Woodland Owner Supply Chains
My family has never discussed supply chains, but at the start of this pandemic when toilet paper was scarce supply chains became a major topic of conversation. Demand was high, and supply was constant thanks to forest industry but difficult to ramp up to meet excessive demand – in this case due to hoarding.
Woodland owners in Indiana do not contribute to toilet paper supply chains. It is mainly softwood pulp from other parts of the US and Canada. Woodland owners in Indiana are an important part of a more durable hardwood timber supply chain that creates furniture, flooring, cabinets, high-quality veneer and many other products. We are still very much a wood-based society and we use thousands of products every day that are wood or made from wood. This will not and should not change.
Trees are a renewable resource when managed correctly and make amazing contributions to our society. Trees growing in a natural or plantation setting provide not only wood, but also wildlife habitat, clean water, fresh air, pollinator habitat, carbon capture, recreation opportunities, solace and many other benefits. Most woodland owners recognize these benefits and witness them every day. Demand for Indiana timber is strong, local and global.
The demand for wood products is not going away. In Indiana we harvest timber on both public and private land to supply the base component in the hardwood timber supply chain, hardwood logs. Large scale timber mills are expensive to build and operate. Timber buyers must continually seek out timber to buy, and loggers cut the trees, pull them from the woods and deliver them to the mills. Trees cut from one landowner’s property may be delivered to several different mills based on quality, species, diameter and demand. If Indiana cannot supply the needed logs for a mill, then timber buyers will reach out further and further until economics makes it infeasible.
Some of our wood products like veneer oak, walnut and cherry are so valuable they can be sent around the world in log form or cut veneer. Finished wood products from Indiana circumnavigate the globe. The supply of high-quality timber in Indiana is strong and US Forest Service data suggests we are sustaining our growing timber stocks. If we do not harvest timber in any one specific location, the demand for logs is simply driven to another location. For example, if we stop cutting timber on our State Forests, that supply would have to be made up with more harvesting on private land where there may be less oversight and no guarantee of sustainable forest management like exists on public land.
Producing sustainably managed timber on both public and private land in Indiana is critical to hardwood supply chains. Woodland owners and public land managers should be proud of the role they play in supporting sustainable forest management in Indiana. Hardwood markets will be impacted by this pandemic and the subsequent impact on our economy. Indiana’s supply of timber is strong, renewable and resilient thanks to careful management by people like you.
The Woodland Steward Institute will continue to provide woodland owners with up to date information on timber markets, invasive species, insects and disease, wildlife and water quality. If you appreciate the information you receive from the Woodland Steward Newsletter, consider giving back using the enclosed donation envelope. We appreciate you, the forest resources you manage and your support. Be well, be kind and stay safe during these trying times.
Dan Shaver
Woodland Steward Institute President