1303.6 - Tasmanian Statistical Indicators, Jun 1999  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 09/06/1999   
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MEDIA RELEASE

June 09, 1999
Embargoed: 11:30 AM (AEST)
66/1999

ABS report shows Tasmanian woodchip production down

Woodchip production in Tasmania decreased in the March quarter of this year compared to the March quarter 1998. Chipped and ground wood production, totalling 995,088 tonnes for the quarter, was down by 14% on the same quarter of 1998, according to a report released yesterday by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The ABS reported that the volume of logs delivered to mills for woodchipping in the March quarter 1999 was 862,881 cubic metres, 15% less than in the March quarter 1998. Log deliveries to sawmills and plywood mills for the December quarter 1998 totalled 211,437 cubic metres, a decrease of 3.3% when compared with the March quarter 1998 figure.

The overall sawmilling output of 78,879 cubic metres of timber in the March quarter 1999 was 0.7% higher than output for the same quarter last year. Hardwood sawn timber production increased to 36,246 cubic metres, 7.8% higher than the figure recorded in the March quarter 1998. Softwood timber production (42,633 cubic metres) was down 4.6% on the same period last year.

The total volume of logs delivered to Tasmanian sawmills and woodchip mills in the March quarter 1999 was 1,074,318 cubic metres. This was a decrease of 12.9% when compared with the figure for March quarter 1998. Logs from crown land comprised 51.3% of the total.

These statistics are included in an ABS publication containing tables dealing with areas such as population and vital statistics, employment and unemployment, wages and prices, production statistics, building, finance, trade, retail sales, tourism and motor vehicle registrations.

Details are in Tasmanian Statistical Indicators (cat. no. 1303.6), available from ABS bookshops. Main features from the publication are available from this site.