Keith Ainslie, sales director of Howie Forest Products, told the meeting at the Charing Cross Hotel that the last 18 months in the market were outside most people’s collective experience.
He said although the kiln dried carcassing sector had been “pretty flat” in the last three months, probably capped by a growing availability of Canadian and German softwood, demand for unseasoned carcassing remained very strong with prices still rising.
But Mr Ainslie said it was not a matter of UK sawmills simply throwing on extra shifts to help meet demand. He said every UK mill operated at capacity last year, as well as selling from high stock levels.
“So the reality this year is that many UK mills will have even less to sell. This is certainly part of the problem in the fencing sector this year.”
He said roundwood supply was crucial. If mills were in areas of abundant log supply they were probably already operating extra shifts.
Mr Ainslie also highlighted co-products and mill efficiency as important influencing factors in the UK sawmilling sector, with the closure of around 40 mills in the last 10-15 years linked to plant inefficiency.
However, he said Howie’s new mill at Dalbeattie, which can cut 1,200m3 of sawn timber in an eight hour shift (280,000m3 annually) put the facility on a par with big European sawmills.
“Let’s not get carried away, thinking UK mills have never had it so good, for UK mills the first significant price increases only happened last September, so we’ve only enjoyed rising prices for around eight months, the first significant sustainable increases in 12 years.”
Mr Ainslie also cautioned UK mills about taking too much of an advantage from the current fencing shortage due to the seasonal nature of the sector.
