Aug
30
30
There's a superstition among forest workers that goes something like this: When the New Zealand economy booms, the forestry industry descends into economic hell. "And," says a forestry veteran who must remain nameless, "when everything else is f***ed, we're all right."
There's prior form for his belief. When was the last time log prices boomed, planting rates soared and the industry was swamped with investor cash? That would be the early 1990s, when unemployment topped 10 per cent, recession cut a swathe through the productive sector, real wages dropped and retailing nearly drowned.
Today, nearly two years into a forestry boom and with general economic recessionary conditions still evident, forest workers and owners are bullish about their own prospects.
[ Read the original... ]
There's prior form for his belief. When was the last time log prices boomed, planting rates soared and the industry was swamped with investor cash? That would be the early 1990s, when unemployment topped 10 per cent, recession cut a swathe through the productive sector, real wages dropped and retailing nearly drowned.
Today, nearly two years into a forestry boom and with general economic recessionary conditions still evident, forest workers and owners are bullish about their own prospects.
[ Read the original... ]
Tags: NZ Herald, Wood Industry
