More Timber Production Forecast

Wanganui Chronicle, 31 January 1947, Page 6

More Timber Production Forecast

BRIGHTER OUTLOOK FOR HOME BUILDING PLANS (P.A.) Wellington, Jan 30 In a statement to-day the Commissioner of State Forests* (Mr. Skinner) elaborated upon his recent review of the timber supply position, in which he announced that timber production for the financial year ending March, 1947, was expected to reach a figure six million board feet above that for the previous year. With the rale of timber production for the financial year 1947-48 likely to be substantially nearer to the Government target the figure of 415,000,000 board fecL a year, prospects for home builders were brighter than at any time during the past five years, said Mr Skinner. The major contribution in tire drive for increased production would come from mo. e than a scor e of new sawmills scheduled to commence operations during the year, or early next year. Many of the new mills would cut timber from State forests, either from logs supplied by the Forest Service or from standing bush cut under sawmill licence. From new units in bolh indigenous and exotic forests wouid come a total output, conservatively estimated, at more than 60,000,000 board feet a year. Eleven new mills would be located in the Rotorua district, seven in Auckland and the remainder distributed throughout the rest of the Dominion.

Plans to boost the yield of exotic forests more than 50 per cent, by the middle of 1949 would have a pronounced effect on future supplies of housing timber, by making available increased supplies of exotics for framing timbers, and by the substitution of insignis pin e to release additional quantities of rimu for hous e construction.

“Although the supply of sawn timber from overseas remains vague,” continued the Minister, “reasonable hopes may b e held of imports of Australian hardwoods, redwood and Oregon being increased by several million feet during the year. Compared with imports of 8.2,000,000 leef in 1943 8.4,000,000 'in 1944, and 10,000,000 in 1945, the figures for 1947 should be near the 18.000,000 mark. The response to the Government-sponsored scheme for improvement of accommodation for bush and sawmill workers encourages hopes for a rapid relief of the staff shortages in the milling Industry, and consequent increase in the production by many mills now working below capacity, through lack of employees. Priority in the supply of houses under the scheme will go to those mills which can mak e the most significant contribution toward increased production, and with the completion of administrative preliminaries large-scale construction of housing units will shortly be in full swing. “In the face of continued difficulty th e sawmilling industry is making a notable response to the demand for more timber to fill not only normal requirements, but also for the building arrears of the war years. Most mills-ar e working considerably extended hours to maintain day-to-day supplies to timber yards, which have been without reserve stocks since they were cleared out for wartime needs." Manpower difficulties, magnified by the lifting of all remaining controls last June, had remained as the greatest obstacle in the way of increased production, and many millers described the present position as worse than during the war years. The sawmill accommodation improvement scheme, designed to attract men back into the industry, should, however, achieve beneficial lesults during the year. Difficulty in securing supplies of heavy equipment was tending to slow down production in some mills and prospects of immediate improvement were slight. A number of tractors purchased in the Pacific would arrive in New Zealand during the year for logging work, but any general improvement was dependent upon overseas supplies from countries fully absorbed in the supply of equipment for their own domestic markets.

With improvement in the manpower position, and in the supply of equipment, Mr. Skinner anticipated the production rate of 415,000,000 board feet, which had been set as a target for the fulfillment of the national housing and construction programme, would be attained by the middle of 1948, and maintained for three or four years, it would b e sufficient not only to cope completely witn the demand for building in this country, but also to restore the timber stocks to prewar levels, and to increase exports.