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TIMBER PRODUCTS February 2018 HT Newsletter Volume: 02/19/2018
Online Newsletter
Matt McGowan - WPM Program Manager
mmcgowan@tpinspection.com
mmcgowan@tpinspection.com
Office: 770.785.4769
Mobile: 678.480.2451
Mobile: 678.480.2451
For more information on the IPPC program
Please contact:
Matt McGowan
WPM Program Manager
Conyers GA
Office 770.785.4769
Mobile 678.480.2451
mmcgowan@tpinspection.com
The unauthorized and/or fraudulent use of the TP IPPC mark is illegal and a situation we take seriously. Anyone with information regarding the misuse of IPPC marks should contact TP's WPM Manager immediately. Thank you for helping to protect the integrity of the ISPM 15 program which is vital to our business and economy.
N.A. Lumber Industry Starts 2018 in High Gear
Demand, especially from retailers, continues to be so strong that many North American sawmills are actually able to grow their order files.
As Madison’s anticipated at the end of 2017, the North American lumber market is back in high gear as customers in Canada and the US keep up with high demand.
Significant volumes of 2x8 construction framing lumber arrived at the US eastern seaboard from various EU sawmills (generally Germany but also some Scandinavian countries), which—once it was ripped down to 2x4s—proved to not meet US building standards. This sent desperate-for-supply resellers in the locations directly affected to several ESPF producers in Canada.
Otherwise, sawmills are back and running after holiday breaks, maintenance and weather closures. Log supply remains the biggest concern in the west, as many operators are still waiting to find out how much of their respective timber access has been directly impacted by the massive wildfires last year.
Courtesy of Keta Kosman Forest2Market
SYP Hits New High in February
As we get into the swing of a new year, the lumber market continues to feel the collaborative effects that helped drive southern yellow pine (SYP) prices to sustained high levels throughout most of 2017. Forest2Market’s southern yellow pine lumber composite recently hit its highest level ($450/mbf) since we began compiling the data over eight years ago.
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is also on the radar as we head into President Trump’s second year in office. The odds of the President leaving NAFTA untouched are not particularly high in the near term, but the US, Canada and Mexico are still at odds over a number of important points; the latest round of talks resulted in little headway.
Another year of sustained high lumber prices in 2018 will also not do much to help an already tight housing market; high prices are forecast to add over $5,000 to the cost of a new US home.
The composite southern yellow pine lumber price soared well above the $400/mbf mark throughout January and into February. Week 5’s price was at $450/mbf, which is up sharply from week 4’s $427/mbf mark. Week 5’s price is 12 percent above its January 2018 starting point of $402/mbf, and 18 percent above the 2017 week 5 price of $381/mbf.
Courtesy of Marcus Hunter Forest2Market
"We must reject the idea that every time a law's broken, society is guilty rather than the lawbreaker. It is time to restore the American precept that each individual is accountable for his actions."
Ronald Reagan
Reused/Pass Through Pallets
ALSC has advised that the term “Pass-Through” is not recognized by IPPC because ISPM 15 does not directly define it. ISPM 15 does define a "Reused" pallet which by definition is synonymous with how the "Pass Through" pallet is defined. Therefore, going forward we will consider the terms "Pass Through" and “Reused” as describing the same thing.
ISPM 15 4.3.1 defines “Reused" (Pass Through) WPM as:
"A unit of wood packaging material that has been treated and marked in accordance with this standard and that has not been repaired, remanufactured or otherwise altered does not require re-treatment or re-application of the mark throughout the service life of the unit."
Typically it's a mixture of repaired and unrepaired pallets that will come into a recycler. Facilities implementing a "Pass Through" program can sort these pallets and segregate those that qualify as "Reused" according to ISPM 15. Any used pallets received at a facility that do not fit the definition of “Reused”, must have the marks obliterated. This includes any pallets received by a facility that appear to have been previously repaired or altered. Any used pallets that do not qualify as a pass through but need to be ISPM 15 conforming, will need to meet bark conformance and be re-treated before the treating facility's IPPC mark can be applied. Used pallets that meet the definition of “Reused” can be shipped without re-treating or mark obliteration. Any facility monitored for ISPM 15 conformance may sort for "Pass Throughs" based on the "Reused" section of ISPM 15 but a written addendum should be in place to describe how these pallets are being processed.
At any facility monitored for ISPM 15 conformance, it is important to note that regardless of who owns the pallets on site, any received used pallets that show signs of previous repair or altering, require obliteration of all old IPPC marks by ALSC.
Recyclers should have a good understanding of what signs of repair disqualify a pallet for the "Pass Through" program. These include evidence of previous nailing, differences in components (age, color, size, species), new nails in components, multiple IPPC marks, presence of plugs, etc. A pallet with any of these characteristics would be disqualifed from being considered a "Pass Through".
If you happen to see bark or illegible marks on pallets otherwise classified as “Reused”, these pallet(s) should be removed from the “Pass Through” inventory, the marks obliterated and the pallet(s) placed in the repaired inventory. "Pass Through" pallets are not recorded as shipped footage in the related records because they do not bear the facility's IPPC mark.