US

December 20, 2022

Swedish sawmills are unexpectedly strong due to high US demand

One of the explanations for the unexpected strength in a currently declining wood products economy is how much wood products are exported to US. In the Swedish Forest Industries' market report, it appears that US has become Sweden's second largest export market in a short time. The Swedish production of wood products remains strong and deliveries during the autumn have even been slightly higher than the same time in the record year 2021. ''Reduced demand in Sweden and Europe has led to an increased opportunity to offer more wood products to the American market. Exports to the USA have grown from being marginal over the past five to ten years to now becoming Sweden's second largest export market. In the short term, the wood products economy is expected to continue to weaken, but Sweden's role as a global forest nation will increase,'' says Christian Nielsen, market analyst for wood... Continue reading →

January 22, 2023

US lumber prices are up 14% in 2023

US softwood lumber prices are up 14% so far in 2023 after suffering a brutal sell-off last year. Further gains could be in store for lumber as supply shortages emerge ahead of the homebuilding season. Upside volatility could be in store for lumber in 2023 after the essential homebuilding commodity surged 14% over the past two weeks. Following a disastrous 2022, when lumber prices sank more than 60%, the industry could see a revitalization as mortgage rates decline from their peaks and supply dynamics come into focus. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate has fallen from a high of 7% in October to about 6.15% today. A further drop in mortgage rates could drive renewed demand for home purchases as lower borrowing costs make buying a house more affordable. Meanwhile, homebuilder sentiment is showing signs of bottoming after rising in January for the first time in a year. The... Continue reading →

August 15, 2022

US Commerce Department rules Vietnam circumvented hardwood plywood duties

The Department of Commerce has ruled that hardwood plywood assembled and exported from Vietnam used Chinese core materials. After examining multiple types of HWPW, the agency ruled that the HWPW are subject to substantial antidumping and countervailing duties that range as high as 200 percent. According to the Coalition for Fair Trade in Hardwood Plywood, the Commerce department made the determination on a country-wide basis, meaning that this determination applies to all such HWPW exported from Vietnam. The ruling, posted July 29 in the Federal Register, stated: “The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines that certain hardwood plywood products and veneered panels (hardwood plywood) exported from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Vietnam), which were assembled in Vietnam using hardwood plywood inputs sourced from the People's Republic of China (China)... Continue reading →

August 15, 2022

U.S. imposed a 35% tariff on Russian wood products

Starting from July 27, the United States imposed a 35% tariff on 570 items of goods imported from Russia, including minerals, chemicals, plastics, rubber, wood and paper, to expand economic and trade restrictions on Russia's exports. Other countries such as Canada, New Zealand and the UK are understood to have imposed similar tariffs on Russian imports. Since the Russia-Ukraine incident broke out at the end of February, Russia's exports of wood and wood products began to show a downward trend and continued until the second quarter of this year. According to the White House, in the first half of this year, trade between the United States and Russia fell by nearly 90 percent compared with the same period in previous years. After a number of European and American timber companies announced to withdraw their investment in Russian timber production plants, compared with the same period... Continue reading →

April 20, 2022

Swedish wood industry expects large rise in exports to China and the USA in the next 3 years

When the Swedish wood industry looks to the next three years, a large increase in exports is forecast. China and the United States are leading the way, but sales to Europe are also expected to increase. The climate issue is taking up more and more space and where a challenge is about finding the right material for the right opportunity. The Swedish wood industry also requires changes in regulations to be able to secure access to wood in the future. These are some of the results in a survey from Tyréns, a Swedish consultancy group focusing on urban development and infrastructure, which has questioned the major Swedish players in the wood products industry. ''Increasing Swedish exports of wood products are expected in 2022 and it is the economic powers China and the USA that are leading the development. 50 percent of the companies in our survey state that their sales to China will... Continue reading →

June 16, 2022

Brazil boosts plywood exports to EU as falling supplies to US

In May, Brazil reduced plywood exports to the U.S. by 38% year-on-year to 101 thousand m3. At the same time, the country doubled plywood deliveries to the European Union, up to 89 thousand m3. In particular, deliveries to the UK jumped by 69% to 20 thousand tons. m3, supplies to Germany increased by 46% to 20 thousand m3. Brazil's plywood exports to Belgium and Italy doubled. Brazil’s exports of plywood dipped 4.3% year-on-year to 264.8 thousand m3 in May. The value of exports fell 16% to $112 million. Average price of plywood declined 12% to $422 per m3. In May, Florida Сourt’s permanent injunction suspended sale of Brazilian plywood in the U.S. Judge Roy Altman entered a permanent injunction requiring the revocation of all PS 1 certificates issued by PFS-TECO to over a dozen Brazilian mills producing structural plywood for the U.S. market. The decision forces wholesalers... Continue reading →

September 3, 2020

Interview with Michael Snow: Impact of Covid-19 on hardwood exports to China

Where does the global wood industry go in the post-pandemic era? This is a topic that most professionals in the wood industry are very concerned about. Recently, the timber industry media conducted a remote interview with Mr. Mike Snow, the executive director of the American Hardwood Export Council, on the current situation and future development of the North American hardwood industry under the influence of the coronavirus pandemic. Mr. Mike Snow is concerned about the Chinese wood business. He expressed his views and opinions very frankly on the main hot issues. About the impact of the coronavirus on exports to China : The Covid-19 pandemic is spreading on a large scale. Will this affect the export of American hardwood to China? What measures does AHEC take in order to mitigate the adverse effects and promote exports to China? : With its products and more than 1 million jobs,... Continue reading →

December 21, 2021

European, US demand for wood products boosted global lumber trade in 2021

This year, the strong demand for wood products in Europe and North America has increased lumber trade during the first nine months of 2021 by about three per cent y-o-y. In ranking order, the export countries with the most significant increases in shipments include Finland, Canada, Germany, and the Czech Republic. Unsurprisingly, the countries with the most significant increases in imports in 2021 have all been in Europe and the U.S., where demand was high, while shipments to Asia and the MENA region have declined as their construction sectors weakened this year. In the 3Q/21, overseas lumber imports to the U.S. fell by 13% q-o-q to 1.3 million m3. This decline followed a quarter where volumes reached their highest level in 15 years, with most shipments originating in Europe. Germany has been the dominant overseas lumber supplier to the U.S. for the past five years, with a market... Continue reading →

January 22, 2023

US lumber prices are up 14% in 2023

US softwood lumber prices are up 14% so far in 2023 after suffering a brutal sell-off last year. Further gains could be in store for lumber as supply shortages emerge ahead of the homebuilding season. Upside volatility could be in store for lumber in 2023 after the essential homebuilding commodity surged 14% over the past two weeks. Following a disastrous 2022, when lumber prices sank more than 60%, the industry could see a revitalization as mortgage rates decline from their peaks and supply dynamics come into focus. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate has fallen from a high of 7% in October to about 6.15% today. A further drop in mortgage rates could drive renewed demand for home purchases as lower borrowing costs make buying a house more affordable. Meanwhile, homebuilder sentiment is showing signs of bottoming after rising in January for the first time in a year. The... Continue reading →