Forestry Production in New Zealand
For the year ended 31 March 2005
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Overview
Production of sawn timber, pulp, paper and paperboard, and panel products increased during the year ended 31 March 2005. Overall, the volume of wood processed within New Zealand in the year ended March 2005 rose 4.8 percent on the volume processed in the year ended 31 March 2004, even though the volume of wood harvested (roundwood removals) fell by 7.8 percent over the same period.
More recent figures indicate a scaling back in sawn timber production. This reduced production is due to a lack of profitability in some key markets and is reflected in the closure of sawmills and a lack of investment in new mill capacity. However, sawn timber capacity has increased in the Northland region and the Otago and Southland region.
The continued growth in production of panel products, particularly laminated veneer lumber (LVL), is a feature of production in the year ended March 2005. Plant capacity for LVL has increased 175 percent in the last five years. Japan and Australia are the major markets for all panel products.
Figure 1: Annual Production of Rough Sawn Timber
Production
Annual production volumes for sawn timber, pulp, paper and paperboard, veneer, LVL and plywood increased between the years ended 31 March 2004 and 2005 (see Table 1). In the same period, there were small decreases in the production of fibreboard and particleboard, and roundwood removals decreased 7.8 percent. High shipping costs and the strong New Zealand dollar have reduced the price competitiveness of New Zealand exports to key markets. As a result, exports of unprocessed logs and roundwood removals have decreased.
Over the last ten years there has been an overall upward trend in the production of sawn timber – increasing by almost 1.5 million cubic metres since 1995. Within this trend there is evidence of some cyclical variation, influenced by log prices and economic cycles in key overseas markets.
Table 1: Production volumes
| Product | Year ended 31 March 2005 |
Year ended 31 March 2004 |
% change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roundwood (000 m3) | 19 261 | 20 888 | -7.8 |
| Sawn timber (000 m3) | 4 407 | 4 209 | 4.7 |
| Pulp (000 tonnes) | 1 587 | 1 463 | 8.5 |
| Paper and paperboard (000 tonnes) | 921 | 845 | 9.0 |
| Fibreboard (000 m3) | 846 | 873 | -3.1 |
| Veneer (000 m3) | 694 | 629 | 10.4 |
| LVL (000 m3) | 226 | 183 | 23.7 |
| Plywood (000 m3) | 183 | 162 | 12.4 |
| Particleboard (000 m3) | 230 | 230 | -0.2 |
Regionally, noteworthy increases in sawn timber production in the year ended March 2005 occurred in Northland (up 32.7 percent on 2004 production), Southern North Island (up 22.4 percent), East Coast and Hawkes Bay (up 11.4 percent), Central North Island (up 8.5 percent) and Canterbury (up 7.3 percent). Production from Otago and Southland sawmills also continued to increase and the region now produces more sawn timber than any other region except for the Central North Island.
Pulp production appears to be near the peak of the usual five- to seven-year business cycle. However, the 8.5 percent increase in pulp production between the years ended March 2004 and 2005 is at least partially explained by the recovery in production levels after lengthy industrial action during the year ended March 2004.
Production of paper and paperboard is higher than ever before. Most of the increase reflects the upgrading of Norske Skog Tasman’s paper mill lines.
While the year ended March 2005 saw continued increases in the production of veneer, plywood and LVL, production levels of fibreboard fell 3.1 percent on 2004 levels. While part of the decrease can be explained by a major fire in one plant, it appears that other plants had extended shut-down periods during the March 2005 quarter, possibly using poor market conditions to take time for maintenance. In addition, there were two Easter shut-down periods in the year ended March 2005, with Easter falling in April 2004 and March 2005.
Sawn timber by species
Total production of rough sawn timber for the year ended 31 March 2005 was 4 407 000 cubic metres, an increase of 4.7 percent on the production of 4 209 000 cubic metres in the year ended 31 March 2004.
Radiata pine sawn timber production was 4 193 000 cubic metres (95.3 percent of the total annual planted production sawn timber production) and production of Douglas-fir sawn timber was 167 000 cubic metres (3.8 percent). Other planted production sawn timber species included Macrocarpa (19 800 cubic metres), Corsican pine (5 100 cubic metres) and Eucalyptus (3 400 cubic metres).
Rough sawn timber production sourced from indigenous forests was 13 000 cubic metres, down 18.8 percent on the volume produced in the year ended March 2004. The main indigenous forest sawn timber species were Beech (6 800 cubic metres), Rimu and Miro (5 000 cubic metres) and Kauri (600 cubic metres).
Capacity
Overall, there has been little change in wood processing capacity over the last year. Table 2 shows capacity based on the established number of working hours per working day at each mill as at 31 March 2005.
The closure of two medium-sized sawmills during the period and reduced operations in some other mills have resulted in a drop of approximately 100 000 cubic metres of sawn timber capacity. The increase in production in spite of a decrease in capacity indicates an increase in capacity usage (from 77 percent in the year ended March 2004 to 83 percent in the year ended March 2005). The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry’s annual survey of sawmills showed an estimated 389 mills currently producing sawn timber. Of these, 53 mills produce 85 percent of the total sawn timber output.
Table 2: Wood processing capacity
| Product | Year ended 31 March 2005 |
|---|---|
| Sawn timber (000 m3) | 5 328 |
| Pulp (000 tonnes) | 1 711 |
| Paper and paperboard (000 tonnes) | 975 |
| Fibreboard (000 m3) | 1 052 |
| Veneer (000 m3) | 884 |
| LVL (000 m3) | 312 |
| Plywood (000 m3) | 232 |
| Particleboard (000 m3) | 361 |
Pulp and paper capacity has been largely unchanged for several years. Currently, New Zealand’s pulp mills are operating at about 93 percent capacity, and paper and paperboard mills at 94 percent capacity.
There has been some reported increase in capacity for plywood, particleboard and fibreboard production.
Consumption
Changes in domestic per capita consumption of wood products over the last year reflect changes in production levels. A more interesting measure of domestic consumption is per capita consumption measured on a five-year moving average basis, which indicates little change overall. This latter measure is useful because annual consumption measures are sensitive to changes in stock levels. However, it should be noted that the growth in roundwood consumption on a five-year period does mask declining harvest levels since 2003.
Table 3: Consumption of wood products per capita
| Product | Year ended 31 March 2005 |
Year ended 31 March 2004 |
% change (annual) |
% Change (5-year moving average) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roundwood (m3) | 2 081 | 2 343 | -11.2 | 2.1 |
| Sawn timber (m3) | 645 | 637 | 1.3 | 1.0 |
| Pulp (kg) | 180 | 169 | 6.5 | -0.5 |
| Paper and paperboard (kg) | 189 | 187 | 1.1 | 1.1 |
| Fibreboard (m3) | 47 | 50 | -6.0 | 2.0 |
| Plywood including LVL (m3) | 71 | 62 | 14.5 | 14.6 |
| Particleboard (m3) | 27 | 32 | -15.6 | 0.0 |
Wood usage
Table 4 summarises log usage in the production of sawn timber, pulp, fibreboard and veneer.
Log input into sawmills makes up just over 40 percent of all logs harvested in New Zealand. Residues from sawmills are used for chipping for further input into panel products (such as veneer, plywood and LVL), for export or to burn as firewood to run the sawmill plants’ kilns.
Wood usage for pulp production in the year ended March 2005 totalled 5 309 000 tonnes. This comprised 3 288 000 tonnes of pulp logs, 455 000 tonnes of woodchips purchased from sources outside of the pulp mills and 1 566 000 tonnes of sawmill residues (excluding wood chips).
Table 4: Log usage
| Product | Year ended 31 March 2005 |
Year ended 31 March 2004 |
% change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sawn timber (000 m3) | 8 041 | 7 719 | 4.2 |
| Pulp (000 tonnes) | 3 288 | 2 906 | 13.2 |
| Fibreboard and particleboard (000 m3) | 830 | 870 | 3.2 |
| Veneer (000 m3) | 1 169 | 1 040 | 12.4 |
An estimated 1 700 000 cubic metres of wood was used in the production of fibreboard and particleboard in the year ended 31 March 2005. An estimated 830 000 cubic metres of logs were directly used in the production of fibreboard and particleboard. The balance (870 000 cubic metres) of the wood fibre used came from residues arising from other wood processing operations.
Published by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
PO Box 2526, Wellington, New Zealand
Tel: 64 4 894 0100 Fax: 64 4 894 0742
Web: www.maf.govt.nz Email: stats_info@maf.govt.nz
Published 23 May 2006
ISSN: 0114-5371
© Crown copyright 2006 – Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. This document may be copied providing its source is acknowledged.
While every effort has been made to ensure the information in this publication is accurate, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry does not accept any responsibility or liability for error of fact, omission, interpretation or opinion that may be present, nor for the consequences of any decisions based on this information.
Download accompanying tables as CSV Files
- Production of rough sawn timber [5KB CSV]
- Production of rough sawn timber by major species [10KB CSV]
- Production of rough sawn timber by major species and wood supply region [10KB CSV]
- Production of indigenous forest rough sawn timber for all species [5KB CSV]
- Production of planted production forest rough sawn timber for all species [5KB CSV]
- Production of rough sawn timber by mill size groups [5KB CSV]
- Sawmill conversion factors [5KB CSV]
- Production of wood pulp [5KB CSV]
- Production of paper and paperboard [5KB CSV]
- Production of veneer, plywood, laminated veneer lumber, particleboard and fibreboard [10KB CSV]
- Production, imports, exports and consumption of sawn timber [5KB CSV]
- Production, imports, exports and consumption of wood pulp [5KB CSV]
- Production, imports, exports and consumption of all paper and paperboard [5KB CSV]
- Production, imports, exports and consumption of plywood [5KB CSV]
- Production, imports, exports and consumption of particleboard [5KB CSV]
- Production, imports, exports and consumption of fibreboard [5KB CSV]
Contact for Enquiries
Monitoring and Evaluation
Innovation and Research Policy Directorate
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
Email: stats_info@maf.govt.nz
Phone: 64 4 894 0100
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