The export log prices in New Zealand kept firm during October due to low shipping rates and a growing demand from China, the country’s largest export market.
The average wharf gate price for New Zealand A-grade logs advanced to $113 a tonne in October, from $111 a tonne in September, Continue reading "New Zealand's export log prices keep steady in October"
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New Zealand’s export log prices keep steady in October
The export log prices in New Zealand kept firm during October due to low shipping rates and a growing demand from China, the country’s largest export market.
The average wharf gate price for New Zealand A-grade logs advanced to $113 a tonne in October, from $111 a tonne in September, Continue reading "New Zealand’s export log prices keep steady in October"
Brazil's latest logs, sawnwood and plywood prices
Latest prices for Brazilian logs, sawnwood and plywood prices (1-15 October 2016)
| Brazilian logs, mill yard, domestic | US$ per m3 | ||
| Ipê | 196 | ||
| Jatoba | 108 | ||
| Massaranduba | 113 | ||
| Muiracatiara | 115 | ||
| Angelim Vermelho | 107 | ||
| Mixed redwood and white wood | 92 | ||
Source: STCP Data Bank
Continue reading "Brazil's latest logs, sawnwood and plywood prices"
American wood industry to benefit from the housing market recovery
The U.S. housing market has recovered substantially from the housing crash and Great Recession. After 7 years of new home construction, the housing market has started to recover thanks to the healthier economy, the low mortgage interest rates and the stable job growth.
All over US, the home prices keep on going up, leading to a boost in the home remodeling market. Also, the lumber and other wood products providers are receiving this good news, especially the two of the largest suppliers, Universal Forest Products and Louisiana-Pacific. Continue reading "American wood industry to benefit from the housing market recovery"
Shaw Industries acquires rival USFloors
World's biggest carpet manufacturer, Shaw Industries Group, Inc., acquires USFloors as to expand its luxury vinyl tile and hard surfaces business. Continue reading "Shaw Industries acquires rival USFloors"
Brexit effects on the European sawmill and woodworking industries
On the 23rd of June 2016 the British voted in a referendum to leave the European Union. While this decision will surely have far-reaching geopolitical and economic consequences, it is too early to draw exhaustive conclusions about the impact of Brexit on Europe. However, some facts are already known and, along with their possible implications, will be analyzed in this short document – with a special focus on forestry and the wood working industries.
Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty (TEU) sets out the formal process for leaving the EU, which is not triggered by the referendum, but when the UK formally notifies the European Council of its intention to leave. Once the notification takes place, negotiators have two years to conclude new Continue reading "Brexit effects on the European sawmill and woodworking industries"
Italy: Sicam 2016 ends with positive results
A great edition of SICAM ended today in Pordenone: four days of intense work for operators coming from 102 countries, an absolute record for the fair, crowding the halls and bringing a business atmosphere full of strategic planning in all stands. The visiting companies have been over 7.000, of which 64% Italian and 36% from the rest of the world.
The internationality of the trade fair is so continuously growing and represents a true "ambassador of Made in Italy", but above all, it is becoming more and more a top event in the global exhibition calendar for the branch of components and accessories for furniture.
This year SICAM has registered an increase in the presence of designers and architects: the 560 exhibiting companies showed a very large range of products: the preview of a great season for new furniture in 2017. Attractiveness and the value in terms of business relations of the event have been both reconfirmed: the number of applications for 2017 already collected during the show is demonstrating it.
This year the visits from several countries of continental Sub-Saharan Africa and also Middle East have been registered, countries representing new frontiers for the next decades. Germany confirmed itself as a target market once again, ranked first among the foreign visiting countries. Many those from France and Great Britain, always at the top for the Italian export in the furniture sector, and from Russia, always visiting the fair in the most recent editions.
The next appointment of SICAM is the edition 2017, to be held in Pordenone next October 10th to 13th.
German Pellets investors have little hope of recovering their bonds money
The insolvent German Pellets collected approximately 280 million € of capital through the issue of bonds and the approximately 17,000 investors have very few chances to recover their money. Continue reading "German Pellets investors have little hope of recovering their bonds money"
Schweighofer to expand planing capacity at its Kodersdorf sawmill in Germany
Latvijas Finieris to launch its new impregnation plant in Latvia this month
Latvijas Finieris opens a new impregnation plant in Riga, Latvia on October 27, 2016. The construction of the plant was started at the end of 2015. With the EUR 10 million investment, Latvijas Finieris doubled its production capacity. Continue reading "Latvijas Finieris to launch its new impregnation plant in Latvia this month"
Titan Group orders 17 timber kilns from Valutec for Arkhangelsk LDK-3 sawmill
Valutec has received an order for a total of 17 timber kilns from north-eastern Russia’s largest sawmill, Sawmill 25 in Siberian Archangel, which is building an entirely new sawmill plant. The total order value is around EUR 4.5 million, which means that the order is one of the largest ever for the company. Continue reading "Titan Group orders 17 timber kilns from Valutec for Arkhangelsk LDK-3 sawmill"
Rusforest receives takeover offer; company’s board to evaluate the offer
USDA to invest in expanding wood energy markets
Up to $7 million in grants will be invested in projects designed to expand wood products and wood energy markets that support sustainable forest management, especially in areas with high wildfire risk in the US.
The grants will be made available in through the U.S. Forest Service’s Wood Innovations Program, as the USDA announced.
The proposals must be submitted until January 23rd and applicants are scheduled to be notified of the results in mid-April, with awards made in early July.
In 2017, the Wood Innovation Program will invest up to $7 million in projects designed to have a long-term impact on National Forests and other forest lands by leveraging the market for low-value wood.
Funding is available for a diverse range of activities, from facilitating the establishment of new building codes to support expanded use of wood materials to developing a cluster of wood energy projects in a geographic area. Funding may also support business planning and efforts to accelerate the manufacturing, market adoption and demonstration of innovative wood products, such as cross-laminated timber.
The RFP was announced Oct. 19, during the week President Obama has proclaimed National Forest Products Week. In his proclamation, Obama recognized USDA's work to promote the use of wood energy and wood products.
“By allocating millions of dollars to help expand technologies that encourage the use of wood in innovative ways, we are also striving to improve forest health and generate rural jobs. And we are exploring ways to help forestland owners respond to climate change”, said President Barack Obama.
Promotion of wood products is one of the ten "building blocks" in USDA's Building Blocks for Climate Smart Agriculture and Forestry, the Department's framework for helping farmers, ranchers, and forestland owners respond to climate change. Through this initiative, USDA is committing to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing carbon stored in forests and soils by over 120 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per year by 2025. That amount is equivalent of taking 25 million cars off the road, or offsetting the emissions produced by powering nearly 11 million homes.
"Growing markets for wood products and wood energy create new uses for diseased wood that otherwise would be hazardous fuel in our nation's forests, where we are experiencing increasingly longer and more intense wildfire seasons. USDA has invested nearly $1 billion into 240 projects to uncover innovative new uses for wood, and our Tall Wood Building Prize Competition is proving that multi-story buildings made of wood can be a reality in major U.S. cities”, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.
Since 2005, more than 240 grants have been awarded to small businesses, non-profits, Tribes, states, and local governments to improve forest health while creating jobs, renewable energy and healthy communities. Since 2013, this funding has also helped establish 22 Statewide Wood Energy Teams and six Statewide Wood Utilization Teams that collectively expand and support wood energy and wood products markets.
Forecast: Finland's sawnwood exports to reach record levels on high spruce demand from China
Sawnwood exports from Finland will increase significantly in 2016 compared to 2015 and will reach new record levels. The increase in demand is especially due to the positive trend in Chinese markets for spruce sawn softwood. The production of sawnwood will increase by 5 percent this year. Increasing construction activity will also raise demand for sawnwood in the domestic market. Downward trend in Finland’s average sawnwood export price, already two years ongoing, will reverse only in 2017. Growing demand for wood products in main export markets as well as domestic market will increase the production of sawn softwood next year by 3-4 percent.
Finnish forest industry’s structural change continues
According to a new research by the Finnish Pellervo Economic Research (PTT), Continue reading "Forecast: Finland's sawnwood exports to reach record levels on high spruce demand from China"
Forecast: Finland’s sawnwood exports to reach record levels on high spruce demand from China
Sawnwood exports from Finland will increase significantly in 2016 compared to 2015 and will reach new record levels. The increase in demand is especially due to the positive trend in Chinese markets for spruce sawn softwood. The production of sawnwood will increase by 5 percent this year. Increasing construction activity will also raise demand for sawnwood in the domestic market. Downward trend in Finland’s average sawnwood export price, already two years ongoing, will reverse only in 2017. Growing demand for wood products in main export markets as well as domestic market will increase the production of sawn softwood next year by 3-4 percent.
Finnish forest industry’s structural change continues
According to a new research by the Finnish Pellervo Economic Research (PTT), Continue reading "Forecast: Finland’s sawnwood exports to reach record levels on high spruce demand from China"
Kastamonu advancing to a top position in the Russian laminate flooring market
In the two years since Kastamonu opened the woodworking site in Tatarstan, Russia, the company made it to the TOP-3 laminate flooring suppliers to the Russian domestic market and managed to get a stable position on the Russian market.
Turkish wood-based panel giant has produced and shipped over 13 million m2 of laminate flooring since the beginning of 2016. The second line of the Tatarstan plant raised the projected capacity up to 35 million m2 of laminate flooring per year. Continue reading "Kastamonu advancing to a top position in the Russian laminate flooring market"
US senators call for a new softwood lumber agreement
Idaho Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch along with Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and 21 other Senators sent a letter to President Barack Obama and called for a new softwood lumber deal with Canada.
The senators wish to protect the timber jobs and communities throughout the United States, according to Clearwater Tribune.
“Hundreds of thousands of U.S. jobs and thousands of U.S. rural communities depend on fairness in trade in softwood lumber. That is why we will continue to urge you, and any future Administration, to seek a fair, effective, and sustainable agreement with Canada on softwood lumber trade, and in the absence of such an agreement, to fully enforce U.S. trade laws,” the senators wrote.
The goals that the US President and Canada’s Prime Minister marked in June 2016 weren’t reached by Canada’s latest proposals. The senators claim that Canada’s government hasn’t been willing to consider the proposals consistent with that statement.
As reported by Clearwater Tribune, Wyden, Risch and Crapo led a coalition of 25 senators who called on any new softwood lumber agreement with Canada to include strong protections for American lumber jobs and mills, in July.
The senators added that the U.S. government has submitted detailed proposals to the Canadian government that would establish an agreement consistent with the terms of the Joint Statement. These proposals are designed to ensure that Canadian lumber imports would enter the U.S. market at or below an agreed U.S. market share and to provide appropriate flexibility for the Canadian government to administer such a program.
Austria: Weak price growth for wood pellets
The price of Enplus A1 pellets in Austria reached an average of EUR 223.7 per tonne, or 4.56 Cent per kWh in October 2016. This represents a 0.3% increase over September 2016 and a -2.4% drop,as compared to October 2015. Continue reading "Austria: Weak price growth for wood pellets"
Innovations4Flooring wins patent case against Unilin
Innovations4Flooring (I4F) announced a court case win against Unilin Beheer B.V. to nullify the Dutch part of Unilin’s base pretension patent EP 1026341 (EP’341).
This decision was taken by the District Court of The Hague in the Netherlands following proceedings on the merits filed by I4F against Unilin in December 2014. Unilin was instructed to reimburse all I4F’s legal costs.
The ruling means that the Dutch part of Unilin’s patent EP’341 is fully nullified and must be regarded as having never existed. I4F says that this releases flooring manufacturers and distributors from the obstruction created by Unilin’s patent after nineteen years of invalid enforcement and unjustified payment of license fees. The judge also ruled that I4F’s locking technology, Click4U, does not infringe EP’341 in Europe.
The court found that technological elements of EP’341 were already revealed by Unilin before the patent was even filed. In other words, patent EP’341 should never have been filed.
Based in Willemstad, Curaçao, Innovations4Flooring is a privately-owned technology company focused on the development of patents and flooring installation solutions. A Dutch private equity group holds a majority stake in the company.
US lumber prices register first decline in five weeks
Many framing lumber prices ended up in poor trading last week in the US. Producers lowered quotes on #2&Btr offerings and opened to counters to generate orders. By many accounts, October was turning out to be a disappointment after September failed to meet expectations. With key prices in most species working lower, the Random Lengths Framing Lumber Composite Price posted a $2 drop, its first decline in five weeks.
| Week Oct 21 |
Week Oct 14 |
Year Ago 2015 |
|
| Random Lengths Framing Lumber Composite Price* | $356 | $358 | $316 |
| KD Western S-P-F #2&Btr 2x4 R/L Mill Price | 318 | 325 | 262 |
| KD Eastern S-P-F #1&2 2x4 R/L, delivered Great Lakes | 409 | 415 | 358 |
| Green Douglas Fir Std&Btr 2x4 R/L (Portland) | 330 | 332 | 298 |
| Southern Pine (Westside) #2 2x4 R/L | 434 | 434 | 371 |
| KD Coast Hem-Fir #2&Btr 2x4 R/L | 330 | 330 | 300 |
| Ponderosa Pine (Inland) #2&Btr 1x12 R/L | 655 | 665 | 660 |
| * Weighted average of 15 key items | |||
Random Lengths Panel Market Report
Structural panel trading lacked urgent demands. OSB prices drifted sideways in most producing regions amid a modest week of sales. Yet, producers in Western Canada and the delivery markets in the Pacific Northwest accepted counters to push order files into November.
Southern Pine plywood sales slowed at the mill level and prices dropped. Much of the week’s activity focused on shipments. Western Fir sheathing sales slowed, and traders sensed that supply was outpacing demand. East Coast markets were particularly quiet.
| (f.o.b. mill prices) | Week Oct 21 |
Week Oct 14 |
Year Ago 2015 |
| Random Lengths Structural Panel Composite Price* | $376 | $377 | $358 |
| Southern (west-east) 15/32-inch 3-ply rated sheathing plywood | 367-385 | 365-385 | 365-398 |
| Southern (west-east) 15/32-inch 4-ply rated sheathing plywood | 373-400 | 370-400 | 368-400 |
| Western 1/2-inch 4-ply rated sheathing plywood | 365 | 378 | 367 |
| North Central 7/16-inch Oriented Strand Board | 287 | 287 | 238 |
| *Weighted average of 11 key items | |||
