b'22American Journal ofTransportation ajot.comRussian invasion of Ukraine sparks conflicted outlook for forest productsFOREST By George Lauriat, AJOT PRODUCTS WhenRussiantanksrolledintocally, Russia is also ranked as the top2022Ukraine on February 24 th , an uneasyexporterofsoftwoodlumber,which quasi-war instantly become an all-outis used in the construction industries. shooting conflict, triggering a caval- TheOECreportsthattheprincipal cade of unforeseen consequences notexport markets for Russian lumber are only for the warring parties, but theChina ($3.08 billion), Finland ($593 entire world.million),Uzbekistan($429million), Among the unforeseen economicEgypt ($386 million) and Japan ($369 consequences of the Russo-Ukrainianmillion). On the other hand, most of War was an uprooting of the globalthe forest product imports came from forestproductstrade.BesidestheBelarus ($244 million), China ($127 direct combatants, the Ukraine and themillion),Germany($58.8million), Russian Federation, the conflagrationPoland ($46.1 million) and Portugal includes Belarus (and non-combatant($35.2 million). ally of Russia) in the trade fallout.And it looks like Russias forest And from the lumber and forestproductexportsgrewsubstantially productperspectiveboththeForestsincetheOECnumberscameout. Stewardship Council (FSC) and Pro- WRQ in their 2021 estimates pegged gramme for the Endorsement of ForestRussiaatover$12billionin2021, Certification (PEFC) have labeled allwith imports of around $2 billion.timberfromRussiaandBelarusas(CONFLICTEDcontinued on conflicttimber,choppinginterestpage 23)from global buyers interested in pur-chasinglumberfromeithercountry [see below]. E B R A T It heG reatu nfriendinG E L N GNearly immediately after the inva- CsionofUkraine,economicsanctions spurredbytheUnitedStatesbegan being levied at Russia, and on March20-20211th the G-7 and EU (European Union)19 0announcedjointactions.Thesecul- OF ICEminated in the application of a broadSERVrange of economic sanctions designed to strangle the Russian economy. SUCCESS STARTS WITH A WINNING TEAM!In March Moscow began its own retaliatory unfriending by introduc-ing tariffs and bans of its own. High on the list of exports banned for saleSince our establishment in 1920, we haveWE OFFER OUR CUSTOMERS:totheunfriendlyWestwaswoodbeen providing our global customers aOn-site Storage and Multi-modaland forest products. Russia has pairedpremier level of service through superiorDistribution Servicesthese export bans with import tariffshandling and performance, technological (reportedly as high as 60% for West- advancements, and a perpetual eye Customer Access to 24 hour Inventory Trackingern countries, as opposed to 10% foron customer satisfaction. Also, we offer oneStandard Berths and Ro-Ro Ramps are availablefriendlynations)onimportedwoodof the most cost effective and reliable laborSpecially engineered Lifting Gearproducts (see below).forces in the North Atlantic.Container Transloading from / to Rail or TruckRussiasreactionissomewhatOn-site service provided by 2 Class Ianonsequitur,asbuyingWesternWe have the ability to accommodate aRail Carriersimports is crippled both by actual bansvariety of automobile, breakbulk, bulk, Efficient Distribution to Two Thirds of the andfinancialtransactionrestrictionscontainer and forest products. OurUnited States and Canadian populations withinSWIFT system lockoutimposeddistinction, is based on our ability to closely48 - 72 Hours byWesternfinancialinstitutions.coordinate your Stevedoring, Warehousing Equally, Western nations have bannedand Distribution Logistics. the purchase of Russian products in an effort to choke off funding for Mos-cows war effort.Also lost in all the geo-political fallout was the notable fact that Russia applied the anticipated log export ban beginninginJanuaryof2022.The logbanhaditsbiggestimpacton neighboringChinawhichaccordingFOR MORE INFORMATION to Wood Resource Quarterly (WRQ)CONTACT US AT:saw log exports drop from 800,000 m3 in the 4Q/21 to only 80,000 m3 inJH STEVEDORING, INC. the 1Q/22 with customs data show- 2147 South Columbus Blvd. ing no imports at all for March andPhiladelphia, PA 19148April 2022.TEL: 215-218-3060FAX: 215-218-3078ButMoscowsmovesinadver- WEB: www.jhstevedoring.comtently illustrate just how crazily con-volutedtheglobaltradeinforest PENN WAREHOUSING & DISTRIBUTION, INC. products is.2147 South Columbus Blvd. Forexample,takeRussia.ItisPhiladelphia, PA 19148nosurprise,thatRussiawithvastTEL: 215-218-3000expansesofforestland,isamajorFAX: 215-218-3043lumber exporter. According to Obser- WEB: www.pennwarehousing.comvatoryofEconomicComplexity (OEC) in 2020 Russias forest prod-uctexportshit$8.44billionand ranked 4th in the world [but ranked firstinlumberexports],whileit imported $697 million in forest prod-ucts and ranked 221st. More specifi-'