Illegal logging crews, run by the Russian Mafia decimate old forests deep in the Siberian wilderness. They come in with guns, a couple trucks, and some high tech super quiet chainsaws. They clear cut the most valuable timber they can find, decimating old growth forests by the hundreds and thousands of acres. These forests are the natural habitat of endangered species like the Siberian Tiger.
Log Laundering
The logs are then trucked to the Chinese border where they are “legalized” by corrupt Russian government officials.They then cross the border and are sent to various Chinese factories. There the logs are processed and made into all sorts of products. Products like hardwood flooring, furniture, trim and moldings; the list goes on and on.
Isn't anyone trying to stop this illegal logging?
Sure, there are Russian forest inspectors that are on the lookout for these illegal logging operations. They are very committed to their mission, and are trying their best to halt these terrible activities. Unfortunately, they pay the highest cost for their efforts. They are threatened. Their homes are burned and vandalized, and in the worst cases, they are murdered.
Where do you think the products that are made from this illegally harvested wood end up?These products are shipped to....are you ready? Europe and the United States, to be sold to your neighbors. These are customers that would normally be yours, if they couldn't go and get their new flooring or furniture from one of the big box stores cheaper.
How Illeagal Logging Affects your Bottom Line
Not long ago, I was contacted by a flooring distributor who offered to sell me Siberian oak flooring for $0.39 per square foot. I was surprised, to say the least, that flooring could be made for such a low price. Of course I turned him down because I believe in products that are made and produced in the USA.
This peaked my curiosity, I mean, I just couldn't wrap my mind around how it could be possible to get a finished product cheaper than I could get the raw materials for locally.
Can you make oak flooring in the US for $0.39 per square foot? Well, lets look at that possibility.- Oak that is cut in the US costs between $0.80 and $1.00 per board foot to buy at a sawmill, this is rough cut green lumber.
- Then it must be kiln dried which costs around $0.25 per board foot.
- Then it has to be milled into flooring which costs another $0.80 to $1.00 per board foot.
- This brings the total cost to between $1.85 to $2.25 per square foot. That is just cost! That is what it costs US manufacturers to make solid wood flooring. You still have to mark it up to stay in business.
So the end cost to your customer would be somewhere between $3.00 and $5.00 per square foot. There are some exceptions to this, for example if you control the entire operation from the tree to the flooring you can cut some of your costs. Even then, there is no way you can cut it enough to sell flooring for $0.99, or even $1.99 per square foot.
How can you help stop illegal logging?
- Educate your customers.
- Do you have a website or an email newsletter? Use it to tell your customers about this problem.
- Link to this article and the resources listed below. A third party source can add a great deal of credibility.
I think that most people care about where their products come from. If they know about this they will stop buying wood products that are made in China. If they are not buying products made in China, then who are they going to buy from?
They will be buying from you. You can say with confidence that your products are made locally from timbers that were sustainably harvested. This will give you a much needed edge over the big retailers.