According to a recent market survey young Chinese consumers prefer imported laminated flooring over domestic products, ITTO reported.
The main reasons cited for this preference were the wide choice of colours especially if available in ‘pavement’ styles, even at the expense of foot comfort.
Other reasons for the preference for imported laminated floorings were convenient installation as imported laminated flooring can be glue-less with an interlocking slot design which is easy for consumers to install by themselves.
Chinese consumers also reported that imported laminated flooring is durable and with better anti-slip features than domestic flooring.
Prices for imported laminated flooring are considered reasonable for many middle class Chinese. Current retail prices for imported laminated flooring are in the region of RMB3-700/panel, well down on the RMB8-1,000 seen in 2012.
Chinese consumers also rate the environmental performance of imported flooring higher than domestic products. The Standard E0 for European flooring is less than 0.9mg/L formaldehyde emission while the Standard for domestic flooring (E1) is “not exceeding 1.5mg/L formaldehyde emissions”.
Local experts note that the market share of imported laminated flooring is less than 20% in Guangzhou City but anticipate sales of imported laminated flooring could reach a 50% market share within the next five years.
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Price of Austrian pellets stable in June
With just a 0.1% increase over May, the June price of Austria wood pellets can be seen as stable. However, over the same month last year, Austrian pellets are way cheaper.
June 2016 recorded an average price of EUR 222.5 per tonne of Austrian Enplus A1 pellets. This represents a 0.1% increase from May 2016 and a -2.7% drop from June 2015.
Austrian wood pellets presently offer a price advantage of 30.0% as opposed to extra light heating oil and 45.7% as opposed to natural gas.
Wood pellets in bags cost an average of EUR 3.80 per 15 kg sack (when ordered by the pallet).This represents a -0.7% decrease over May and a same decrease as compared to June 2015.
Price evolution of wood pellets in Austria
Canada: Sawmills and jobs in jeopardy if softwood lumber agreement isn't reached
Sawmills and jobs all around Canada may be seriously affected by the possibility of the US duties imposed on imported softwood lumber.
It’s possible that the US imposes duties of nearly 25% by mid-2017, which will put a big pressure on Canadian producers. They will have to shut down the mills because they won’t be able to make the money required to pay the duties, Continue reading "Canada: Sawmills and jobs in jeopardy if softwood lumber agreement isn't reached"
Canada: Sawmills and jobs in jeopardy if softwood lumber agreement isn’t reached
Sawmills and jobs all around Canada may be seriously affected by the possibility of the US duties imposed on imported softwood lumber.
It’s possible that the US imposes duties of nearly 25% by mid-2017, which will put a big pressure on Canadian producers. They will have to shut down the mills because they won’t be able to make the money required to pay the duties, Continue reading "Canada: Sawmills and jobs in jeopardy if softwood lumber agreement isn’t reached"
Italy: New law to boost use of certified or recycled timber
Italy’s timber sector has seen advantages for the industry in a new law that at least 50% of wood products procured by government for public projects should be certified legal and sustainable, or recycled.
According to ITTO, Continue reading "Italy: New law to boost use of certified or recycled timber"
British wood industry overwhelmingly in favour of remaining in the European Union
With just a few days before the UK referendum, it seems that the British wood industry is clear about wanting the country to remain in the EU. This would be an advantage for UK's economy, as long as various reforms would be made in order to divide the benefits among the members states.
Continue reading "British wood industry overwhelmingly in favour of remaining in the European Union"
US lumber prices fall in mid June
There have been no significant softwood lumber sales in the US during the middle of June. Traders have thus tried to follow a softwood lumber market trend which led to just-in-time purchasing, but with no sales for inventories.
There have been many quick shipments and the mills were busy pushing the orders through the 4th of July holiday. Also, many buyers purchased the lumber they were missing and paid full price on it.
| Week Jun 17 | Week Jun 10 | Year Ago 2015 | |
| Random Lengths Framing Lumber Composite Price* | $349 | $352 | $332 |
| KD Western S-P-F #2&Btr 2x4 R/L Mill Price | 320 | 320 | $291 |
| KD Eastern S-P-F #1&2 2x4 R/L, delivered Great Lakes | 420 | 415 | $384 |
| Green Douglas Fir Std&Btr 2x4 R/L (Portland) | 350 | 353 | $320 |
| Southern Pine (Westside) #2 2x4 R/L | 381 | 388 | $344 |
| KD Coast Hem-Fir #2&Btr 2x4 R/L | 370 | 372 | $315 |
| Ponderosa Pine (Inland) #2&Btr 1x12 R/L | 705 | 705 | $670 |
| * Weighted average of 15 key items |
Random Lengths Panel Market Report
OSB sales exceeded the plywood sales, but continued to decrease as the producers searched to purchase more than fill-in loads.
The Southern Pine plywood sales accelerated on Wednesday and some western Fir producers noted the week was the best they had experienced in 18 months.
| (f.o.b. mill prices) | Week Jun 17 | Week Jun 10 | Year Ago 2015 |
| Random Lengths Framing Lumber Composite Price* | $371 | $372 | $372 |
| Southern (west-east) 15/32-inch 3-ply rated sheathing plywood | 360-380 | 335-375 | $415-442 |
| Southern (west-east) 15/32-inch 4-ply rated sheathing plywood | 362-380 | 335-375 | $420-442 |
| Western 1/2-inch 4-ply rated sheathing plywood | 383 | 371 | $415 |
| North Central 7/16-inch Oriented Strand Board | 277 | 280 | $208 |
| * Weighted average of 11 key items |
Source: Random Lengths
Austria: Softwood lumber prices in June 2016
In June, softwood lumber prices in Austria have registered some mixed developments. Compared with May, edged boards and squared timber are on a slight positive trend. Prices for stock timber and boards in standard length (4-6 m) are declining. All other products show no price change compared to the previous month. Continue reading "Austria: Softwood lumber prices in June 2016"
Downward price trend for wood pellets in Germany
Inter Ikea Group to acquire Ikea production activities
The European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation the acquisition of parts of INGKA Holding by Inter IKEA Holding, both of the Netherlands.
INGKA develops, Continue reading "Inter Ikea Group to acquire Ikea production activities"
No quotas for Canadian lumber exports to US, says BC Premier
During a meeting of the Chamber of Commerce in Quesnel, Canada, the BC Premier, Christy Clark, spoke about the need for a new softwood lumber trade agreement with the US.
Clark stated that the lack of a new trade deal will seriously affect the 50% Canada’s softwood exports to the US. The SLA between the two countries expired on October 12, 2015, giving the two countries a one-year standstill period to negotiate a new agreement. Continue reading "No quotas for Canadian lumber exports to US, says BC Premier"
EU veneer market showing signs of recovery
Preliminary analysis of Eurostat data indicates that the European veneer market, which was in decline between 2010 and 2014, staged a partial recovery in 2015.
Total EU veneer consumption increased by 9% from 1.47 million cu.m in 2014 to 1.60 million cu.m in 2015. This rise was driven both by a 7% rise in domestic production, from 1.17 million cu.m to 1.25 million cu.m, and a 12% rise in imports from 448,000 cu.m to 500,000 cu.m (Chart 1).
Slowly improving economic conditions in Europe have contributed to rising veneer consumption in key sectors, including veneered panels and flooring.
There are also encouraging signs that veneer manufacturers may be making more progress to regain share lost to non-wood alternatives in recent years through innovations in processing to further improve resource efficiency and to develop new products.
3-D veneers are now ell established in Europe and have extended real wood veneers into applications previously dominated by plastics. As larger industrial markets for standardised veneer products have declined, there has also been a strong emphasis on more flexible servicing of smaller customer specific requests.
The European parquet market shows signs of general improvement
The Board of Directors of the European Federation of the Parquet Industry met recently and discussed amongst others both the parquet situation and recent economic indicators on the European market.
Overall, after several years of a subdued market situation, activity seems to be picking up again in most of Europe. Indeed, the year started off well in many reporting European countries. With a few exceptions, many were able to get out of the red zone during the first quarter of 2016, when compared to the same period of last year. Although the reported parquet sales figures are not yet spectacular, the trend is definitely turning to positive.
A brief per country recap is provided in the table below.
Market overview
| Austria | The information provided to FEP points in the direction of an increase of parquet sales in the order of 2 to 3% despite a still subdued activity on the private housing segment. |
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| Baltic countries | The Baltic countries parquet markets seem to be performing better than during the first quarter of 2015, with an estimated rise of 2% in sales figures. |
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| Belgium | The few indications available point towards stable consumption and production figures. |
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| Denmark | The Danish market remains on a slightly positive note, with a 1% improvement backed by building permits also returning to green figures. |
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| Finland | The situation in Finland remains the most problematic among European countries, with an estimated decrease of 5 to 10% in parquet sales. The influence of the Russian context is considered as an important factor explaining this hesitant market development. |
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| France | The French parquet market is also emerging from its torpor and is now slowly back to positive sales figures, with an estimated 3% gain during the first months of 2016. |
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| Germany | Compiled data indicate that parquet sales in the first quarter of the current year increased by an estimated 3%, reflecting the slight growth in new housing permits. The migrant crisis does not impact the market as cheaper solutions are chosen for their housing. Competition from LVT remains particularly harsh. |
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| Italy | Altogether, parquet sales found their way back to positive figures, with a reported increase of 1 to 2%. The main difficulties encountered are linked to a general liquidity shortage and huge competition from ceramic tiles. |
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| Netherlands | The market is characterised by an increase in the order of 2% parquet in consumption compared to the first quarter of 2015. |
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| Norway | Norway is another Nordic market facing difficulties, with parquet sales down by an estimated 4% in Q1/2016. |
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| Poland | Polish parquet sales are improving by an estimated 2%. |
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| Russia | Parquet sales follow a downward trend. Although Board members did not give a quantitative indication, they unanimously feel that the market activity has significantly dropped. |
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| Spain | Spanish parquet sales are improving by an estimated 2%. |
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| Sweden | The year started out relatively well in Sweden, with +2% in parquet sales. However, the pace reduced compared to the end of 2015. The construction activity is following the right path. Here also, LVT proves to be a strong competitor. Renovation activities are slightly hit by the downward revision of subsidies (interest rates). |
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| Switzerland | Switzerland reports a decrease of 2% in parquet consumption. This unusual evolution for a traditional parquet country is mainly due to the fall by 30% of the housing activity, which is directly linked to the second home initiative, forbidding new homes in recreational areas. Nevertheless, renovation is slightly increasing. |
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Forecast: Canadian housing market expected to cool in 2016 and 2017
The Canadian housing market is expected to moderate over the next two years, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC) said this week. A rise in the inventory of unsold homes, higher prices and mortgage rates and an increase in the supply of rental units are all expected to contribute to the slowdown.
Continue reading "Forecast: Canadian housing market expected to cool in 2016 and 2017"
Stora Enso inaugurates €800 million Beihai mill in China
Stora Enso inaugurates its new consumer board mill in Beihai, China. The mill started up in May and it is expected to reach full production within 18 to 24 months. With an investment of EUR 800 million, this is the largest Nordic direct investment in China, and a significant investment in the history of Stora Enso.
The Beihai consumer board mill has an annual capacity of 450,000 tonnes of high-grade carton board products. One of the key end products is Liquid Packaging Board, of which more than 80 per cent today is imported to China. Stora Enso is the world-leading producer of this product.
“We are delighted to announce the official opening of the Stora Enso consumer board mill in China. This is a very important milestone for us”, says Stora Enso’s CEO Karl-Henrik Sundström. “China is a market with high potential and the start-up of our consumer board mill is crucial to meet the growing demand for high-quality and safe fiber-based food packaging in China and the Asia Pacific region.”
The consumer board mill is located in the Tieshangang industrial zone of the Guangxi region, 40 miles outside of Beihai city. Stora Enso’s operations in the Guangxi region also consist of tree plantations with around 85,000 hectares of land leased since 2012. The plantations have been certified to the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC®) and the China Forest Certification Council (CFCC).
Production of EPAL euro pallets continues upward trend
After the excellent annual result in 2015 with an increase of 10.9% and in total over 100m EPAL pallets, 73.6m of which were newly produced EPAL Euro pallets, the upward trend is continuing in the first quarter of 2016.
In Q1/2016, 18.3m EPAL Euro pallets were produced worldwide: an increase of 5.1% compared to the previous-year period. Repairs figures increased slightly on the previous year with 6.1m EPAL pallets repaired.
Martin Leibrandt, CEO of the European Pallet Association e.V. (EPAL): “This excellent result for the first quarter of 2016 shows the high efficiency of the EPAL Euro pallet in logistics and the high acceptance rate of the EPAL system, the largest open exchange pool worldwide. In addition to this, is the outstanding work of the National Committees, our success in fighting against EPAL-pallet counterfeiting and support for users through effective tools such as the PalletCheck Express App, the quality classification and the EPAL Academy. All of this together makes the EPAL Euro pallet so successful and sustainable.”
DONG Energy Avedøre Power Station getting ready to use wood pellets as fuel
Unit 1 at Avedøre Power Station is one step closer to using wood pellets instead of coal. The largest single component in the conversion has just been installed. It is a 34-tonne heavy cooler which is to be installed in the boiler house at a height of 20 meters.
Morten Reinhold, Senior Project Manager in DONG Energy and project manager of the conversion, said: Continue reading "DONG Energy Avedøre Power Station getting ready to use wood pellets as fuel"
Angola: 57 million m3 exploitable timber potential
Angola has an exploitable timber potential estimated at 57 million m3, out of which 340,000 m3 are in natural forests and 850,000 m3 in planted forests.
The available timber volume for annual exploitation is approximated at 1.9 million m3 to 1.2 million m3, as the minister of Agriculture, Afonso Pedro Canga, stated.
According to All Africa, Anola produced 125,000 m3 of timber in 2015 and might grow even more considering the investments that are underway in the public and private sectors. In the public sector, the Ministry of Agriculture is already developing a program to empower the field of forestry services as to maintain supervision and control the illegal exploitation.
"Forest exploitation implies a set of conditions, equipment, roads, technical personnel and also entrepreneurs who have such technical and financial capacity and strict monitoring of the activity," said Pedro Canga.
In the 1980’s there was a planted areas potential of 150,000 acres of forest nurseries, which are now smaller. At the moment, as to recover the potential of those areas, there are program for plantation and reforestation for environmental, energetic and timber production purposes, as All Africa reported.
"We have all potential to grow. We have a planted forest potential, the nurseries, mainly in the central highlands, that is receiving a new organization and treatment, both concerning their protection and sustainable exploitation, and expansion of the planted area," he stressed.
Moreover, the Forest Development Institute (IDF) has some insufficiencies regarding the controlling services capacity because of lack of personnel, as minister Canga explained. Yet, the Ministry of Environment manages to control the forest conservation areas very well.
Canada: Largest forest products companies show improved yoy revenues in Q1/2016
The largest Western Canadian and Eastern Canadian based forest products companies reported overall higher net earnings in the first quarter of 2016 compared to both the first and fourth quarters of 2015. Commodity prices remained mixed for the first quarter, with lumber prices, specifically Western SPF 2x4 improving while panel and pulp prices declined.
The average price of Western SPF 2x4s in Q1 was USD $271 per thousand board feet, higher than the Q4 2015 average price of USD $263, but lower than the Q1 2015 average price of USD $307, Continue reading "Canada: Largest forest products companies show improved yoy revenues in Q1/2016"
Lithuania: Roundwood prices in 2016 much lower than last year
During March 2016, roundwood prices in Lithuania kept on decreasing compared to 2015. Except for spruce pulpwood, which remained stable, all the other pulpwood and sawlog prices registered a sharp decline.
On a yearly basis, small-sized softwood decreased by -18.9%, registering the highest decrease, followed by pine sawlog, which went down by -12.5%. Also, alder, spruce and birch are cheaper by -5.5%, -4.83% and -2.81% respectively. Continue reading "Lithuania: Roundwood prices in 2016 much lower than last year"
