Transport represents a significant proportion of the delivered-in costs of the raw material for the UK’s timber industry. It is a fundamental constraint on the industry’s competitiveness, so developing an efficient timber transport system is necessary for the future of the UK forest industry.
Leaving aside issues of taxation and regulation, key issues result particularly from the poor state of the rural road network. Rural roads used for timber transport are often characterised as cart tracks sprayed with black top and there is a clear need for a targeted upgrading of the network. This causes particular difficulties for local authorities that do not have the resources to maintain the rural road network to the necessary standard. In addition, there has been insufficient investment by central government in the infrastructure needed for increased use of rail and sea transport. Industry, too, has a role to play in modernising the round timber supply chain, reducing costs and inefficiencies.
Within this context the pressure on current systems is set to increase in line with the forecast increase in volume harvested and hauled. Problems are most likely to arise in areas where there is little history of timber haulage and where local authorities do not have experience of working with the industry.
Over the past six years the forestry sector and other key players have risen to the challenge through the collaborative work of the Timber Transport Forum and the Regional Timber Transport Groups.
The Timber Transport Forum was established in February 2000. Although it has its roots in Scotland where the haulage problems had been most acute, it has a UK-wide remit. The forum brings together representatives from England, Scotland and Wales, covering the forest industry, local and central government. The main objective is to identify and promote innovation and best practice. This is achieved through facilitating communication between the regional timber transport groups; disseminating information about other timber transport initiatives; and identifying international best practice.
The Forum successfully lobbied the Scottish Executive to release £13m to fund innovative timber transport projects in Scotland. Administered through Forestry Commission Scotland, the first four grants under the scheme have just be made.
Recently there has been a perceptible change in stated government policy to encourage freight movement from road to rail and to sea. There are significant limitations on the round timber volumes that can be realistically taken off the road, not least because of the relative locations of forests, waterways, rail infrastructure and processing sites. Over the last five years there has been an increase in coastwise movement of timber, but this remains at less than 3% of total volumes. A much higher volume is exported by sea.
NICS in development
Over the past five years there has been a move back from rail to road but, with rising fuel prices and a larger potential market, some freight operators and forest industry businesses are looking again at the benefits of reversing this trend. NICS (Non-Intrusive Cross Over System) is a novel lower-cost means of connecting an existing main line track and a planned freight siding. Although still in development, it should enable a rail siding to be built at a small fraction of the current cost. There are potential applications of this system for the forest industry in rail-enabling both forest source and processor destination.
The Regional Timber Transport Groups enable local operational solutions to be found through local authorities working in collaboration with the forest industry. Meeting on a regular basis, the groups maintain the relationship between the industry, roads authorities, and other interested parties. They provide a mechanism for understanding the constraints that each side works under and find workable solutions with centralised co-ordination and support. There is a network throughout Scotland, a group covering Wales and a Timber Freight Quality Partnership in Yorkshire.
To enable the effective management of timber haulage and the effective allocation of maintenance resources, the Agreed Route Maps scheme has been implemented throughout Scotland and parts of England. They have proven a useful tool for the forest industry and roads authorities coming together to examine solutions to keeping the timber industry supplied. The scheme enables local authorities to allocate resources to keep the network running but also imply additional cost to haulage, given that some optimal routes are excluded or restricted in some way.
For more details visit www.ConFor.org.uk/timber_transport or contact simon.armstrong@confor.org.uk
