b'24American Journal of Transportation ajot.comWood pellet industryCARING FOR going great guns YOUR CARGO Despite the pandemic, wood pellets are hit-ting home with both domestic and interna- FOR 50+YEARStional customers.By George Lauriat, AJOTThewoodpelletindus- steps.Therawbiomassis try is going great guns as thefirst dried and the pellets are switch from hydrocarbons producedbycompressing particularly coalto renew- the wood material, which has ablesistrulyunderway.Asfirst passed through a hammer if to highlight just how muchmilltoprovideauniform things have changed, GE, thedough-likemass.Thismass worldslargestbuilderandis fed to a press, where it is operatorofcoal-firedsys- squeezed through a die havingAlbany, NY Eastport, ME Lake Charles, LA Port Manatee, FL Thorold, ONtems,saiditwouldnotbeholes of the size required (nor- Burns Harbor, IN Hamilton, ON Milwaukee, WI Tampa, FLbuilding any more coal firedmally 6 mm diameter, some-plants and would be switch- times8mmorlarger).The ing their emphasis to renew- pelletingprocesseffectively ables.Althoughwindandkills any fungal pathogens or solarpowersystemshaveinsectpests,andthemate-rightly garnered most of therial is considered sanitary for attention, wood pelletsbio- exportandtrade. Andbeingfmtcargo.com | 704.714.4644mass densityare also grow- sanitary is key to any poten-ing at a rapid clip.tial export of the pellets, espe-AccordingtotheEIAciallytomarketsinEuropeAJOT_Oct2020.indd 1 2020-09-18 10:48:06(USEnergyInformationwith ecological regulations.(DISPUTEcontinued fromtionstariffwarwithChinaemergedasamajormarket Administration),asofJunepage 22) put a duty of up to 25% onfor US forest product exports. 2020theagencytracked83a Nd thee xPortm arket is WesternS-P-F24priceUS hardwood exports, effec- According to the US Foreign manufacturersproducingb oomiNG roseby+$503,or+110%,tively cutting US hardwoodsAgriculturalService(FAS), densifiedbiomassfuelIn 2019 the US exportedrelativetothe1-yearroll- outoftheChinamarket.Vietnamswoodprocessing woodpelletswithatotalaround1.9millionmetricing average price of US$457Opening up the China marketsectorisheavilyimport-production capacity of 11.80tonnes,up14%over2018.mfbmandwasup+$544,evenifitdoesnthitthedependent and in 2019 with million tons per year. A vastAnd wood pellet export vol- or +137%, compared to thePhase One benchmarkswillpurchases of $350 million in majority of these wood pelletumesthroughthefirstfive2-year rolling average priceshave an enormous impact onAmerican hardwoods was the manufacturing facilities weremonthsof2020haveout- of US$411 mfbm. theforestproductsindustry.3rd largest market for the US. locatedintheSoutheastpacedthesameperiodinBack in 2018 the US exportedAccording to FAS, 90% of the UnitedStates.IntheJune2019accordingtoForiski NterNatioNalm arkets nearly $2 billion in hardwoodexports were logs and timber, report(thelatestavailable)Consulting.AquicklookAnotherfactordrivingproductstoChina.AtotalForlogs,oak,walnut,and the EIA said, the plants hadbackandthepotentialpopsupdemandisChina.Withthatrepresentedalmosthalfasharethemostpopular purchased 1.40 million tonsoutasexportshaverisenthe Phase One of the US- of the total US grade lumberspecies,withexportstotal-ofrawbiomassfeedstock,from about 1.9 million metricChinatradepact,hardwoodproduced and 10% of the USing $65 million. For timber, produced 0.73 million tons oftonnes in 2012 to 6.9 millionlumberproducts(undertheagricultural goods exported topoplar, oak, walnut, and alder densifiedbiomassfuel,andtonnes last year. manufacturedgoodspor- China, according to the Hard- arethebest-sellingspecies, sold 0.67 million tons of den- TheUnitedKingdomistionofthedeal)areinkedwood Export Council (HEC).totaling$210million,the sified biomass fuel.far and away the destinationfor a $77.7 billion increase inAlthough China is clearlyUS agency reported.for US wood pellet exports.exportstoChinaoverthetheelephantintheroom,Another emerging market P ressiNGb usiNess In2019,theUKaccountedpactsestablishedbaselineUSexportstoothercoun- for US forest product exports The manufacture of wood(GREATcontinued onof exports in 2017throughtriesarealsopickingup.isIndia.In2019,theUS pelletsrequiresanumberofpage 26) 2021. The Trump Administra- Forexample,Vietnamhasposted a record year for U.S. hardwoodexportstoIndia withthevalueofhardwood lumberandveneerexports totalingUSD6.448million, according to the AHEC. Hard-woodexportsin2019from theUSfrom2019toIndia increased by a whopping 72% in value to $2.356 million (up from $1.369 million in 2018) andby140%involumeto 4,082cu/m(upfrom1,698 cu/min2018).Thetopsix Americanhardwoodspecies exported last year were hick-ory ($727,000 and 1,229 m3), redoak($466,000and920 m3),walnut($329,000and 282 m3), white oak ($262,000 and358m3),ash($242,000 and356m3)andmaple ($140,000 and 240 m3). With the domestic demand in the US booming, interna-tionalexportsrising,sup-pliespinchedandprices soaringtheforestproduct sector is doing well despite the pandemic. But a crucial problem remainswhen will theUSandCanadafinally getadealdoneonlumber asthecurrentsituationjust doesnt cut it.'