From Canada’s “Financial Post”
http://www.financialpost.com/news/story.html?id=883177

Problems with Chinese credit and demand have led to a severe backup in pulp shipments at the Port of Vancouver, with warehouses so full that they have begun to look into the British Columbia interior to store production that is not moving overseas.

“The mills are still producing at 100% …but only 25% of the produced material is being sold,” said Dave Bedwell, executive vice-president at international ocean carrier COSCO Canada. “So there’s 75% that’s being stored, and the mills keep pumping it out while the warehouses are getting full. Shippers are starting to seek outside the Lower Mainland now to find storage.”

Shipments of grain and other commodities have also begun to pile up on docks as foreign buyers of North American goods find their access to trustworthy credit drying up. Commodity producers typically require letters of credit before they will load their goods onto ships.

The total volume of container shipments through the Port of Vancouver remains up 3.3% this year, as container lines pick up more petrochemical and agricultural products to compensate for losses in other commodities.

The problems began affecting pulp three or four weeks ago, Mr. Bedwell said.

“Letters of credit are very, very slow to be opened by the Chinese buyers, and that is causing a little bit of a concern for some of us container guys, because pulp is the number one commodity shipped in containers,” he said.

Pulp shipments make up about a quarter of the trade for container lines that call on Vancouver, Mr. Bedwell said. About 30% of B. C.‘s pulp is exported to China. Another 7% goes to Korea, which is also experiencing issues with buyer credit, according to one shipper.

Exports of B. C. pulp had already seen a precipitous decline this year, falling 12% over the first eight months of the year compared with the same period in 2007, and 40% this August alone.

But the past few weeks have brought another severe tumble.

“For whatever reasons, we’re not seeing orders out of China,” said Jim Allan, the managing director of Trealmont Chartering Inc., one of Canada’s largest pulp logistics companies.

“It’s not good at all. It’s quite unnerving or frightening, whatever you want to call it.”

For Mr. Allan, the most pressing question is whether the decline in orders, which he called “substantial,” is due primarily to credit issues, which may be solved in relatively short order, or to an abrupt fall-off in demand, which would pose much more serious long-term problems.

Joe Nemeth, the vice-president for sales and marketing at Canfor Pulp Income Fund, said both issues are to blame. A 75% decline in orders so far this October “is probably true,” he said, although he cautioned against reading too much into that figure, since he expects a rush in orders toward the end of the month.

Such a freefall in demand is unique to China—European and U. S. markets have seen far smaller declines—and is not catastrophic for Canfor, which sells less than 10% of its pulp to China.

“If they went to zero—worst case scenario—that’s a big deal, but it doesn’t shut our company down,” he said. “If I was a coastal mill and 50% dependent on China, then I’m scared shitless.”

Still, industry officials acknowledged that pulp makers could be forced to cut back their production as storage space fills up.

West Tamar Council are voting on the ‘Proposed Easement Acquisition’ by Gunns at 1.30pm Tuesday, Eden St Riverside. As usual they are only listening to one side of the legal argument. The agenda is disgrace and their main source of advice has stated ‘I also work for Gunns’. TAP and TWS will be in attendance. The council think the Pulp Mill Assessment Act takes care legally of a compulsory land acquisition by Gunns of public land. IT COULD ONLY HAPPEN IN GUNNSMANIA!

Bob Loone, Meander Valley councilor was refused the opportunity of voting on a council issue due to a perceived conflict of interest. He has been on committees which have opposed expansive tree plantations in the Meander valley.

Check out this link and transcript…

http://www.abc.net.au/stateline/tas/content/2006/s1885996.htm

“Mole Creek Logging” - ‘Stateline’
Broadcast: 30/03/2007

BOB LOONE, COUNCILLOR: Unbeknownst to me, the council staff had got a legal opinion from Mr McIlwaine, who I believe is Gunns’ solicitor also, and he gave an opinion that I shouldn’t be in that decision-making process.

AIRLIE WARD: Why?

BOB LOONE: Well, because I was President of the Western Rivers Preservation Trust.

Please read the transcript in full by clicking on the above link. So is the WTC so derelict in its duty to the public in putting its entire faith in the advice of a Gunns employee?
Should not Shaun McElwaine accept his own advice that he gave to Ald Loone, and disqualify himself from advising in all things that is forestry related?

Can West Tamar aldermen be truly comfortable in not disclosing their own pecuniary interests? How many aldermen or close family members, have plantations or financial investment interests in plantations?

I think that a class action of West Tamar residents is a distinct possibility if easements are approved for Gunns.

The voters block cudgel will no doubt remove those in council who support business interests over that of the public.