Importance of rubberwood in wood export of Malaysia and Thailand

We examined the contribution of rubberwood to the timber export markets of Malaysia and Thailand. In Malaysia, rubberwood has grown from 26% of total exported wood products in 1998 to 35% in 2007. A high proportion of furniture products (80%) is rubberwood, whereas the contribution of rubberwood to other wooden products is less than 20%. Only 10% of sawn timber and logs is rubberwood. In Thailand, rubberwood contributes to around 60% of total exported wood products, arising from a high share of not only furniture products (70%) but also other wood products (around 50%) and sawn timber and logs, which have increased in share from 40% in 1998 to 79% in 2007. We conclude that the high proportion of rubberwood products in the wood export markets of these two countries is a result of: (1) scarcity of raw wood materials because of strict controls on the logging of natural forests; and (2) governmental support to rubberwood production, including financial support to rubber planters and technical assistance to downstream timber processors.     

Timber Demand and Supply in Northwest Vietnam: The Roles of Natural Forests and Planted Trees

Households and wood processing businesses in the provinces of Son La, Dien Bien and Lai Chau in the Northwest of Vietnam were surveyed to determine patterns of local wood demand and supply, changes in species utilized over time, and whether timber from planted trees might substitute for species previously harvested from local natural forests. In each province, 5–6 sawmills and 4–6 villages representing 3 main ethnic groups were selected for investigation. Managers of selected sawmills and 3–4 randomly selected households in each village were interviewed using semi-structured questionnaires. There was high and uniform household demand for fuelwood in the surveyed villages, making fuelwood the dominant use, in terms of wood volume. Use of sawn timber for furniture, home repair and construction consumed less wood but required logs of acceptable species. Sawmills surveyed were small, with input capacity ranging from <15 to 500 m³ of logs per year, suggesting a total log requirement of about 30,000 m³/year for the 192 known wood processing businesses in the three provinces. Most sawmills still used wood from natural forests, sourced locally or imported from Laos. A trend of switching from prized timber species from natural forests, now effectively unavailable, to alternatives from natural and planted forests was reported by both sawmills and households. Some planted species grown on short-medium rotations appear able to substitute for local sawn timber requirements.     

Portable sawmills in a high-value rainforest cabinet timber industry in North Queensland

This paper examines the role and use of portable sawmills in north Queensland. Using a semi-structured questionnaire and personal interviews, the opinions of 18 operators of portable and fixed-site sawmills were canvassed on a number of issues including main problems faced by the local industry, current sources of timber, sawn timber recovery rates of their operations, willingness to purchase new milling and other equipment, opinions about why (or if) portable sawmills can sell timber at a lower cost than fixed-site mills, and destinations of sawn timber milled. The most critical issues faced by sawmillers were the lack of resource security and competing products, in particular competition from imported tropical timbers from neighbouring island countries including Papua New Guinea. Most sawmillers in north Queensland currently obtain logs mainly from private landholdings and are hesitant to invest in new equipment due to concerns about future log supplies. This paper also explores the current and potential role of portable sawmills in the regional small-scale forestry industry. An examination of policy issues suggests that there may be a need for new legislation to cover employees, sawn timber consumers and sawmillers themselves. The future role of portable sawmills may require a co-operative approach that emphasizes low volume value-adding, due to the decreasing supply of logs in North Queensland. This paper is based on research undertaken for a Master of Commerce by the first author (Smorfitt 2000). All authors are members of the Rainforest CRC, which has provided financial support for the research reported here. The assistance of Mr I. Venables in providing comment on the questionnaire for portable sawmillers is gratefully acknowledged.     

Identification of Value-adding Strategies in the Swedish Sawn Wood Industry

Swedish sawmills are increasing their application of value-adding processes in sawn wood production. This study identified the most common value-adding combinations used by the Swedish sawmills. Data were obtained from a survey of Swedish sawmills in 1995 and from industry statistics. Nine different groupings of sawmills with regard to the level and types of value-adding technologies were identified by cluster analysis. The largest group added value only to marginal quantities of their production. Eight other groups that applied different combinations of value-adding processes were identified. Drying and planing were important elements in several strategies. Adding value to the sawn wood is not a homogeneous strategy; instead it includes several ways to focus production on different products and customer groups. Advanced value-adding processes often generated a higher unit profit margin than the production of commodity sawn wood.     

2008年上半年我国进口木材市场分析

今年上半年我国进口原木数量开始以较大幅度下降,进口锯材数量增幅也变缓。原木和锯材是我国林产品进口中的大宗商品,近年来均以较高的增速连年增长,而今年上半年进口额大幅度下降的趋势,必将对我国的木材进口企业和木材加工企业产生较大的影响,应引起我国木材行业的高度重视。     

上海木材工业的现状及今后发展的几点设想

介绍了上海本材工业改革开放20年的现状、木制品需求和原料结构，分析了实施天然林资源保护工程对它的影响，提出了有关今后发展的一些设想。     

Combined production of sawn timber and firewood billets at a birch sawmill in Finland: A simulation approach

Abstract

Growing markets for chopped firewood have created alternative uses for the by-products of sawmills. Based on empirical data and simulated results, the potential of birch (Betula pendula Roth, Betula pubescens Ehrh.) from commercial thinnings for combined industrial production of sawn timber and firewood billets was investigated. In the simulations, different sawing patterns were used for logs intended to combine production of sawn timber and billets for chopped firewood (‘sawlogs’), and for logs intended only to firewood production (‘firewood logs’). Finally, economical feasibility analysis was done concerning the differences between the sawmills’ traditional business concept and the novel concept combining sawn wood and firewood production. The bucking results for the volume yield of different timber assortments varied only slightly between the different bucking options, i.e. the combinations of timber assortments. The main differences in the volumes of timber assortments were due to the stand type where the birch trees were sampled (planted, naturally regenerated, mixed birch–spruce). In the sawing procedure, the output of sawn timber varied between 24% and 42% of the log volume in the sawlogs, depending on the log diameter class. As the volume yield of sawn timber and firewood billets was counted together in the case of sawlogs, the log consumption was c. 1.75 m³ of roundwood per 1 m³ of sawn timber and firewood billets. In the case of the firewood logs, the log consumption rate was considerably lower, only c. 1.35. The economic calculations showed that using the firewood approach in sawing may increase the net added value of products by €1.9–5.4 m^?3 of logs, depending on their diameter class. As a conclusion, parallel production of sawn timber and firewood from logs from the first and second commercial thinning of birch-dominated stands is a concept that could work as an alliance between a sawmiller and a firewood entrepreneur. The concept could be competitive compared with both traditional sawmilling and production of chopped firewood.     

80年代世界林产工业发展概况

文章分别介绍了８０年代发达国家和发展中国家的森林工业政策和实施措施；分析了８０年代世界林产工业发展的特点，对工业材、薪炭材、纸和纸板、人造板等的生产及其增长情况进行了详细论述。     

RAINFALL INTERCEPTION BY GRASS

Forestry and forest industry in the Republic of South Africa are compared first with other primary and secondary industries in the country with regard to capital invested, value of output, number of employees, salaries and wages paid out, and export earnings.

Secondly, South Africa is compared with other countries with regard to forest area, growth and timber output, and per caput consumption of forest products.     

天然林保护工程对木材相关行业的影响及对策

天然林保护工程实施后,我国木材产量将调减1236万m3,到2000年,中国木材供需缺口将达5600万m3,其中大径材缺口将超过2000万m3.森工企业面临转型,传统木材工业调整经济结构,林业商品生产重点南移,木材相关行业如造纸业、家具业、建筑业及新兴的室内装饰业将受到严重影响。为解决国家木材供需矛盾,我国仍将立足国内,扩大进口,大力发展速生丰产林,挖掘其它资源,并加强木材节约代用。面对此形势,林产工业应采取先进加工工艺,调整产品种类和产品结构,满足市场和用户需求。     

Integrated production of semi-finished components in sawmills,part II: Management of internal operations

Recently, several Swedish sawmills have taken over production of components from customers in the furniture, joinery and house-manufacturing industries. The purpose of this study was to identify key factors in management of internal operations for sawmills with this strategy. A multiple case study design, based on face-to-face interviews with Swedish sawmill practitioners and on various forms of secondary data, produced comprehensive research information. Starting integrated production of components is a demanding strategy for sawmills. It requires deep knowledge about the customer and qualified skills in advanced further-processing of sawn wood. The complexity of quality management, production planning and cost calculation increases, and investments in processing equipment and customer relations reduce strategic flexibility. The diverging material flow complicates sawmills' possibilities to economize on scale, and they must instead economize on other factors, such as scope, combined operations and internal control. New tools for production follow-up and control, for production planning, for analysis of product profitability and for strategic partnership analysis are requested by practitioners. But, even if new analysis tools would facilitate better analysis and management of operations, the willingness and ability to innovate and learn among the personnel emerges as a key factor for success.     

染色木材光变色与防止的研究进展

染色木材与木材一样,作为室内装修和家具用材,这些制品的表面均会受到各种环境因素的影响而发生劣化.特别是光的劣化或降解直接影响染色木材的装饰效果.笔者对国内外染色木材的光致变、褪色机理和规律及防止措施的研究进展进行了综合阐述.     

制材设备的发展及趋势

笔者从世界各国森林资源状况、制材产品和制材工艺技术发展的角度,围绕世界制材行业高生产率、高出材率、高木材利用率、高成材质量、高附加值和多产品品种的发展特点,分析了制材设备的发展及趋势:1)传统制材设备向数控化、智能化方向发展;2)为满足森林资源和制材产品变化,制材设备向多样化发展;3)为适应制材工艺技术的发展,制材设备向柔性化、创新化发展。这将为我国木材资源的高效利用和制材工业又好又快的发展提供有益借鉴。     

Simulated yield and quality distribution of sawn timber from final felling in a Norway spruce [Picea abies (L.) Karst.] stand with varying thinning regimes: A case study

Abstract

An integrated simulation tool, formed by integrating the InnoSIM sawing simulation system with the RetroSTEM simulator, was used to convert available wood raw materials from final felling into sawn timber, allowing for calculation of the three-dimensional wood properties of individual stems (stem geometry, heartwood formation, knottiness) as well as the volume, quality and value of sawn timber in a Norway spruce stand with different thinning regimes (unthinned, normal and intensively thinned). Based on the input data of sawing patterns, the simulations indicate that there are relatively small differences (<8%) in the volume yield (m³ha^?1) of sawn goods resulting from sawlogs available from final felling with different thinning practices. However, intensive thinning yielded the largest stem diameters and the greatest volumes (m³ha^?1) of large-sized centre goods (thickness: 50, 63, 75 mm) of rather poor quality. Normal thinning yielded the largest volume of A-grade side boards and centre goods (m³ha^?1), as well as the best total value ([euro]ha^?1) of sawn timber. Differences observed in sawn timber quality distribution can contribute to even more significant variation in value yields, if pricing mechanisms of timber products change to favour higher grade timber products.     

日本林产品供需现状与林业政策走向

日本是世界上林业发达国家之一, 面对林业生产衰退和地震灾害, 通过林业政策调整实现了木材供需改善和林业产业体系改造, 因此研究日本林业生产现状和政策走向对我国林业现代化建设具有重要的借鉴意义。文中介绍了日本林业产业总体发展态势, 重点分析了原木生产情况以及锯材、胶合板、人造板等木材加工企业情况, 概述了日本木材供给需求变化和木材进出口变化以及应对这些变化的最新林业政策和发展规划, 特别是林业需求促进政策的新变化和新内容, 并借鉴日本经验提出了促进中国林业现代化发展的几点政策建议。     

国际金融危机前后中美主要木质林产品出口变化分析

分析中关两国2005—2012年主要木质林产品和木质家具的出口变化情况。结果表明：中美两国在两个时期内（2005—2008年、2009—2012年）主要林产品出口额变化差距较大。2009～2012年与2005—2008年相比,美国出口的主要林产品有所增长,但增幅不大;相反,中国出口的主要林产品大幅增长。林产品出口区域方面,中国在纸浆、原木和锯材进口方面已经跃居为美国林产品第一大出口国,另外近年来美国主要林产品出口国涌现出新成员,如韩国、越南、印度等。受美国金融危机的影响,2009年美国各主要林产品的出口受到严重影响。纸和纸板、纸浆和纸制品的出口贸易额跌幅最为显著;从跌幅比例来看,刨花板、单板和胶合板下跌百分比较大,分别为45．58％、30．99％和26．17％。2009年中国主要林产品的出口较2008年下降10．25％,其中刨花板、单板和胶合板下降比例最大,分别达到29．49％、29．21和25．78％,对纸和纸板出口的影响最小,降幅为2．30％。     

Log sawing positioning optimization and log bucking of tropical hardwood species to increase the volume yield

The sawmill industry is a very important link in the Mozambique forest products value chain, but the industry is characterized by undeveloped processing technology and high-volume export of almost unrefined logs. The low volume yield of sawn timber has been identified as a critical gap in the technological development of the industry. To improve the profitability of the industry, there is thus a need to develop methods and techniques that improve the yield. In this paper, different positioning of logs prior to sawing and the possibility of increasing the volume yield of crooked logs by bucking the logs before sawing have been studied. A computer simulation was used to study the cant-sawing and through-and-through sawing of the logs to determine the volume yield of sawn timber from the jambirre (Millettia stuhlmannii Taub.) and umbila (Pterocarpus angolensis DC.) species. The optimal position, i.e. the position of the log before sawing that gives the highest volume yield of sawn timber for a given sawing pattern when the positioning parameters, offset, skew and rotation, are considered gave a considerable higher volume yield than the horns-down position. By bucking very crooked logs and using the horns-down positioning before sawing, the volume yield can be of the same magnitude as that obtained by optimal positioning on full-length (un-bucked) logs. The bucking reduces the crook of the logs and hence increases the volume yield of sawn timber.     

Process-based analysis of added value in forest product industries

Manufacturing products with greater added value is increasingly viewed as a strategic goal of forest products industries. Added value is defined here as the difference in economic value between the physical inputs and outputs of a production process, and is generally analysed at the firm or national economy level. In this study we identify and discuss issues involved in quantifying added value at the industrial process level, and develop a bottom-up method to estimate the value added by forest industry processes. We calculate the value added by 14 traditional and emerging processes within the Swedish forest products industries, and express the results using various indices. We find that the type of biomass input strongly influences the potential for adding value, with sawlogs allowing more added value and being less sensitive to input price fluctuations than pulpwood and forest residues. Structural wood products such as lumber and glue-laminated beams are found to give the greatest value added. Co-production of multiple products from a single raw material increases total value added. Integrating the value chain of pulp and paper production significantly increases the value added to pulpwood. Multiple conversion processes exist for using forest residues as fuel, with a range of potential added value. Consideration of the climate benefits of forest product use, through the application of a carbon tax, significantly increases the added value.     

国外小径原木加工与利用现状及进展

小径原木是当今世界上主要的木材资源之一,各国均在积极开发利用。文内着重介绍了林业发达国家在研究小径原木的材性特征和主要产品加工工艺特点等方面所取得的成果和经验。