The Association des propriétaires de machinerie forestière du Québec is pleased to take part in the public hearings of the Subcommittee on Canadian Industrial Sectors of the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology, concerning the crisis faced by the forestry sector.
The APMFQ was founded in 1991. From the start, the Association's mission has been to bring together all owners of forestry machinery and equipment in Quebec in order for forestry entrepreneurs to be recognized as professionals in the harvesting and transportation of lumber, and as true economic partners in their communities.
The APMFQ is the only association in Quebec that brings together and speaks for Quebec's forestry machinery and equipment owners and lumber harvesting entrepreneurs.
Since the Association's founding, its administrators and representatives have taken part in a variety of consultations and hearings, including those of the Bernier Committee, the Coulombe Commission, the Forestry Summit and the Green Paper. Creating greater awareness of the value of the forestry trades has always been one of our key activities. Our administrators have striven for recognition and promotion of our members' excellence and professionalism by presenting a "forester of the year" award, as well as awards for the new generation of workers and young companies less than five years old, and for the best worksite in Quebec.
Recently the important economic and strategic role of forestry companies in the value creation chain of the forestry sector was documented. A study conducted among 2,500 lumber harvesting, transportation and road system companies by Laval University's Programme de recherche sur les entrepreneurs forestiers de récolte et transport highlighted the following facts.
There are an estimated 1,300 lumber harvesting companies. On average, they have four employees. They are thus the employers or immediate supervisors of over 5,100 forestry jobs.
Their approximate average annual volume of business is $1,360,000. Of the forestry companies active in harvesting, 60% work in public forests, 24% work in private forests and 14% work in both. The average value of their assets (production equipment) exceeds $800,000 (book value).
In short, the Laval findings confirm that forestry companies contribute significantly to the economies of resource-rich regions by offering well paid jobs and buying many products and services locally, such as machinery, parts and financial services.
It should also be borne in mind that, thanks to their entrepreneurship, the owners of forestry machinery and equipment have helped to improve harvesting techniques, reduce harmful impacts on the environment, develop machinery better adapted to our conditions and boost productivity spectacularly.
We are in a context of change, where for several years now we have seen a falling demand for newsprint, particularly because of increased Internet use. The softwood lumber dispute with the United States has reduced the demand for Canadian lumber. The current financial crisis is only prolonging and worsening the difficulties we are experiencing in the forestry sector. And, even though 2009 was expected to be economically favourable, it appears likely to bring us an even greater share of worries.
We are directly affected by the uncertainty of the companies that would normally be sending us orders. Because we are very specialized lumber harvesting subcontractors, it is harder for us to find other opportunities for our companies.
To help the big companies, most subcontractors have seen the price per cubic metre of wood drop while payments for benefits and other responsibilities have gone up. So our profits are falling steadily year after year.
These are the problems stemming from the situation. The owners of forestry machinery and equipment have to work longer hours. The remoteness of timber stands means long working days. It is getting increasingly difficult to make gains in productivity and efficiency, with the result that we have less flexibility. Our aging workforce is proving hard to replace. Construction and mining siphon off our workers. Wages in cities used to be lower than those paid in the forestry sector, but this difference is less noticeable than in the past. Young people prefer to work in the city rather than go away to work in the bush for weeks at a time.
In an effort to increase their revenues and reduce their expenses, many forestry machinery owners update their equipment regularly. They need to do so in order to keep up with the latest in technology and thus increase their productivity.
For the past two years, we have noted work weeks falling from 40 or more hours to 30 or fewer hours. This makes a big difference to company revenues. A number of bankruptcies occurred last year, and there have been even more this year. This in turn impacts all the parts suppliers and manufacturers. Some owners who are close to retirement would rather just give up completely than continue working like dogs for little or no profit year after year.
In conclusion, we want to assure you that the APMFQ and its members will keep improving their way of doing business, as they have always done in the past. Forestry professionals past and present care deeply about the forest and want to conserve and develop this country's garden of trees for future generations.