Premier Forest Products has moved to improve its green credentials by importing 8,600m³ of German timber by sea.

The first shipment arrived at Newport Docks on September 21 and a second is set to arrive this month, with the total volume split between the two.

Premier has been importing Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification-certified German timber since the turn of the year and, according to Mr Ford, the level of demand has doubled in 12 months.

As such, the company has moved to importing the timber by sea as an evironmentally-friendly, and economical, step.

“The amount of timber we were importing from Gemany has doubled since our initial order due to high demand, so it makes sense both environmentally and financially to switch from lorries to an alternative mode of transport,” said Premier softwood sales director Paul Ford.

“One of the main ways to reduce carbon footprint is to‘reduce car use, so taking 100 lorries off the road in Wales will have a huge impact on our country’s carbon output.”

The move to shipping will take the equivalent of 100 lorries off the road according to Premier, saving 119,000kg of carbon emissions that would have been generated on the 100 journeys between Stuttgart and Newport.

Premier added that last year’s Stern Report said that shipping was one the most carbon-friendly methods of transport.