LUC Class VI land which is mainly gentle to steep hill country that is not suited for cultivation.
Table 6: Potential Land Bank for Planted Production Forestry in Canterbury
(hectares)
| Land Use Type | Area (ha) |
| LUC Class I | 16 000 |
| LUC Class II | 166 000 |
| LUC Class III | 345 000 |
| LUC Class IV | 268 000 |
| LUC Class V | 3 000 |
| LUC Class VI | 549 000 |
| LUC Class VII | 127 000 |
| Total potential land bank | 1 474 000 |
Source: Ministry of Forestry and Landcare Research, 1996
Notes:
(1) Rivers, lakes and urban areas account for an additional 139 000 hectares
(2) Land excluded from the potential land bank accounts for an additional 2 272 000 hectares and includes:
- All land over 900 metres in altitude
- All natural and planted forest
- All the Department of Conservation estate
- Areas of wetlands, as defined by the New Zealand Land Resource Inventory (NZLRI) (LUC classes Vw, Viw, VIIw)
- All LUC class VIII land defined by the NZLRI
- Other unsuitable land units as defined by the NZLRI (LUC classes VIIe7, VIIe24, VIIs5, VIIs6, VIIs9, VIIs10).
The availability of a skilled local workforce is an important ingredient in the success of primary production and manufacturing ventures. Canterbury has a large pool of skilled labour, as well as business development and professional services.
Table 7: Employment in Forestry and First Stage Processing in Canterbury as at
February 1999 by ANZSIC Codes (number of full time equivalents)
| ANZSIC Code | Total |
|||
| A030100 | Forestry | 324 |
||
| A030200 | Logging | 188 |
||
| A030300 | Services to Forestry | 114 |
||
| C231100 | Sawmilling | 478 |
||
| C231300 | Timber Resawing and Dressing | 145 |
||
| C232100 | Plywood and Veneer Manufacturing | 140 |
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| C232200 | Fabricated Wood Manufacturing | 120 |
||
| C233100 | Pulp, paper and paperboard | 6 |
||
| Total forestry and first stage processing | 1 515 |
|||
Source: Statistics New Zealand
Note:
(1) ANZSIC is the acronym for Australia and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification
Forestry and harvesting training, together with pre-entry courses, provide the basis for training newcomers to forest management. Training opportunities include professional studies at university level, polytechnic forestry modules, Forest Industry Training (the Industry Training Organisation for the forest industry) courses, and forestry courses run by private trainers.
Tertiary forestry and forestry related courses are offered at the University of Canterbury and at Lincoln University. In addition to the Bachelor of Forestry Science degree at Canterbury, there is a Bachelor of Engineering (Forestry) degree that comprises courses from the Schools of Forestry and Engineering, and the Department of Natural Resource Engineering at Lincoln University. It is also possible to undertake a Bachelor of Commerce degree with an emphasis on forestry. A postgraduate Diploma in Forestry, Master of Forestry Science and Doctor of Philosophy are available.
Lincoln University offers a Bachelor of Commerce (Forestry), and Bachelor degrees in Commerce and Management, Engineering (Natural Resources), Resource Studies, and Recreation Management. A range of graduate and postgraduate certificate courses and postgraduate studies (Masters and Doctor of Philosophy) are also offered.
Contact for Enquiries
Policy Analyst - Forestry
Innovation and Research
MAF Policy
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
PO Box 2526
Wellington
NEW ZEALAND
Tel: +64 4 894 0100
Fax: +64 4 894 0741
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