Article archive

Latvia’s forest products export up 12.6%

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During the first seven months of 2014, Latvian forest industry's export increased by 12.6%, reaching EUR 1.189 billion, compared to EUR 1.056 billion in the same period in 2013, reports the Baltic Course, compiling data provided by the Latvian Forest Department of the Ministry of Agriculture.

Latvia's largest export markets were Great Britain, Sweden and Germany. A total of 11.2% of forest industry's exports went to Great Britain, 15.2% to Sweden and 10.9% to Germany.

Meanwhile, forest industry imports the first seven month of 2014, reached EUR 391.92 million, which is 16.8% more than in the respective period of 2013. The largest part of imports came from Lithuania – 20.3%, Estonia – 12%, and Poland – 11.1%.

IKEA opens Poland's largest sawmill

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Swedish furniture giant IKEA on Tuesday opened Poland's largest sawmill in the south eastern city of Stalowa Wola. Its processing capacity is of 400,000 m3 of logs per year, and the lumber produced will be mainly used in IKEA factories in Poland and Slovakia.
"Poland is a very important country, also when it comes to production. It offers good quality raw materials, qualified staff and high production efficiency, and is also close to major markets in Europe "- said Henrik Andersson, manager of the Division of Solid Wood at IKEA Industry.
The new IKEA Industry sawmill will soon start production of pine sawn timber. Full production capacity is to be reached within two years. Currently, the sawmill employs 43 persons.
In Poland, IKEA has nearly 10 000 employees in 16 manufacturing plants and 13 locations. IKEA Industry Poland specialises in solid wood furniture production, chipboard and particle board production, as well as board-on-frame production.

IKEA opens Poland’s largest sawmill

Posted on by GWMI Admin

Swedish furniture giant IKEA on Tuesday opened Poland's largest sawmill in the south eastern city of Stalowa Wola. Its processing capacity is of 400,000 m3 of logs per year, and the lumber produced will be mainly used in IKEA factories in Poland and Slovakia.

"Poland is a very important country, also when it comes to production. It offers good quality raw materials, qualified staff and high production efficiency, and is also close to major markets in Europe "- said Henrik Andersson, manager of the Division of Solid Wood at IKEA Industry.

The new IKEA Industry sawmill will soon start production of pine sawn timber. Full production capacity is to be reached within two years. Currently, the sawmill employs 43 persons.

In Poland, IKEA has nearly 10 000 employees in 16 manufacturing plants and 13 locations. IKEA Industry Poland specialises in solid wood furniture production, chipboard and particle board production, as well as board-on-frame production.

Steinhoff seeks IKEA's dominance in Europe

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Steinhoff Int. Holdings Ltd. plans to further expand in Europe after rising sales on the continent helped increase full-year profit by 38%, as Bloomberg reports. Steinhoff operates retail stores selling furniture, kitchens, household goods, products for home decoration, electrical appliances and consumer electronics in Europe. Steinhoff also manufactures and sells furniture at the wholesale level in Europe and provides certain logistics, supply chain management and warehousing services. In June 2013, Steinhoff acquired the Austrian furniture giant kika-Leiner. Steinhoff owns other furniture retailers in Europe: Conforama in France, or Harveys from the UK.
The company is under-represented in Germany, Eastern Europe and the Benelux countries, Chief Executive Officer Markus Jooste said in an interview yesterday in Johannesburg, as quoted by Bloomberg. Further growth could boost its share in continental Europe to 10 percent from 6 percent, he said, potentially eating into the lead held by Ikea of Sweden AB.
“Our focus will remain with the European Union,” Jooste said. “There are still lots of gaps in our market share in the bigger countries, so we are busy all the time looking for what is available.”
Jooste stated last month that Steinhoff had received approval from the South African Reserve Bank to look at a primary listing in Frankfurt from September, while it would retain an inward listing on the Johannesburg bourse.

Steinhoff seeks IKEA’s dominance in Europe

Posted on by GWMI Admin

Steinhoff Int. Holdings Ltd. plans to further expand in Europe after rising sales on the continent helped increase full-year profit by 38%, as Bloomberg reports. Steinhoff operates retail stores selling furniture, kitchens, household goods, products for home decoration, electrical appliances and consumer electronics in Europe. Steinhoff also manufactures and sells furniture at the wholesale level in Europe and provides certain logistics, supply chain management and warehousing services. In June 2013, Steinhoff acquired the Austrian furniture giant kika-Leiner. Steinhoff owns other furniture retailers in Europe: Conforama in France, or Harveys from the UK.

The company is under-represented in Germany, Eastern Europe and the Benelux countries, Chief Executive Officer Markus Jooste said in an interview yesterday in Johannesburg, as quoted by Bloomberg. Further growth could boost its share in continental Europe to 10 percent from 6 percent, he said, potentially eating into the lead held by Ikea of Sweden AB.

“Our focus will remain with the European Union,” Jooste said. “There are still lots of gaps in our market share in the bigger countries, so we are busy all the time looking for what is available.”

Jooste stated last month that Steinhoff had received approval from the South African Reserve Bank to look at a primary listing in Frankfurt from September, while it would retain an inward listing on the Johannesburg bourse.

Large sawmill opens in Russia

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On September 5, an official inauguration ceremony took place at the Boguchansky LPK mill in the Krasnoyarsk region, Russia, WhatWood reports. Kraslesinvest launched the first stage of the project, a sawmill line. The plant is part of a major investment project, which targets a large vertically integrated complex. The mill will work in test mode for some time, and full-scale production will start from November 2014.
The company plans to process 800,000 m3 of logs into 440,000 m3 of finished products, said the Director of the Division for natural resources and construction of Vnesheconombank Ilgiz Valitov, as quoted by WhatWood.
As of early 2014, the management company Kraslesinvest had invested over 16 billion roubles (approximately € 326 million) into the project. Kraslesinvest’s sole shareholder and investor is Vnesheconombank, a state banking corporation.

German oak lumber exports expand to Vietnam and China

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In the first half of the year, German oak lumber exports have increased in volume by 22 percent from the same period of last year. Year-to-date exports amounted through June about 63,388 cubic meters, while the value reached € 32,3 million (+15% over H1/2013). German oak shipments to traditional European customers have slowed down: exports to Netherland fell by -5% in volume and stagnated in value; those to Poland slumped both in volume as well as in value, while deliveries to Switzerland, Italy and the UK were also on a declining trend. The only positive signs were for exports to Denmark and the Czech Republic, which have increased in volume by 36 and 50 percent respectively.
However, the overall decline in Europe was backed by a sharp increase in Asia. Deliveries to Vietnam were booming in volume and almost tripled in value. Now Vietnam has become the number one destination for the German oak. Also shipments to China rose by more than 100%, both in volume and value. At the same time, those to Indonesia went up by more than 20%.
In terms of exporting prices, the average price for one cubic meter of German oak lumber was in the first six months € 510 (H1/2013: € 557). The most expensive oak was delivered to the European countries, such as Switzerland (€ 1023/m3; H1/2013: €1024/cbm); United Kingdom (€ 792/cbm; H1/2013: € 726/cbm) and Denmark (€ 717/cbm; H1/2013: €865/cbm). Shipments to Asia were less expensive: Vietnam (€ 334/cbm); China (€ 358/cbm); Indonesia (€ 366/cbm)

Germany's oak lumber exports (differently processed); Top 10 destinations In volume (m3)
June 2013 June 2014 January-June 2013 January-June 2014 Change in %; Jan.-June 2013 to 2014
Vietnam 690 3,515 4,193 14,421 244%
China 651 1,568 3,766 7,995 112%
Netherlands 1,668 1,285 8,296 7,892 -5%
Poland 1,585 1,243 9,452 6,713 -29%
Denmark 551 1,109 3,406 4,617 36%
Indonesia 793 367 3,667 4,399 20%
Switzerland 370 519 2,960 2,614 -12%
Czech Republic 338 302 1,404 2,106 50%
Italy 311 326 2,244 1,656 -26%
United Kingdom 288 190 1,968 1,331 -32%
Others 1,941 2,154 10,716 9,644 -10%
TOTAL 9,186 12,578 52,072 63,388 22%

 

Germany's oak lumber exports (differently processed); Top 10 destinations In value (EUR)
June 2013 June 2014 January-June 2013 January-June 2014 Change in %; Jan.-June 2013 to 2014
Vietnam 245,000 1,175,000 1,269,000 4,825,000 280%
Netherlands 955,000 678,000 4,486,000 4,504,000 0%
Denmark 500,000 602,000 2,946,000 3,313,000 12%
Poland 700,000 573,000 4,247,000 3,188,000 -25%
China 212,000 649,000 1,297,000 2,859,000 120%
Switzerland 373,000 528,000 3,031,000 2,673,000 -12%
Indonesia 278,000 119,000 1,276,000 1,609,000 26%
Czech Republic 192,000 204,000 848,000 1,258,000 48%
Italy 159,000 205,000 1,252,000 1,085,000 -13%
United Kingdom 211,000 147,000 1,429,000 1,054,000 -26%
Others 946,000 1,274,000 5,924,000 5,966,000 1%
TOTAL 4,771,000 6,154,000 28,005,000 32,334,000  15%

Enviva invests US$214 million in two new wood pellet plants

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North Carolina governor Pat McCrory on Tuesday announced that Enviva plans to develop two new wood pellet facilities in Richmond and Sampson counties, N.C., U.S. The projects would create a combined 160 permanent jobs between the two facilities by the end of 2017 with an investment of more than $214.2 million.
“Enviva is one of the fastest-growing companies in the wood pellet industry,” said Governor McCrory. “It turns byproducts of sawtimber harvests into renewable fuel that is in great demand around the world. By developing these projects, it plans to double the size of its operating footprint in North Carolina”.
Enviva is one of the world’s largest producers of wood pellets made from a mix of low-grade wood resources, all of which are byproducts of the traditional sawn timber industry. With manufacturing facilities in North Carolina, Mississippi, and Virginia, Enviva has an annual production capacity of approximately 1.6 million metric tons.

China: Wood consumption to get a boost from green construction action plan

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Recently China began to implement a „green construction action plan‟ which requires, by 2015, 20% of new town construction to meet the requirements of green building standard. It is estimated that China's urbanisation rate will increase from 54% in 2013 to 60% by 2020 .
The „green construction action plan‟ is one element of the government's "China National New Type Urbanization Plan" prepared to meet the challenges of urbanization. To meet the demand for urban housing China plans to build 100 „green‟ ecological urban demonstration zones. Low income housing built by municipalities will take the lead in the implementation of green building standard.
In particular some 400 million square metres of housing in China's Northeast will be reformed for energy saving. The forecast pace of urbanisation will create a steadily expanding demand for wood products and the „green construction action plan‟ is expected to result in higher wood consumption per square metre of completed housing.

Falling log prices in Lithuania

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The declining trend in Lithuanian roundwood prices which started in April continues in June, though prices for almost all assortments are well above last year's levels. In June, sawlogs are cheaper over May by between € 0,58- € 1,45 per cubic meter. However, birch and alder have gained a small price increase.
On the other hand, on a yearly basis, in June almost all roundwood prices in Lithuania are higher, apart from alder sawlogs (-3.83%). Pine and spruce sawlogs are more expensive by 10,34% and 14,76%, meanwhile pine and spruce pulpwood prices have increased by 18,46% and 13,56% respectively.

Roadside prices of roundwood in state forests of Lithuania EUR/m³ under bark

 June 2013 May 2014 June 2014 Change
June/2013
  to June/2014
SAWLOGS
Pine 58,79 65,45 64,87 10,34%
Spruce 60,82 71,25 69,80 14,76%
Birch 60,24 63,14 63,43 5,29%
Alder 53,00 50,68 50,97 -3,83%
Small-sized softwood 48,37 51,84 50,39 4,17%
PULPWOOD
Pine 26,65 32,15 31,57 18,46%
Spruce 27,80 32,73 31,57 13,56%
Birch 29,25 29,83 29,25 0%

The above prices are collected from metla.fi. Prices are converted from Lituanian Litas (LTL) to Euro for each specific month at ECB conversion rates.

SCA upgrades sawmill in Sweden

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SCA will invest SEK 500 million (EUR 54.3 million) in a new saw line at the Tunadal sawmill in Sundsvall, Sweden. This investment will allow for an increase in production to 540,000 cubic meters of spruce wood products per annum, as the company says in a press release.
The new saw line will replace the sawmill’s present three saw lines. The investment will also comprise a rebuild of the raw sorting line and increased kiln capacity.
“This investment will allow us to increase production, but we can also continue to develop a broader product mix in line with market demand,” says Ulf Larsson, president of SCA Forest Products. “We will have state-of-the-art production equipment that is easier to maintain. With this investment, Tunadal is a new and modern sawmill from the sorting of logs to the loading of the finished products.”
The new saw line will be built on reclaimed land, behind the present sawmill. This way construction will not interfere with the sawmill’s production and operations. The new saw line will be operative the autumn of 2016.
Tunadal sawmill produces spruce wood products. The production capacity is 500,000 cubic meters per annum, of which 80,000 is planed products.

Metsä reduces LVL and glulam production

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Metsä Wood, the wood products business area of Metsä Group, is beginning statutory labour negotiations in order to adjust production in response to decreased demand at its Kerto LVL mills in Punkaharju and Lohja (Finland), and at its glulam mill in Hartola (Finland), the company said in a press release. The negotiations announced today concern some 370 people in total.
Metsä says the this decision comes after the prolonged and strong decline in the construction industry which continues in Finland and throughout Europe. As a result, demand for Kerto LVL and glulam products has been weaker than expected.
The statutory labour negotiations are expected to be concluded during September. Metsä says that the aim is to keep production curtailments to a minimum and they are planned to be implement through temporary layoffs. At the Kerto LVL mills, the curtailments are scheduled to occur mainly by the end of January 2015 and their duration is two weeks at maximum. The curtailments at the glulam production are scheduled by the end of the first quarter of 2015 and their duration is 12 weeks at maximum.

Kronospan construction of OSB plant in Poland underway

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Kronospan's plans for the construction of a new plant in Poland are ongoing. The OSB plant will be build near an already operating Kronospan facility in Strzelce Opolskie. Kronospan’s investment is expected to reach PLN 432 million (EUR 103 million), from which 29% of the overall amount is covered by a grant approved by the European Commission in April 2013 and contracted from the EU’s Regional Development Fund.
Polish media (propertynews.pl) reports that more than 200 jobs will be created due to Kronospan's new plant. The project, which has already started, includes the construction of a hall with an area of ​​3.5 hectares.
Kronospan's spokeswoman Sylwia Pawlina said that the recruitment process for the new plant has already begun and the planned completion of the investment is at the end of July, 2015.
Kronospan owns in Poland facilities in Szczecinek, Mielec, Rudawa, Pustków and Poznan.

Chinese redwood furniture prices climbing

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According to the well-known domestic „redwood‟ furniture manufacturer, Liantianhong current tariffs on redwood furniture account for 20% of production costs. Because of this prices for redwood furniture have risen by between 5%-10% since the beginning of August but producers are finding it difficult to trade at these new higher prices as the buyers are resisting the increase, ITTO reported.
Liantianhong says the redwood furniture Chinese market has cooled and those with large stocks are under pressure to dispose of the log stocks to avoid any further losses. At present the redwood log market is weak and prices for East African blackwood, African rosewood and Myanmar padauk have fallen.
However, prices for high quality rosewoods are still firm. In related news statistics from Guangxi Customs for the first half show that imports of redwood logs and redwood furniture by manufacturers in Pingxiang City were valued at yuan 660 million, up by a factor of 5 year on year.

Firm in US to build 500,000 t pellet plant

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Highland Pellets LLC, an Arkansas, US based company, announced the building of a 500,000 metric ton per year wood pellet facility in Pine Bluff, Ark.
Highland Pellets is a privately held company with industry veterans from the wood pellet, finance, and energy markets. Wood pellets are a sustainably sourced feedstock for use by European industrial utilities to lower their carbon footprint and provide sustainable base load power.
Highland Pellets is working with first class industry partners including a leading forestry company to provide sustainable fiber feedstock and Cooper/Consolidated for the management of the logistics supply chain for export. Groundbreaking is expected to commence in October and deliveries from the plant to begin March 2016.

Austria: Prices for softwood lumber rise slightly

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In July, prices for boards in Austria increased slightly from the previous month. In particular, the lower price limits have shifted upwards (between +2 to +3), and thus lead to a stronger price field. Compared to the same month last year, prices remain higher, within the stable trend recorded in the past few months. Only edged boards' upper price limit is below the level of the previous year.

Softwood Lumber Spruce/Fir July 2013 June 2014 July 2014 Change July '13 to '14
€/cbm EXW
Edged Boards, 0-IIIa, 23 mm + 231-245 234-243 234-243 +3 / -1
Rough boards in fixed dimensions, 18-22 mm 229-239 230-242 229-242 - / +3
Squared timber, standard dimensions, I/II, 4-6 m 210-218 210-217 212-218 +2 / -
Reserve squared timber, II/III 152-159 155-161 157-162 +5 / +3
Boards, III-IV, 8-16 cm, 4-6 m 143-151 147-153 150-155 +7  / +4
Boards, III-IV, 8-16 cm, just 4 m 146-152 149-156 151-157 +5 / +5
Boards, III/IV, 23 mm, 4-6 m 147-153 150-156 152-157 +5 / +4
Boards, III/IV, 28 mm +, 3-6 m 152-159 154-164 157-165 +5 / +6

 

Global woodworking technology still in crisis

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The figures of the global industry of woodworking technology, processed by the Acimall Studies Office, are clear: all major international competitors recorded a negative trend. Export decreased in Germany (1,715 million Euro, minus 3.1 percent compared to 2012), though it was compensated by a strong domestic market. Same 3.1 percent decrease, down to 1,111 million Euro, also for export in Italy, a downward trend that had already emerged at the end of 2012 and that, unfortunately, was not mitigated by a stagnating domestic market.
Export also decreased in the US (minus 7.5 percent versus 2012, for a total of 283 million Euro); moderate reduction also for Austria (minus 0.6 percent, 355 million Euro) and for Taiwan (minus 0.2 percent for a total export value of 457 million Euro).
Only China improved over 2012, with export at 790 million Euro, up by 12.6 percent compared to 2012, a result that earned them the third place in the global ranking of woodworking technology exporters.
So, the wood industry is still going through a phase of substantial “reflection”, says Acimall. Although trends are highly diversified in absolute values, we can say that recovery for the processing industry of wood and wood-based materials is still to come.
Looking at the ranking of the top-50 destination countries, it is clear that the US were the biggest customers of international woodworking technology manufacturers in 2013. The companies of the US value chain purchased equipment for a total value of 836 million Euro, as much as 12 percent more than in 2012.
The second place was taken by Russia with 500 million Euro, a significant figure, but definitely lower (minus 24.8 percent) than in 2012. This was a strong downsizing for one of the “liveliest” markets in recent years, now facing a difficult geo-political situation and the intrinsic weakness of the ruble.
Third place for Germany, with a 10.9 percent increase in investments in foreign-made technology, for a total value of 397 million Euro. Italy is at number eleven, with 143 million Euro purchases from foreign manufacturers, mainly German and Chinese suppliers.
Generally speaking, the figures processed by the Studies Office of the Confindustria-member association show 28 countries with shrinking import out of the top-50. Bad news especially for Brazil (minus 32 percent), Belarus (minus 39,7 percent), Malaysia (minus 40,1 percent), Estonia and Latvia (minus 45 percent).
According to Acimall, there are only 22 “virtuous” countries: Turkey is firmly established at number eight, with import up by 14.8 percent (167 million Euro); interesting trend also for Hungary, with “significant” volumes of foreign technology purchases (53 million Euro), up by 72 percent compared to 2012.
Finally, there was a strong “rebound” for Algeria, climbing up to place 43 in the ranking, as a result of 43.5 percent growth (32.4 million Euro).

Sweden: Decreasing sawlog prices during 2Q/2014

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The second quarter of 2014 shows decreasing sawlog prices in Sweden after a slight surge in the 1Q. Pine and spruce sawlogs are both cheaper by about EUR 2/per cubic meter. Pine logs cost now an average of EUR 48.82/cbm, while spruce logs were traded in the 2Q at EUR 53.94/cbm.
Pulpwood prices are higher as compared to the first quarter. Pine and spruce pulpwood have gained about EUR 0.70/cbm and are now priced at EUR 30.08/cbm and EUR 31.60/cbm respectively.
As compared to the same quarter last year, spruce sawlogs price is EUR 1/cbm higher, meanwhile pine is at the same level. Pulpwood assortments, however, have become cheaper in the range of 1 euro per cubic meter.

Germany: Pine lumber exports up 30%

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In the first five months of 2014, German sawn pine lumber exports have increased by more than 30 percent both in volume and value. This is mainly due higher shipments to Germany's main customer, China, but also to large shipments to Egypt. In Europe, deliveries to the Netherlands went up by 53 percent in volume, while those to Belgium increased by almost 90 percent. Exports to Poland and the Czech Republic kept rather stable with minor increases.
The average export price went up by 3,5 percent to EUR 177.42 per cubic meter (January-May 2013: EUR 171.55/cbm). Among the main importing countries of German sawn pine, the highest delivery price was to Japan (EUR 220.34/cbm) and the United Kingdom (EUR 206.98/cbm). The cheapest pine was sold to Belgium (EUR 150,01/cbm), Italy (EUR 152.88/cbm) and Poland (EUR 158.49/cbm).

Germany: Sawn Pine Lumber, lengthwise; Export; Top 10 Destinations

 In volume (m3)
May
2013		 May
2014		 Jan.-May
2013		 Jan.-May
2014		 Change in %; Jan.-May 2013 to 2014
China 14,014 17,882 53,870 82,532 34,80%
Egypt 0 21,414 2,491 68,959 %
Netherlands 8,342 11,366 38,984 59,709 53,16%
Japan 9,538 9,892 34,951 39,724 13,65%
Belgium 3,433 6,565 18,633 35,289 89,38%
Poland 7,450 5,454 30,904 31,737 2,69%
Italy 6,136 6,976 26,098 29,212 11,93%
India 12,556 7,184 52,251 28,959 -44,57%
Czech Republic 3,938 2,992 14,764 14,945 1,28%
United Kingdom 2,728 3,426 14,788 13,750 7,01%
Others 38,804 30,451 153,751 170,353 10,79%
TOTAL 106,939 123,602 441,485 575,169 30,28%

 

Germany: Sawn pine, lengthwise; Export; Top 10 Destinations  In value (€)
 May
2013		  May
2014		  Jan.-May
2013		 Jan.-May
2014		 Change in %; Jan.-May 2013 to 2014
China 2,487,000 3,070,000 9,362,000 14,288,000 52,61%
Egypt 0 3,786,000 409,000 12,026,000 %
Netherlands 1,390,000 1,989,000 6,356,000 10,202,000 60,50%
Japan 2,023,000 2,073,000 7,403,000 8,753,000 18,23%
Belgium 530,000 993,000 2,682,000 5,294,000 49,33%
Poland 1,215,000 822,000 4,937,000 5,030,000 1,88%
India 1,967,000 1,237,000 8,230,000 4,956,000 -39,78%
Italy 906,000 1,075,000 3,818,000 4,466,000 16,97%
France 785,000 508,000 3,345,000 3,346,000 0%
United Kingdom 507,000 698,000 2,764,000 2,846,000 2,96%
Others 6,933,000 5,702,000 26,434,000 30,843,000 16,67%
TOTAL 18,743,000 21,953,000 75,740,000 102,050,000 34,73%

North America: Changing wood product use in housing markets

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In North America, around US $500 billion are spent every year on residential construction and remodelling. Ninety percent of single-family homes in Canada and the US are built of wood. In the US, approximately two thirds of all new homes are single-family houses. In Canada it is only one third because the population is concentrated in urban areas where land is increasingly scarce and expensive.

In 2011 the share of single-family homes in new construction was close to 40% in Canada, compared to 32% in May 2014. Only about 50% to 65% of the multi-family buildings in the US and Canada are built in wood.

Not only is less structural wood used in multi-family homes, but demand for finishing and interior wood products is also lower. The average home size of apartments is much smaller now and less flooring, mouldings, furniture and fewer interior doors and cabinets are used than in single-family homes.

In the US most multi-family housing is rental housing, except in the Northeast. Price and low maintenance of products is often more important than appearance in rental housing. Many products used in multi-family housing are made from non-wood materials such as plastic or metal.

In Canada most multi-family homes are occupied by their owners and the use of wood finishing materials is higher (for example, wood flooring and wooden kitchen cabinets).

The share of multi-family homes in the US has been on the rise since the housing market crisis. Demand for rental apartments is high, according to the report „The State of the Nation‟s Housing‟ by the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University.

Between 2011 and 2014 the share of multi-family in new construction increased from 25% to 38%. The Canadian Housing and Mortgage Corporation expect the multi - family market to remain strong, especially in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal. Canada's high immigration rate supports multi-family construction in the urban centres.

Any further growth in multi-family housing will affect the types and volumes of wood products sold for construction, repair and remodelling of homes in both the US and Canada. In the US, the trend will be towards durable and low maintenance floors, mouldings and cabinets, often non-wood products. In Canada, wood appearance products will be in high demand to make apartments more attractive to potential buyers.

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