Framing lumber sales in the US slowed down last week, as compared to the previous week, as buyers stepped back to digest recent purchases and discern the market’s staying power. Continue reading "Softwood lumber price in the US exceeded $400 last week"
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Drax’s earnings drop 17%, but its renewable energy generation booms
UK's power giant Drax dropped 17% in earnings, reaching £140 million. Yet, the renewable energy amount it has generated has increased. Continue reading "Drax’s earnings drop 17%, but its renewable energy generation booms"
Russia increased its lumber and plywood exports during 2016
Russia has, once again, increased its lumber and plywood exports during the full year 2016. The volume of Russian lumber exports increased both in volume and in value terms. Continue reading "Russia increased its lumber and plywood exports during 2016"
US housing starts level off in January
Housing starts in US returned to trend, dropping 2.6 per cent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.246 million units, according to newly released data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. Multifamily production fell 10.2 per cent to 423,000 units after an unusually high December 2016 reading, whereas single-family starts ticked up 1.9 per cent to 823,000 units.
"A settling of housing production is in line with what we are hearing from builders -- that they are largely optimistic about current market conditions but still face supply-side headwinds and regulatory hurdles," said Granger MacDonald, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder and developer from Kerrville, Texas.
"Some pull back in housing production is unsurprising after an overly strong multifamily reading last month," said NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz. "As we move forward in 2017, we can expect the multifamily sector to continue to stabilize and single-family production to move forward at a gradual but consistent pace."
Regionally in January, combined single- and multifamily housing production rose 55.4 per cent in the Northeast and 20 per cent in the South. Starts fell by 17.9 per cent in the Midwest and 41.3 per cent in the West. O
verall permit issuance rose 4.6 per cent in January to 1.285 million units. Single-family permits fell 2.7 per cent to 808,000 units. Meanwhile, multifamily permits increased 19.8 per cent to 477,000 units.
Regionally, building permits rose 29.6 per cent in the Northeast, 9.9 per cent in the South and 5.3 per cent in the Midwest. The West registered a decline of 13.2 per cent.
FSC revokes probation and disassociates from the Schweighofer Group
The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) has decided to revoke the Schweighofer Group’s probation status and disassociate from the group. Continue reading "FSC revokes probation and disassociates from the Schweighofer Group"
US wood pellets exports growth to the EU slowed down last year
After years of growth, US wood pellets exports to the European Union countries were still on the rise during January-October 2016 but at a slower pace as compared to the previous years.
The EU countries imported 14% more wood pellets from the US during the mentioned period, as compared to the corresponding time of 2015.
The UK is the top importer of US wood pellets and its imports increased by 17% during January-October, amounting to 3.3 million tonnes.
According to the Eurostat latest statistics, Belgium's wood pellets imports from the US reached 490,917 tonnes.
Belgium's imports dropped by 6% as compared to January-October 2015, when the country imported 523,776 tonnes of wood pellets from US.
France increased its wood pellets imports from the US with a total volume of 38,000 tonnes, as opposed to the 12,917 tonnes from the mentioned period of last year.
Wood pellets imported by EU from US (in tonnes )
| Importing country | January-October 2015 | January-October 2016 | Change in % |
| UK | 2,981,299 | 3,396,465 | 17% |
| Belgium | 523,776 | 490,917 | -6% |
| France | 12,917 | 64,987 | 403% |
| Denmark | 28,367 | 31,400 | 11% |
| Netherlands | 32,963 | 22,092 | -33% |
| Others | 39,949 | 16,104 | -60% |
| EU total | 3,529,271 | 4,022,004 | 14% |
Setra acquires IKEA site in Malå, Sweden
Setra is acquiring the property Rubanken 2 from IKEA Industry Malå AB. The facility is suitable for wood processing and is adjacent to Setra’s sawmill in Malå.
The geographical location and the property’s suitability for wood processing mean that it is a good fit in Setra’s long‐term plans for the area.
“The acquisition enables Setra to expand and develop our processing over time. They are well suited premises for our operations and are in a very strategic location,” says Hannele Arvonen, President and CEO of Setra.
The production facility is located on Fabriksgatan 3 and Storgatan 2 in Malå and was originally built as part of the sawmill. In recent years the facility has been extended by IKEA Industry. The site area is a total of 5,500 square metres, of which the production hall accounts for 4,600 square metres. The property was used for edge‐glued panels manufacture until IKEA ceased operations in autumn 2016.
The premises have a potential for Setra for processing of interior products such as floors and claddings. In addition, Malå has an especially favourable location with good availability of high quality wood raw material from the interior of Västerbotten. The possession date is 1 June 2017.
Setra Malå is a redwood sawmill with integrated processing. It has 80 employees and an annual production of about 170,000 cubic metres. There are eight sawmills and three processing units in Setra Group.
Indian furniture market to surpass $27 Billion by 2022
The furniture market in India is anticipated to cross $27 Billion by 2022, on account of expanding working population base, rising number of household units and increasing disposable income.
Moreover, growing awareness regarding newer designs of furniture and changing consumer lifestyle are also expected to aid the country’s furniture market over the next five years.
According to TechSci Research, a company specialising in research in high growth and emerging markets, the increase in construction activities, primarily of premium apartments, in India is another major factor responsible for growing demand for furniture. Moreover, increasing marketing initiatives coupled with growing awareness regarding the use of protective and comfortable furniture is further aiding the market of furniture in India. There are virtually no entry barriers in India furniture industry, and this factor acts as an encouraging factor for local producers to open stores with ease in the country. Thus, Indian furniture market is extremely unorganized, and numerous players are operating in the market.
“Over the years, travel & tourism sector has been one of the major contributors to growing demand for furniture in India. The number of foreign tourist in India increased from 6.31 million in 2011 to 8.03 million by 2015. With increasing number of domestic as well as foreign tourists, the same trend is expected to continue over the next five years as well.”, said Mr. Karan Chechi, Research Director with TechSci Research, a research based global management consulting firm.
OSB production and prices in US to experience sharp growth in 2017
North America’s Oriented Strand Board (OSB) market is expected to improve in 2017, with the right balance between OSB mill start-ups and strong U.S. housing starts a decisive factor for its sustainability. Continue reading "OSB production and prices in US to experience sharp growth in 2017"
LIGNA Preview: Innovations showcase ready to roll
LIGNA, the focal point and meeting hub for the international wood industry, is just around the corner. The 2017 edition runs from 22 to 26 May at in Hannover, Germany, and will feature more than 1,500 exhibitors from 45 nations and attract trade visitors from about 90 nations. The show will occupy 10 exhibition halls plus the venue’s extensive open-air site. All the global market leaders will be there with impressive showcases to highlight their latest products and process innovations. They will be joined by a sizable number of other exhibitors, some of whom will be appearing at LIGNA for the first time. With pleasing growth in terms of its exhibitor lineup and a significant upswing in the amount of space booked by various exhibitors, the upcoming LIGNA is set to once again serve as the global wood industry’s top summit and source of innovative technology.
The show’s organizers, Deutsche Messe and the German Woodworking Machinery Manufacturers’ Association, have successfully implemented a new thematic layout in time for the 2017 season. "The new approach and, more importantly, the new physical layout have been extremely well received. The business climate in the wood industry is positive, offering a wealth of market opportunities. LIGNA captures those opportunities perfectly," remarked Dr. Andreas Gruchow, the Deutsche Messe Managing Board member responsible for LIGNA, at the LIGNA Preview in Hannover, adding that: "This year, the exhibitors are presenting a wide array of innovations for intelligent, networked manufacturing systems, not to mention new ideas and strategies for the many value-creation networks at play in the wood processing and woodworking industries."
This year’s action-packed, five-day showcase covers all the technologies that wood industry companies need to succeed in tomorrow’s Industry 4.0 world. The range includes tools and machinery for custom and mass production, surface technology innovations, wood-based panel production solutions, sawmill technology, wood-energy technology, machine components, and automation and forestry technology. "LIGNA 2017 is where key solutions and applications will be showcased. It’s where business relationships and networks will be built that will benefit the entire wood industry for years to come," commented Gruchow.
The central focus of LIGNA 2017 is on intelligent concepts for integrated manufacturing across multiple links in the wood processing chain. The solutions on display promise growth and efficiency. They give wood industry companies a route to business development that does not depend on being big. And they provide a rapid roadmap to the capabilities needed to meet growing market demand for custom production.
LIGNA also scores highly in terms of international participation, with Italy, Austria, Spain, Turkey, Denmark, China, Sweden, Switzerland and the Netherlands following Germany as the show’s top 10 exhibiting nations. In fact, several exhibitors from Italy, Austria and Spain have opted to increase the size of their displays for the upcoming show. All up, LIGNA 2017 will occupy more than 122,000 square meters (1,313,000 sq. ft.) of net display area and feature all the latest wood industry process and product innovations.
The revamped layout includes a new "Tools and Machinery for Custom and Mass Production" 
display in halls 11 to 15 and 27. The display encompasses machinery for processing solid wood, plant and machinery for industrial-scale furniture production, and machines and hand-tools for crafting custom products from both solid wood and panel products. It will present a comprehensive range of solutions for companies of all sizes at one convenient location and in a way that is supremely quick and easy for visitors to navigate. "The new layout of themes reflects the fact that, in modern woodworking, the type of technology used is more about what’s needed to get the job done than about the size or scale of the user’s operation. In other words, new technologies and their applications are converging. LIGNA brings these innovations to life, making it easier for visitors to experience all the most relevant innovations for their particular needs," explained Gruchow.
Under the new layout, the "Surface Technology" area remains in Hall 17, but now stars as a full-fledged display category in keeping with its growing importance within the LIGNA universe. "The Surface Technology area has won a large number of major international players as new exhibitors, and many of those already on board have opted for significantly larger displays," said Gruchow.
The "Machine Components and Automation Technology" showcase in Hall 16 has also become a full-fledged display, thus reflecting the rapidly rising importance of integrated manufacturing and automation. These technologies promise greater efficiency, improved accuracy and shorter production cycles for a wide range of applications. This is the world of Industry 4.0, where machines are increasingly being networked with one another and robots have also entered the scene. Automation translates into significant efficiency gains – for small-scale joinery and carpentry firms as well as for large industrial processors and manufacturers. Industry 4.0 is on a growth trajectory and offers major opportunities for niche providers of the many products that go together to create fully integrated, automated production processes. Demand for integrated, networked solutions is growing worldwide, and the uptake of robot technology is forecast to increase sharply, especially in the CNC machining segment.
The "Wood-Based Panel Production" and "Energy from Wood" displays in Hall 26 and the "Sawmill Technology" displays in Hall 25 are fully booked, thanks to strong support from global market leaders and a host of other exhibitors back for another season or joining the show for the first time.
Meanwhile, the "Forestry Technology" displays will feature on the open-air site and in the pavilions beneath the EXPO canopy with a fresh new look. These outdoor displays will boast a new layout that more accurately reflects the various links in the wood value chain. With an outdoor demonstration site, "avenues" addressing specific themes, an activity zone and the Wood Industry Summit, the enhanced LIGNA is putting forestry technology on center stage.
The other big highlights at LIGNA 2017 include an array of displays themed around "Integrated Manufacturing," a "Processing of Plastics and Composites" showcase that profiles the non-wood uses of today’s woodworking machines, a series of training courses for joiners, cabinetmakers, carpenters, assemblers and installers, and, of course, the Wood Industry Summit. The many highlights of the Wood Industry Summit include innovative solutions for timber harvesting and primary processing, advanced technologies for integrating all the processing steps involved, and a strong showing by international delegations.
Gruchow concluded the Preview by saying: "LIGNA encourages a progressive approach to the possibilities of new networks. New technological opportunities lead to great gains in efficiency."
Former Canfor CEO to negotiate with the US a new lumber deal
B.C. Premier Christy Clark has announced the appointment of former Canfor chief executive officer, federal cabinet minister and B.C. deputy minister David Emerson as the B.C. Trade Envoy to the United States to work with Canada and the new administration in the United States in securing a new Softwood Lumber Agreement.
“I am extremely pleased that David Emerson has accepted the role of B.C. Trade Envoy to the United States,” said Premier Christy Clark.
Emerson, in his role as federal minister of international trade, signed the Softwood Lumber Agreement in 2006. Moreover, as a former CEO of Canfor, he has a broad base of knowledge to defend B.C.’s forest policies and with American legislators and industry leaders.
Emerson already has begun the briefing process in order to start dialogues with legislators and the U.S.A. administration as quickly as possible. It is anticipated that his first visit to Washington, D.C. will take place in March in advance of the imposition of expected countervailing duties being applied to B.C. lumber exports to the United States.
Välinge: Investments of €250 million to increase wood flooring capacity by 20 million sqm
Välinge, owned by Pervanovo Invest AB, has initiated a major investment project to meet the growing demand for Välinge technology. Continue reading "Välinge: Investments of €250 million to increase wood flooring capacity by 20 million sqm"
Stora Enso reported 8.6% earnings increase for its wood products division in 2016
Stora Enso's wood products divison reported 8.6% increase in earnings, reaching EUR 88 million before interest and tax for the full year 2016.
Sales were stable in the Q4/2016, at EUR 395 million, as slightly lower prices were offset by increased sales from strategic investments such as the new production line for wooden building components (laminated veneer lumber, LVL) at Varkaus Mill in Finland and Murów sawmill modernisation in Poland.
For whole year 2016, the sales reached EUR 1.59 billion.
The LVL at Varkaus Mill is ramping up and production optimisation is ongoing. Full production is expected in mid-2018. Over 70% of the products obtained certificates during the fourth quarter, and the remaining certificates are expected during the first quarter of 2017.
Deliveries totalled 4.64 million m3 in 2016, a 7.1% increase compared to 2015. Operational EBIT decreased EUR 4 million to EUR 17 million. Increased volumes were more than offset by increased fixed costs and depreciations, mainly due to the strategic investments. Slightly lower sales prices decreased operational EBIT.
This spring, the feasibility study for building a cross-laminated timber (CLT) production unit at Gruvo¨n Mill in Sweden will be finalised.
In January 2017, Stora Enso announced that it will invest EUR 12 million to build a new production line manufacturing biocomposite granules with an annual capacity of approximately 15 000 tonnes at Hylte Mill in Sweden. Production is scheduled to begin during the first quarter of 2018
New wood chips drying technology developed in Finland
Finnish researchers are currently studying a more efficient means of drying wood chips, one that is said to be efficient, mobile and suitable for drying various materials. Continue reading "New wood chips drying technology developed in Finland"
Prices for Ghana's exported wood products at the end of January
Prices for Ghana's exported wood products are the following between 16-31 January 2017: Continue reading "Prices for Ghana's exported wood products at the end of January"
Prices for Ghana’s exported wood products at the end of January
Prices for Ghana's exported wood products are the following between 16-31 January 2017: Continue reading "Prices for Ghana’s exported wood products at the end of January"
German furniture industry sales got up to a record of almost EUR 18 billion in 2016
The German furniture industry sales grew by 3.2% in 2016 and reached a new all-time high of EUR 17.96 billion. Continue reading "German furniture industry sales got up to a record of almost EUR 18 billion in 2016"
Protectionism not viable for US and trade partners in the long-run, says VDMA
German machinery exports to USA fell by 3.4 percent between January and October 2016, and by nearly 5.8 percent in the period between August and October, according to Germany’s Mechanical Engineering Industry Association (VDMA).
Continue reading "Protectionism not viable for US and trade partners in the long-run, says VDMA"
Swedish furniture giant Ikea invests in Dutch recycling company
Home furnishers and consumer goods retailer Ikea has acquired a 15% minority stake in Dutch plastics recycling company Morssinkhof Rymoplast.
The Swedish-based furniture giant said the investment is part of a EUR 1 bn financial plan to secure a long-term supply of sustainable materials by investing in forestry as well as companies active in recycling, renewable energy development and biomaterial developments.
This is the first investment in recycling under the plan. Morssinkhof Rymoplast processes sorted post-consumer and pure post-industrial plastics, and has a process capacity of about 200,000 t, Ikea said in a statement. The Ikea Group investment will enable Morssinkhof Rymoplast to further develop its capacity and capabilities to produce high quality recycled raw materials made from plastic waste, the retailer stated. The investment will contribute to business expansion opportunities that can save an additional 50,000 t of CO2 annually due to increased recycling volumes.
Steve Howard, chief sustainability officer at Ikea, said the investment is part of the company’s commitment to the circular economy. "Moving to the circular economy is essential if we are to continue to meet people’s needs and dreams while staying within the limits of one planet," he said. "We want to be part of accelerating this transition – through the investments we make, by changing waste into resources across our operations and enabling millions of people to live a more sustainable life at home."
Former German Pellets plant in Wismar performs well with its new American owners
Just over a year ago, the German wood pellet manufacturer German Pellets applied for insolvency. Now the production at the former German Pellets plant in Wismar, Germany is running again at a fast pace with its new American owners. And the reason for the boom is not only the long-lasting winter...
Continue reading "Former German Pellets plant in Wismar performs well with its new American owners"
