Sawn timber logistics

Exports

The ways in which products from the wood product industry are transported have changed considerably over the years. Finnish sawn timber is still exported mainly by sea

Sea transports

A couple of decades ago, sawn timber and value-added products were exported purely on small conventional vessels from Finland to Europe.

Ro-ro vessels were introduced alongside conventional vessels later on, and these were used to transport part cargos of these products. This transport method is still being used today. The term ro-ro comes from the words “roll on roll off ”, which refers to the cargo being driven on and off the vessel from the rear without the need of a lifting the cargo.

Train ferries were used until the late 1900’s. This mode of transport was partly replaced by trailers and containers.

Nowadays, the logistics of wood products from all the Nordic countries, northern and central Europe, as well as also partly from southern Europe, are transported increasingly in trailers and containers.

The size of conventional vessels has grown significantly. The vessels that are heading towards North Africa and the Middle East are especially large. These cargos usually consist of a combined sales from trading houses and agents, which can be loaded from several Finnish ports.

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The size of conventional ships has grown from the small ships of the past decades. The vessel in the picture can ship up to 50,000 cubic meters of sawn timber. © Hannu Peltonen

Forwarding sawn timber

Freight forwarders operate at the ports as a shippers or sawmills representative.

The forwarders

1. Keep the shippers up to date with the vessels schedules and agree the logistics of the cargos from the factory or mill to the port, as well as handling the storage at the port.
2. The forwarder will also receive the cargos when they arrive at the port and will inspect the condition of the goods as well as inform the shippers of any possible transport or other related damage.
3. Provided that containers are being stuffed at the port, the freight forwarder is responsible for managing that the goods to be shipped and the empty containers are a ready at the port at the same time.
4. The containers can be loaded at the mills, in which case the forwarders role is to make sure that these containers are at the port on time and will be ready to load onto the vessels.

1. The forwarder also takes care off the documentation that the port requires on behalf of the shippers. This information is available through the shippers loading instructions.
2. When the goods have been loaded and receipted on board the vessel, the forwarder will receive a signed Mate’s Receipt for the loaded cargo. (The receipt, signed by the Ship’s Mate/Chief Officer, of cargo loaded on the vessel will include any cargo damage, loading details and clauses).
3. On this basis, the forwarder will then create a Bill of Lading (B/L) or a waybill, which will be signed by the ship’s captain or an authorised representative of the shipping company, and then confirm the cargo loaded for transport.
4. The forwarder will send the signed Bill of Lading to the shippers, who in turn will send this along with the commercial invoice for the goods to the recipient. The customer will receive their cargo at the specified port against the original Bill of Lading.

The documentation is mainly done electronically. The exception is for the Bill of Lading, which requires the signed original paperwork.

All the documents that are necessary for shipping goods are available from the chamber of commerce and the Finnish Forwarders Association.

Stevedoring sawn timber

Stevedores are responsible for moving the sawn timber from the side of the vessel to either the cargo hold or on to the deck. More often than not a crane is used to lift packs of sawn timber aboard the vessel. In some cases, the cargo can be loaded by the ships own cranes.

When loading cargo onto a ro-ro vessel, the cargo is loaded from the port terminal on a roll trailer. This roll trailer is run into the vessel bya tug master through the rear gate of the vessel.

The stevedores additionally are responsible for loading trailers. Containers being loaded at the port are usually organised by the stevedores and loading containers onto the vessels is always carried out by the stevedores.

Loading sawn timber into containers became easier with the introduction of loading installations in to the market in the early 2000’s. These loading installations lead to packs of timber being transferred into sea containers was achieved quickly and efficiently. Testing of DeMach equipment was started in Mäntyluoto port in Pori. Actiw LoadPlate developed their own equipment at Naarajärvi in Pieksämäki.

Both these installations are currently being used when loading containers. The containers loading and unloading equipment, are usually either sheet plates or roll mats that go under the packs of sawn timber and enable the packs to be maneuvered into the container with the help of a fork lift truck. An alternative is to use a loading station with a conveyor to load and unload the container.

Terms of delivery

Exports terms of sawn timber have been standardised since the International Chamber of Commerce established the Incoterms clauses.

When trading with tangible goods there is reason for the sellers and buyers to agree aspects relating to the logistics of delivering the goods. This will include the freight and an insurance contract as well as export and import declarations. Other relating expenses will also be taken into account such as the transfer of the risk and responsibility.

In practise, this happens globally by applying Incoterms. Incoterms 2010 has been in use since 1.1.2011. Incoterms 2010 is going to be revised soon and an updated version is going to be out by 2020.

Also, the terms and conditions of the previous version of Incoterms can be used as long as both parties involved in the trade contractually agree. In each trade, the buyer and the seller need to agree separately on the matter.

Incoterms 2010 has always been included as part of the written trade agreement or otherwise in the trade relation between the seller and the buyer.

trade relation between the seller and the buyer. The trade agreement determines the seller’s and the buyer’s contract law obligations. With the help of Incoterms, this clarifies details, rights and obligations related to the delivery of the goods. The transport and insurance contracts further define for their own part the relationships and potential obligations between both parties in relation to third parties.

INCOTERMS 2010 is a set of international delivery terms published by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). Their publication partly or wholly always needs the permission of the copyright owner (ICC). Full descriptions of Incoterms clauses can be obtained for instance from the Finnish Chamber of commerce. (www.icc.fi).