Softwood Logs (Radiata Pine, Spruce, Fir & Pine)

Radiata pine, spruce, fir and pine sawlogs by export grade and JAS volume, on log carriers or in containers

Softwood logs are bought on species, grade, length, small-end diameter and volume, and the volume is where the argument starts. Most New Zealand export logs are scaled and sold in JAS cubic metres, the Japanese Agricultural Standard measure that estimates the usable volume a sawmill will get from the log rather than its weight, while European and North American logs are commonly sold in solid cubic metres by the exporter's own scale. New Zealand radiata pine is sold in export grades set by the exporters rather than by one national rule: pruned logs to China, Japan, India and Korea, A and J grades to China, India and Japan, K grade to China, India and Korea, and pulp grades, and the length, small-end diameter and knot limits of a K grade can differ from one supplier's specification to the next, so the grade sheet is part of the contract. UN Comtrade 2024 export declarations under HS 4403.21 (pine logs of 15 cm or more) total 19.8 million MT and USD 2.34 billion across the reporters in the pull, and New Zealand declared 15.73 million m³ of it, 63.0% of the value, ahead of Poland (6.3%), the USA (4.9%), Australia (4.2%) and Norway (3.3%). Under HS 4403.23 (fir and spruce of 15 cm or more), 14.9 million MT and USD 1.80 billion, Germany declared 5.39 million m³ (27.9%) and Czechia 3.44 million m³ (15.2%), much of it salvage spruce from the Central European bark-beetle outbreak, which lifted European log exports to China from 11 million m³ in 2015 to 33 million m³ in 2021 before the salvage volumes fell back. Under HS 4403.25 (other coniferous logs, which takes Douglas fir), the USA declared 37.8% of USD 1.11 billion, Canada 26.7% and Japan 14.2%.

The buyers are sawmills, plywood and LVL mills, and log traders in the importing ports, and China is the largest by far: New Zealand's trade with China runs at around 19 million m³ a year. CBIL is a commodity brokerage company and brokers export logs between forest owners, log marketers and exporters on one side and importing mills and traders on the other, and the freight is priced through our sister chartering desk, LaycanDesk. Break-bulk logs move on log carriers, Handysize bulk carriers fitted with stanchions so logs can be stacked on deck, loaded by grade and marked by end-paint or tag; smaller parcels of European logs move in 40-ft containers. The phytosanitary treatment follows the importing country, not the exporter: China accepts alternatives to methyl bromide fumigation for New Zealand logs, such as debarking, while India does not treat debarking as a phytosanitary measure and still requires methyl bromide fumigation, and New Zealand's Ministry for Primary Industries sets the export certification rules for each market. Every lot carries a phytosanitary certificate, a treatment or fumigation certificate where required and ISPM-15 marked dunnage; FSC or PEFC chain-of-custody certificates where claimed; the EU Deforestation Regulation data, including plot geolocation, for EU destinations (the regulation applies to large and medium operators from 30 December 2026); and a Lacey Act declaration for the USA. Logs are sold FOB, CFR or CIF per JAS m³ or per m³ on grade.

Excluded origins are not offered, including product re-exported, blended or re-processed through a third country. Every lot moves with a certificate of origin naming the producing plant, mine or grower country, and nothing is quoted before the seller and loading point are known.