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There is an abundance of timber to be felled in

7th June 2001, Page 30
7th June 2001
Page 30
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Page 30, 7th June 2001 — There is an abundance of timber to be felled in
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Britain, and that means a lot of work for hauliers. But operators who diversify into this sector already have to cope with cheap timber imports and seasonal fluctuations—and now the way they transport their loads is being

scrutinised. Tim Maughan

visited Scotland and found that there is a future in this sector, but only for those of a hardy disposition.

t is early May when CM visits the Kippen. Stirling base of KS Young Timber Haulage, at the foot of the Fintry hills, some 25 miles north of Glasgow. There is a warm breeze which heralds the start of summer. Its the kind of weather that puts a spring in your step, but for Ian Young. a partner in MS Young, such seasonal changes dictate his very livelihood.

"I am busy at this time of year," says Young, adding that he feels as if he has just come out of hibernation after the long Scottish winter. "We are pretty high up here, so we tend to get a lot of snow during the winter months," he remarks. This means we do less work."

During the peak seasons of spring and summer Young's seven tractive units can haul 2,500 tonnes of timber a week, but from November through to February that figure plummets to just 1,500 tonnes a week. The cold weather leads Young to rely on gear that is unusual compared with the kit used by hauliers in more temperate areas. "From November to the end of February we have to put snow chains on the truck tyres," he reports. 'Without them the timber would not move."

Mobile cranes

Young owns mobile cranes, costing as much as £130,000 apiece, which are used to load up his eight skeletal trailers. He chooses to invest in this specialist equipment instead of using lorrymounted cranes. which can weigh up to three tonnes, because he prefers to devote every scrap of payload to valuable timber rather than lifting gear. "This means we are making money rather than losing it." he says.

Four artics pick up logs from woods and forests within an 80km radius of Kippen and deliver it to sawmills. Young explains: "There are two different types of timber collection. Firstly, there is road work whore the Forestry Commission fells the timber and drags it to the roadside. Then there is the type where fellers cut down the trees and leave it in the forest."

For retrieving timber from forests Young runs three tractive units as shunters which haul their loads to the public highway. He says the forest tracks can make for tough driving, and his shunters operate high up in the mountains, often several miles away from the nearest roads. After the timber is delivered to the roadside one of his three ERF EC11s or his Volvo FM12 take it to sawmills in southern Scotland and Cumbria.

Like any haulier. Young's workload is dictated by his customers. "Most sawmills have quota systems but others don't, which means they overstock." This presents Young with a problem—a glut means the sawmill does not require more timber, so his trucks can suddenly be surplus to requirements. "November is the busiest time for us because the sawmills are panicking, trying to stock up before the bad weather starts," he explains. But mid-January is the quietest time, because of the snow."

Skeletal trailers

Work picks up in the spring, but as timber movements increase overstocking can again be a problem. This situation can become more acute in August when sawmills shut up shop for their annual fortnight's holiday. In this highly specialised haulage sector, where skeletal trailers feature prominently, running empty is an unpalatable reality: "We don't backload," says Young, limber haulage has its pressures, but Young is confident that this family firm has a future. His father, William, is soon to retire after 40 years in the business. Rut two generations on from lham, Ian Young's son is already show; an interest in the trade. "He is just years old but he's so keen to learn," ys Young enthusiastically. "I think 's a natural timber haulier:" We travel to Edinburgh to meet Ian rshaw, director of forest operations Forest Enterprise, an agency of the restry Commission—and it seems at there is indeed a future for firms e l&S Young Timber Haulage.

'imber imports

first glance the British timber lustry seems to be a victim of its success. Cheap timber imports e putting pressure on the homeown industry at a time when there is ire timber to be felled in the UK than ore has been for the past 10 years cause trees planted in the 19805 are w reaching maturity.

There are 6.7 million acres of woodid in the UK, of which 4.7 million acres are privately owned. The remaining two million acres are managed by the Forestry Commission (or: more accurately, Forest Enterprise, which is the agency charged with the hands-on work).

Forest Enterprise oversees fewer acres than the private sector, yet it accounts for 60% of UK timber production.

Timber is a heavily regulated industry in the UK. Take the UK Woodland Assurance Scheme Standard, for example. It ensures that timber in the marketplace originates from a certified source. "There is a legal requirement to ensure British timber is well managed," says Forshaw. Forest Enterprise looks after its resources, and quality control is taken seriously. Haulage is no exception. Forshaw says: "Using cowboy hauliers has not been much of an Issue with us. The hauliers we use have been working for us for years, and the standards are high."

Nonetheless, Forshaw admits that rogue hauliers have slipped through the net: "There have been occasions when we have had to call a halt to a haulier's work." He cites theft of timber as a problem in the past.

Unsurprisingly, Forest Enterprise likes to work with hauliers who have proved their worth. But having said that, new operators are always considered, especially bearing in mind the sheer mass of timber that has to be moved. "Our haulage contracts range from one to three years," Forshaw reports. "We expect a haulier to give us an estimate for the first six to 12 months of a contract."

Private sector

Forest Enterprise staff fell trees, but this is only the start of the process. The private sector—the sawmills and timber merchants—either buy Forest Enterprise-felled timber or buy timber on a plot and fell it themselves, Operators like Ian Young then haul the round timber to sawmills. Hauliers carrying wood from Forest Enterprise land are paid directly by the agency, rather than the sawmills.

Hauliers who want to work for Forest Enterprise must be prepared to do the job by the book, because the agency is currently reviewing its haulage operation. That means only hauliers dedicated to timber transport can expect to secure, or indeed keep, the business.

Forest Enterprise champions transport by sea and rail. Its annual report for 1999-2000 says: "Associated British Ports has been awarded a £4.4m grant to improve the infrastructure at Ayr and Moon, and has recently been successful in a Forest Enterprise tender to haul timber from West Argyll. This tender alone is estimated to have removed 1,250 lorry loads of timber from public roads per year (185,000 lorry miles per year)."

Not encouraging news for road hauliers, then—but you can't transfer logs from forests to ships without trucks. "We don't think we will be able to reduce road miles," Forshaw admits. 'Road transport will play a major role in our haulage operation."

Remote parts

When you're 150 miles north of Edinburgh the indispensable nature of HGVs soon becomes clear. We arrive in the foothills of the Grampian mountains to check out the operation of timber haulage specialist Harpers Transport. As two of Harper's log-laden artics rumble out of the forest, it's impossible to imagine any other way of extracting timber from these remote parts.

Company owner Bryan Harper is also a director of the Forestry Contracting Association, the organisation that represents 40 timber hauliers in the UK, as well as tree fellers. As you would expect, he knows one or two things about timber haulage.

Harper started his firm in 1979. Until three years ago the workload was split 70% timber and 30% general haulage, but today hauling logs accounts for 95% of the business. We were losing money in general haulage, so we had to specialise to survive," he says.

Harper fields an impressive array of equipment. "We process the wood, too," he reports. Our harvesters take the logs and turn them into woodchip, which is used in the particle board industry, We produce about 150,000 tonnes of woodchip a year."

Chipliner trailers

He operates 20 trailers, including skeletals and chipliner trailers. Ile also owns a walking-floor trailer, which he paid £38,000 for last September. Harper operates six tractive units: an ERF, four Scanias and a Volvo. We change vehicles every three years, although we have had the ERF for six, which really is a tribute to the vehicle—it is first class," he smiles.

Hauliers planning to acquire a new tractive unit and specialist timber trailer should expect to pay around £110,000, says Harper.

His main customers are chipboard manufacturer Nexfor, which is a Canadian firm; and Iggesund, a Swedish paperboard manufacturer. This work involves carrying timber to the firms' sawmills. "Rates have increased by 10% per tonne over the past decade, but they have not kept up with higher oper

ating costs," laments Harper. 'We have only survived because we have increased efficiency," However, the 44-tonne limit has been a godsend for timber hauliers like Harper. "We get paid per tonne, so this is a real benefit for us," he says. The extra tonnage also gives him more scope to manoeuvre; recently he invested in an £8,000 cab for one of his skeletal trailers to keep the on-board crane operator warm and dry.

Harper bemoans the raft of Health and Safety legislation associated with timber haulage (see box, below left), and worries that rates are not always high enough. But there is life in timber haulage yet, he asserts: "I am confident about the future. The philosophy with timber is to pile 'em high and keep 'em cheap and, provided we can keep our volumes up, we can survive."

Good news

The good news for timber hauliers and others who work in this sector is that the volume of timber being extracted is guaranteed—and it is set to increase. This year 7.6 million tonnes of timber are set to be transported in the UK by road, sea and rail. For each year from 2002-2006 that figure will rise to 8.5 million tonnes—and from 2012-2016, 11.5 million tonnes of timber is due to be shifted every year.

There is a lot of round wood (that's logs to you and me) to pursue, but Harper reports that despite the usual healthy competition, operators are working together more. "I find that timber hauliers are talking more today than they have ever done," he says. "There is good communication and you see less of the dog-eatdog mentality."


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