Rising to the challenge

WITH LIFE ON HOLD, FROM THE GALLIPOLI ANZAC DAY SERVICES TO our own Safetree conference, it’s a big ask for business to go on hold too. Sadly that has been the inevitable result of the Coronavirus crackdown. We’ve all heard the statistics – some 30 percent of the country’s logging crews are unable to work amid the supply chain disruption and no one knows how long the situation will last. Not surprisingly, the latest MPI SOPI forestry forecast reports that exports for the year to June 2020 are expected to drop 17.9% to $5.7 billion – $0.5 billion lower than the December forecast.

And Covid-19 is having broader effects on the forestry sector, impacting the supply chain and raising on-the-ground issues like Health & Safety of employees and their families. First in, it looks like China may also be first out as Chinese workers slowly head back to work, but ‘normal’ business activity is still a way off. With almost no offtake of logs in China for processing at the time of going to print, NZ forestry is still feeling the pinch.

SNI Wood Council CEO, Erica Kinder points out that while there is hope of movement from wharves to factories and processors in China, large volumes of wood already in China and lowered labour capacity will impact New Zealand for a good few months, even once things get moving.

However, there is some light in the woods, as the SOPI report predicts exports for the year to June 2021 are expected to recover 6.4% to $6.0 billion. And the NZ government’s recently announced $12.1 billion support package offers some relief, though it may already be too late for many, with contractors having had little choice but to lay off skilled workers.

Nonetheless there are some good news stories out there. A strong domestic market in Nelson and Marlborough is seeing through the top of the south, with two medium-sized saw mills in Blenheim. Amid shorter weeks and reduced quotas, forest workers who have lost their jobs are also now being offered work in the horticultural sector which experiences perennial labour shortages. Silvicultural work too, goes on, including pruning, thinning and preparing for the new season of replanting.

Then there are forest roads and landings which will need to be harvest-ready when markets do recover, and farmers have jumped in to offer work to forest workers while the larger forest companies are assisting smaller contractors with business management and financial advice. Our Timber focus this issue takes a look at another inventive option for loggers: when we can’t sell our logs, we can produce timber.

Of course, this all raises the question of how we will gain back a skilled workforce when this is all over – a bridge to cross when we get there.

Meanwhile, trees continue to grow and the industry rises to meet challenges. Perfectly illustrated by another two of our features this month – Tall Timber which takes a look at the voice of experience and New Blood which welcomes the enthusiasm of youth. The wheeled harvester featured in this month’s Iron Test speaks to the industry’s spirit of innovation.

Nobody has a crystal ball and it is unknown how long this disruption will continue. In the meantime, life has to go on as we adapt to a ‘new normal’. This is by no means the first time the industry has encountered adversity and it won’t be the last.

Until next time, stay safe.