Next time you ship product internationally, you may be exporting more than you think. Hidden packaging passengers, pests such as the pinewood nematode or the Asian long-horned beetle, may travel from one country to another. Recent outbreaks of pests have been traced back to transport packaging, which has led governments around the world to start cracking down on solid wood packaging materials including, pallets, dunnage and crates.

In an effort to stop the global spread of insects, the United Nations has taken the lead in developing a standard for non-manufactured wood packaging materials. This standard likely will impact companies shipping loads abroad by increasing prices and adding to the paperwork needed for export.

Outbreak History
The insect infestation issue has been brewing for several years. The primary culprits are the pinewood nematode and the Asian long-horned beetle. In recent years, Portugal, France, Finland and Sweden have all experienced pinewood nematode outbreaks, which were tied to solid wood packaging. Shipments infected with pinewood nematodes have been traced back to North America, Japan, Korea, China and Taiwan.

The United States has experienced its own problems with the introduction of foreign pests. Outbreaks of the Asian long-horned beetle led to the destruction of scores of hardwood trees in New York and Chicago neighborhoods. The outbreaks prompted the U.S. government to establish regulations concerning shipments from Asia. Shortly thereafter, China responded with restrictions on imports from the U.S. and other countries, citing the need to stop the spread of the pinewood nematode. A barrage of other countries has established restrictions to stop one pest or another. All of this has led to the effort currently under way by the United Nations.

U.N. Standard
The International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC), a treaty among 115 countries and administered by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, has approved a standard that requires all solid wood packaging materials (both coniferous and non-coniferous) be treated and marked. Approved phytosanitary measures include heat treatment and methyl bromide fumigation. The international standard sets specific treatment requirements. For example, heat treated lumber/packaging must be heated at the core to 56 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes. Adoption of the standard has been left up to each country. Some countries may act quickly. Other countries may never implement the standard. The IPPC global standard only impacts packaging using non-manufactured wood. Engineered wood products such as corrugated, plywood, OSB, etc. are exempt.

According to the National Hardwood Lumber Association (NHLA), approximately 4.5 billion board feet of non-coniferous (hardwood) lumber is used annually for containers and pallets, which is almost 40% of all non-coniferous produced in the U.S. About 72% of all pallets are manufactured using non-coniferous lumber, most of which is low-grade material. Only a small percentage of lumber going into hardwood pallets is dried/heat treated.

The treatment requirement creates an opportunity for coniferous lumber to grab more of the pallet market because a significant amount of coniferous pallet lumber is already kiln dried and therefore meets the heat treatment standard. But it is still too early to tell how drastic any market changes will be.

Europe’s Emergency Measures
In addition to the IPPC standard, the European Union (EU) has imposed emergency measures on coniferous-based solid wood packaging material in order to stop the spread of the pinewood nematode. The emergency measures in Europe only cover coniferous wood packaging from the United States, Canada, China and Japan. Engineered wood products such as oriented strand board, plywood, etc. are exempt.

Outbreaks have become a problem in Portugal, France, Finland and Sweden, forcing other countries in the Common Market to react. On Oct. 1, 2001, the EU started to require packaging material be treated and marked. Although implemented last year, strict enforcement did not start to take place until 2002. Enforcement levels still vary from country to country. Heat treating the core to 56 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes is the preferred method.

Shipments that do not comply may be refused at the border. More than likely, loads would be transferred to an approved shipping platform, and the non-compliant packaging would be destroyed, all at the shipper’s expense.

According to John Mead, a European pallet industry consultant, requirements limiting the presence of bark, the size of bore holes and the moisture content of solid wood packaging have been in place across the globe for many years. Many of these restrictions have not been enforced. But the pinewood nematode outbreaks have raised concern, mobilizing the entire region to act. Restrictions may vary from country to country. For example, Germany has had laws restricting the entry of chemically treated pallets for some years.

Pallets must be marked to indicate proper treatment. Both new and repaired pallets are covered by the emergency measures.

Implementation of an International Standard
Lumber manufacturers and pallet suppliers are trying to gear up for any changes. However, it will take the market time to add treatment capacity and react. "We have been dealing with the Chinese restrictions for more than a year, and there are still people who are doing it wrong. Implementation will take some time," said Monte Lowe of the NWPCA.

Global standardization will eliminate headaches for shippers. Bob Sanders, a senior engineer in IBM’s corporate packaging department, said "Regulations are not consistent around the world. We are having to manage pallets by destination, which is a problem." Global companies, like IBM, are having to weight the cost of using various pallet specifications on a country by country basis versus setting one standard and sticking to it. The pest protection standards create an opportunity for companies to evaluate packaging on a global scale. But Sanders cautioned that even with the global standard, bi-lateral agreements may create many loopholes that will force shippers to manage on a country by country basis despite the intentions of the IPPC.