Resources
Find Highlights from our latest Newsletters, Publications to purchase or download, handy Web-links to other industry websites of interest, and Dashboard reporting on sawmilling in New Zealand
Publications
Here you can find publications and downloads of interest to anyone who wants to work with wood, as a hobby, or for a DIY project.
Selection and Ordering Timber
Ideas in Timber - Pergolas
Residential Timber Floors - coming soon !!
Building Regulation Review
The government has announced a “commitment to increasing housing supply by reducing barriers, improving competition in the building system and lowering costs.”
Life Membership
At our recent meeting in Wellington we accorded Life Membership on Alan Tanner in recognition of his lifelong support for NZTIF.
Obituary Jack Butterworth
Life member and long-time NZTIF Board member Jack Butterworth passed away in Rotorua on 6 June 2023. Jack was a founder member of the board of NZTIF, President in 1988-1990 and accorded Life Membership in 1992.
Timber exports diversify
Business, political and economic commentators have discussed the need for New Zealand exporters to diversify away from the Chinese market for many months now, especially with the weakening of economic activity there. China has been and continues to be a very significant market for the forestry sector as it is for others such as dairy but in amongst all this, timber exporters have been busily reducing their reliance on that market in recent years. A quick look at this development since 2020 can be seen in these charts.
NZTIF president: Structural Timber sales volumes plummeting due to building activity downturn
New Zealand Timber Industry Federation president Bruce Larsen is calling on the Government to provide investment-friendly initiatives so that the timber processors can add more value to help improve the New Zealand economy, reduce unemployment and significantly improve the boom-bust nature of forest harvesting and timber manufacturing.
NZTIF Annual Wages Survey 2023
Our members’ survey of wages and conditions of employment in the year to 30 April 2023 was recently completed.
Log Trader Registration
A reminder that if you are buying logs then under the Forests (Regulation of Log Traders and Forest Advisers) Amendment Act 2020 you are required to register as a log trader unless your annual log purchases fall below 2,000 tonnes.
Cyclone Gabrielle
The havoc caused by Cyclone Gabrielle 12th – 16th February 2023 will have far reaching effects in Northland, Coromandel, Tairawhiti and Hawkes Bay and likely further afield. These regions are important not only in terms of forestry and related industries but also in other primary products including market produce and fruit, vineyards, dairy and pastoral farming, each with dependent upstream and downstream industries which will also be adversely affected.
Forestry and Wood Processing Industry Transformation Plan
The Forestry and Wood Processing Industry Transformation Plan was announced by the Minister of Forestry, Hon Stuart Nash on 30 November 2022. The Plan is the culmination of two years of discussion and consultations between MPI/TUR and stakeholders including the New Zealand Timber Industry Federation (NZTIF).
Forestry and Wood Processing Industry Transformation Plan
The Plan is one of eight being developed as the New Zealand Government commitment to an industry policy which seeks to grow and transform sectors of the economy with significant potential to contribute to a high productivity, high wage, low emissions economy.
NZTIF Annual Wages Survey 2022
NZTIF recently completed it’s annual survey of wages and employment conditions in the sawmilling and wood processing industry for 2022.
Sawmill operating protocol for Alert Level 4
Disruptions resulting from lockdowns designed to combat the spread of Covid-19 and its variants are extensive, causing widespread social and economic stresses.
Risk Adjusted Log Pricing
The supply and price of logs is central to sawmilling and the production of timber.
Climate Change Commission Draft Advice
We have lodged a submission to the Climate Change Commission in respect of its Draft Advice paper.
Building Code Update
Each year MBIE conducts a consultation on the Building Code so that it continues to reflect innovation, current construction practices and modern society needs.
WorkSafe NZ review of WES
WorkSafe NZ is conducting a review of the Workplace Exposure Standards (WES).
Forest Sector Accord and Industry Transformation Plan
NZTIF supports a proposal for a pan-forest industry accord.
Forests (Regulation of Log Traders + Forestry Advisers) Amendment Bill
NZTIF firmly supports this Bill and its purpose.
Timber Design Guide
Web-links of Interest
Timber Preservation Council (TPC)
The NZTPC is the proprietor of the WOODmark® programme, New Zealand's only nationwide quality assurance programme for treated timber. More about WOODmark here
Verified Timber Ltd (VT)
A quality assurance programme designed to ensure that structural timber meets its claimed strength and stiffness characteristics. More about verified timber grades here
Worksafe
WorkSafe is New Zealand’s primary workplace health and safety regulator. They work to lift health and safety performance, and support New Zealanders to return home from work healthy and safe. See Worksafe’s timber treatment information here
Standards New Zealand
Standards New Zealand is a business unit within the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. They specialise in managing the development of standards, and publish and sell New Zealand, joint Australia-New Zealand, and international standards. Some freely available building-related standards are available here
BRANZ
BRANZ is an independent research organisation providing impartial evidence-based advice on critical issues in building and construction in New Zealand, to industry and government. They provide testing and consultancy services that drive better performance. They undertake and invest in research by BRANZ science teams and external research agencies to unlock new knowledge, addressing current and emerging challenges in the built environment. See timber treatment information here
Te Uru Rakau / Forestry NZ with Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI)
Te Uru Rākau is focused on supporting the planting of exotic and indigenous forests, sustainable forestry management, programmes like the Emissions Trading Scheme, and forestry grants.
Other interesting links
WoodTech events and news about technology in sawmilling and timber processing
Where does all this great timber end up? - check out end use ideas at the Forestry Industry Engineering Association, an Australasian
Dashboard
As a NZTIF Member you receive convenient regular emails with statistics composed specially to be relevant to your work. You can also look for raw data in sources such as Statistics NZ, Infoshare and MPI as below.
Exports and imports - levels + destinations
Infoshare (by Statistics NZ) - Industry Sector - Forestry Logging and Timber Production
Infoshare (by Statistics NZ) - Industry Sector - Forestry Logging and Timber Production - Sawn Timber Quarterly
PF Olsen - Log Price + Carbon Price information
Agrifax - Log and Carbon Price information by subscription only
Sawmill production information:
Figure NZ - Businesses in the Log Sawmilling Industry in NZ
Forest Industry Engineering Association (FIEA) Forest Products Industry Map
Forestry production information:
MPI - Forestry statistics
Forest Owners Association - Facts and Figures
NZIER - Plantation Forestry Statistics
These statistics form the basis for specific reporting that is provided to Members as part of the Newsletter service by NZTIF. See more information about membership here (internal link to Membership).
Please refer to these NZTIF tables of statistics. These are updated quarterly as part of NZTIF’s contribution to ‘industry good’, increasing knowledge about sawmilling in New Zealand.
New Zealand New Dwelling Consents
NZ North Island New Dwelling Consents
NZ South Island New Dwelling Consents
New Zealand New Dwelling Consents
Year Ending 31 March (Source: Infoshare)
Sawn Timber Export Data
Annual Timber Exports by Country of Destination by Quantity (m3)
undefined | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
China | 474,949 | 377,137 | 453,016 | 443,243 | 529,493 | 368,268 | 2001,558 | 204,593 |
United States | 199,995 | 213,717 | 226,812 | 229,822 | 206,388 | 230,213 | 230,157 | 242,474 |
Vietnam | 179,364 | 159,651 | 161,868 | 171,490 | 168,227 | 197,872 | 110,197 | 83,728 |
Australia | 176,801 | 149,508 | 153,439 | 140,355 | 122,656 | 129,044 | 131,622 | 126,677 |
Thailand | 111,772 | 136,546 | 144,056 | 124,975 | 111,829 | 94,941 | 86,361 | 90,263 |
South Korea | 141,288 | 110,616 | 128,131 | 121,340 | 80,157 | 77,628 | 105,025 | 120,049 |
Indonesia | 72,873 | 84,889 | 88,621 | 115,042 | 91,914 | 65,815 | 58,397 | 46,668 |
Taiwan | 93,355 | 80,529 | 81,149 | 98,977 | 73,660 | 75,601 | 107,327 | 78,596 |
Japan | 50,852 | 42,844 | 70,039 | 69,122 | 62,613 | 51,592 | 58,471 | 45,801 |
0 | ||||||||
All other destinations | 279,950 | 353,817 | 291,420 | 344,134 | 341,338 | 306,728 | 356,961 | 295,280 |
Grand Total | 1,804,554 | 1,734,380 | 1,847,233 | 1,922,941 | 1,848,790 | 1,633,844 | 1,506,680 | 1,401,415 |
derived from MPI data
Annual Timber Exports by Country of Destination by NZD’000 (free on board)
undefined | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
China | 152,695 | 126,626 | 147,745 | 144,816 | 150,530 | 106,719 | 72,328 | 68,739 |
United States | 189,162 | 192,224 | 196,642 | 208,467 | 211,840 | 238,751 | 256,694 | 322,235 |
Vietnam | 48,143 | 54,487 | 52,986 | 60,028 | 56,217 | 66,224 | 49,059 | 34,630 |
Australia | 140,949 | 123,131 | 131,209 | 123,240 | 108,557 | 118,897 | 128,466 | 139,936 |
Thailand | 29,017 | 34,800 | 39,791 | 38,755 | 28,520 | 24,216 | 36,375 | 35,324 |
South Korea | 39,162 | 33,962 | 38,077 | 39,347 | 23,586 | 21,190 | 41,962 | 47,423 |
Indonesia | 26,852 | 30,224 | 31,831 | 42,814 | 30,835 | 21,788 | 26,608 | 22,547 |
Taiwan | 40,337 | 30,612 | 30,828 | 39,270 | 27,819 | 29,245 | 52,942 | 40,977 |
Japan | 31,221 | 27,942 | 29,066 | 31,204 | 30,685 | 25,004 | 30,249 | 26,279 |
Netherlands | 0 | 36,273 | 33,657 | 46,071 | 48,397 | 34,865 | 56,931 | 66,228 |
All other destinations | 139,095 | 170,382 | 157,808 | 190,318 | 192,024 | 144,049 | 210,085 | 173,090 |
Grand Total | 844,187 | 832,032 | 871,157 | 939,674 | 878,208 | 830,948 | 961,699 | 977,407 |
derived from MPI data
Annual Sawn Timber Exports Average Value
undefined | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
China | 321 | 336 | 326 | 327 | 284 | 290 | 359 | 336 |
United States | 946 | 899 | 867 | 907 | 1,026 | 1,037 | 1,115 | 1,329 |
Vietnam | 268 | 341 | 327 | 350 | 334 | 335 | 445 | 414 |
Australia | 797 | 824 | 855 | 878 | 885 | 921 | 976 | 1,105 |
Thailand | 260 | 255 | 276 | 310 | 255 | 255 | 421 | 391 |
South Korea | 277 | 307 | 297 | 324 | 294 | 273 | 400 | 395 |
Indonesia | 368 | 356 | 359 | 372 | 335 | 331 | 456 | 483 |
Taiwan | 432 | 380 | 380 | 397 | 378 | 387 | 493 | 521 |
Japan | 614 | 652 | 415 | 451 | 490 | 485 | 517 | 574 |
Netherlands | 0 | 811 | 900 | 925 | 932 | 965 | 939 | 984 |
All other destinations | 497 | 482 | 542 | 553 | 563 | 470 | 589 | 586 |
Grand Total | 468 | 480 | 472 | 489 | 475 | 509 | 638 | 697 |
derived from MPI data
Log Export Data
Annual Log Exports by Country of Destination by Quantity
undefined | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
China | 10,370,861 | 12,265,717 | 14,794,666 | 17,279,000 | 16,441,801 | 17,888,347 | 18,950,711 | 17,836,500 |
South Korea | 2,768,414 | 2,703,246 | 2,546,117 | 2,017,877 | 1,808,046 | 1,724,892 | 1,652,357 | 1,647,100 |
India | 1,723,780 | 1,721,722 | 1,594,699 | 1,405,915 | 1,372,621 | 416,846 | 82,597 | 0 |
Japan | 437,604 | 446,741 | 468,684 | 356,202 | 361,766 | 290,498 | 298,071 | 188,588 |
Hong Kong | 0 | 113,716 | 220,521 | 614,678 | 329,267 | 1,004,990 | 537,259 | 97,112 |
China & Hong Kong | 0 | 12,379,433 | 15,015,187 | 17,893,678 | 16,771,068 | 18,893,337 | 19,487,970 | 17,933,612 |
Other Destinations | 0 | 331,211 | 613,253 | 1,005,325 | 492,339 | 1,152,571 | 198,907 | 191,666 |
Grand Total | 15,534,235 | 17,468,637 | 20,017,419 | 22,064,319 | 20,476,573 | 21,473,154 | 21,719,902 | 19,960,966 |
derived from MPI data
Annual Log Exports by Country of Destination by NZD’000
undefined | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
China | 1,387,692 | 1,829,229 | 2,427,055 | 2,935,911 | 2,499,410 | 2,814,948 | 3,333,133 | 3,110,866 |
South Korea | 340,657 | 381,752 | 389,706 | 324,870 | 263,267 | 267,605 | 301,606 | 292,237 |
India | 225,901 | 243,940 | 241,721 | 236,649 | 213,061 | 67,635 | 21,074 | 0 |
Japan | 57,197 | 69,462 | 79,198 | 59,590 | 55,833 | 45,048 | 53,734 | 39,172 |
Hong Kong | 0 | 18,448 | 31,264 | 97,913 | 42,068 | 149,192 | 85,775 | 16,842 |
China & Hong Kong | 0 | 1,847,677 | 2,458,319 | 3,033,824 | 2,541,478 | 2,964,140 | 3,418,908 | 3,127,708 |
Other Destinations | 0 | 58,312 | 99,592 | 170,810 | 75,880 | 180,794 | 49,721 | 44,808 |
Grand Total | 0 | 2,582,695 | 3,237,272 | 3,730,830 | 3,107,451 | 3,376,030 | 3,845,043 | 3,503,925 |
derived from MPI data
Annual Log Exports Average Value
undefined | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
China | 134 | 149 | 164 | 170 | 152 | 157 | 176 | 174 |
South Korea | 123 | 141 | 153 | 161 | 146 | 155 | 160 | 177 |
India | 131 | 142 | 152 | 168 | 155 | 162 | 175 | 0 |
Japan | 131 | 155 | 169 | 167 | 154 | 155 | 183 | 208 |
Other Destinations | 0 | 176 | 162 | 170 | 154 | 157 | 255 | 234 |
Grand Total | 132 | 148 | 162 | 169 | 152 | 157 | 180 | 176 |
derived from MPI data
undefined | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Northland | 1,302 | 1,210 | 1,119 | 1,052 | 1,140 | 1,501 | 1480 | |
Auckland | 10,199 | 11,192 | 13,874 | 14,932 | 17,495 | 21,477 | 20,312 | |
Waikato | 3,555 | 3,477 | 3,915 | 4,195 | 4,296 | 5,135 | 4,511 | |
Bay of Plenty | 2,566 | 2,368 | 2,045 | 2,103 | 2,257 | 2,533 | 1919 | |
East Coast | 68 | 95 | 86 | 92 | 109 | 183 | 174 | |
Hawkes Bay | 486 | 620 | 586 | 843 | 1,093 | 996 | 784 | |
Taranaki | 575 | 492 | 455 | 659 | 712 | 836 | 588 | |
Manawatu/Whanganui | 889 | 1,006 | 1,200 | 1,186 | 1,397 | 1,527 | 1,331 | |
Wellington | 2,076 | 2,558 | 2,708 | 3,304 | 3,037 | 3,836 | 3,607 | |
Nelson/Marlborough | 851 | 971 | 1,004 | 1,028 | 1,044 | 1,311 | 1,219 | |
Westland | 105 | 101 | 128 | 145 | 129 | 230 | 245 | |
Canterbury | 5,769 | 4,906 | 4,915 | 5,446 | 6,083 | 8,557 | 8,171 | |
Otago | 1,930 | 2,136 | 2,211 | 2,2226 | 1,874 | 2,506 | 2,186 | |
Southland | 250 | 256 | 262 | 405 | 353 | 480 | 397 | |
North Island | 21,716 | 23,018 | 25,988 | 28,366 | 31,536 | 38,024 | 34,706 | |
South Island | 8,905 | 8,370 | 8,520 | 9,250 | 9,483 | 12,831 | 12,218 | |
New Zealand | 30,621 | 31,388 | 34,508 | 37,616 | 41,028 | 50,858 | 46,925 |