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16-31th October 2010

Report from North America


 US tropical timber imports

Hardwood sawnwood imports down in August

The decline in imports of sawn tropical hardwood continued this summer. The US imported 17,382 cu.m of tropical sawnwood in August 2010, 8% less than in July. The following species recorded increases over July: acajou d¡¯Afrique (2,801 cu.m or +33%), keruing (786 cu.m or +74%), cedro (639 cu.m or +41%), jatoba (661 cu.m or +24%), teak (342 cu.m or +48%) and padauk (61 cu.m or 33%). The largest declines were seen in virola (369 cu.m or -72%) and mahogany (871 cu.m or -56%).



Ecuador remained the leading source of tropical sawnwood with 5,392 cu.m imported in August, followed by Cameroon (2,063 cu.m) and Brazil (1,921 cu.m). Imports from Peru dropped by 80% to just 284 cu.m from 1,444 cubic metres in July.

Year-to-date tropical sawnwood import volumes were 8% higher in August than in the same period last year. Among the species with the largest gains are acajou d¡¯Afrique (+69%), keruing (+26%), red meranti (+31%) and jatoba (+106%). The year-to-date value of tropical sawnwood imports was 16% higher than in July 2009.

Hardwood plywood imports soar
US imports of hardwood plywood increased again in August 2010, mainly because imports from Indonesia soared. Year-to-date imports were US$853.3 million, up by 40% from the same period in 2009. Monthly imports were worth US$142.5 million in August, up 11% from July. August 2010 imports from China were US$78.6 million (+34% year-to-date), Indonesia US$22.9 million (+108% year-to-date), Malaysia US$11.2 million (+325% year-to-date), Brazil US$1.7 million (+4% year-to-date) and Ecuador US$2.7 million (+54% year-to-date).

Hardwood moulding imports slip in August
US hardwood moulding imports were US$17.1 million in August, a decline of 11% from the previous month. Year-to-date imports were US$123.9 million in August, up by 5% compared with the same period last year. The largest year-to-date increase was in imports of cumaru mouldings (+39%), while imports of mahogany, ipe and jatoba moulding declined compared to the same period in 2009.

The US imported from Brazil US$2.1 million worth of jatoba moulding in August (-11% from July), US$490,000 of ipe moulding (-9%) and US$332,000 of cumaru moulding (+4%). The value of cumaru moulding imports from Peru continued increasing (US$539,000 or +6% from July).

China is the US¡¯ leading supplier of mouldings (US$41.5 million year-to-date), followed by Brazil (US$34.8 million year-to-date).

Hardwood flooring imports plunge
Hardwood flooring imports declined again in August after briefly climbing in June and July of this year. Total August imports were valued at just US$1.2 million, a 34% drop compared to July. Year-to-date imports declined by 46% compared to August 2009. China is the country most affected by this decline. August imports from China were just US$296,000, a 69% drop compared to year-to-date August 2009. Of the top suppliers, only Canada saw an increase in exports to the US. Of the smaller hardwood flooring suppliers, Indonesia and Bolivia have been able to increase exports this year (+14% and +22% year-to-date, respectively). Hardwood flooring imports from Brazil were US$137,000 in August (-9% year-to-date). Malaysia¡¯s exports were US$140,000 (-17% year-to-date).

UNECE Timber Committee issues market statement and forecasts for US and Canada
The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Timber Committee delegates met for their annual market discussions in Geneva on 11-12 October 2010. The US market review and outlook to 2011 was again written by James Howard and David McKeever, both with the Forest Products Laboratory in Madison, Wisconsin, while the Canadian Forest Service prepared the market statement for Canada.

Residential construction is the single largest driver of wood products demand in the US and Canada. Since the US housing crash in 2008 and 2009, the housing sector has not recovered and home construction is forecast to remain weak throughout 2010. GDP growth has also been lower than expected in 2010, and demand for wood products is unlikely to recover before the second half of 2011.

Demand for sawn hardwoods is weak in North America, and US producers are seeking to expand offshore markets. US sawn hardwood production decreased by 28.6% to 16.5 million cu.m in 2009. Production is expected to drop further to 15.5 million cu.m in 2010 and remain below 16 million cu.m in 2011. US exports of sawn hardwood are forecast to increase from 1.7 million cu.m in 2010 to 1.9 million cu.m in 2011. Given the decrease in US production, volatile trade figures, and a declining housing market, apparent consumption of sawn hardwood for 2010 is forecast to fall below the 2009 volume (15.2 million cu.m) and increase slightly in 2011.

Tropical hardwood sawnwood consumption in North America (excluding Mexico) is forecast to increase by 17% in 2010 and 29% in 2011 compared with 2009 volumes. The projected growth will be in Canada, while consumption in the US is expected to remain stable at 177,000 cu.m (2009 to 2011). For Canada, consumption of sawn tropical hardwood is expected to grow from 34,000 cu.m in 2009 to 70,000 cu.m in 2010 and to 95,000 cu.m in 2011. While the Canadian economy is closely linked to the US economy, the Canadian housing market, non-residential construction and the renovation market have been less affected by the recession and are recovering more quickly.

The full country market statements for the US, Canada, Europe and Russia are available on the UNECE Timber Committee website: timber.unece.org

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Abbreviations

LM       Loyale Merchant, a grade of log parcel  Cu.m         Cubic Metre
QS        Qualite Superieure    Koku         0.278 Cu.m or 120BF
CI          Choix Industriel                                                       FFR           French Franc
CE         Choix Economique                                                        SQ              Sawmill Quality
CS         Choix Supplimentaire      SSQ            Select Sawmill Quality
FOB      Free-on-Board     FAS            Sawnwood Grade First and
KD        Kiln Dry                               Second 
AD        Air Dry        WBP           Water and Boil Proof
Boule    A Log Sawn Through and Through MR              Moisture Resistant
              the boards from one log are bundled                      pc         per piece      
              together                      ea                each      
BB/CC  Grade B faced and Grade C backed MBF           1000 Board Feet          
              Plywood   MDF           Medium Density Fibreboard
BF        Board Foot F.CFA         CFA Franc        
Sq.Ft     Square Foot              Price has moved up or down

Source: ITTO'  Tropical Timber Market Report

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