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Wood Products Prices in The U.S. 

16-31th May 2013

Report from North America

 Job creation remains the biggest challenge for US
According to revisions released by the Commerce Department the U.S. economy grew at a slightly slower pace than originally reported in the first quarter.


The revisions show that GDP rose at a 2.4% annual rate in the first three months of the year, down slightly from the 2.5% originally reported.


The Commerce Department tends to revise GDP figures as new data becomes available after the initial release. Despite the downward revision this did not change the overall picture of the economy. Recent data indicates that consumer spending expanded in the first quarter but job creation to lower unemployment remains the biggest challenge.

New legislation to encourage residential construction loans
The Home Building Lending Improvement Act of 2013 has been introduced in the US Senate to encourage lending to home builders. New home construction lags the demand for housing, and home builders lay the blame partly on difficult access to loans for construction.


A similar bill, the Home Construction Lending Regulatory Improvement Act of 2013, was introduced in the US House of Representatives in March 2013.


The National Association of Home Builders expects from the proposed legislation not only more construction of new homes, but positive effects on local economies, job growth and increased government revenue.


Tropical sawn hardwood imports trail temperate species imports
Total US hardwood sawnwood imports soared in March, but the increase was entirely of temperate hardwood imports. Temperate sawn hardwood imports increased by 131% from February, to 78,403 cu.m., while tropical sawn hardwood grew by 20% to 14,656 cu.m.


The majority of the additional temperate hardwood volume comes from Uruguay, South Africa and Canada. Year-to-date imports of tropical sawnwood are 10% lower than in March 2012.


Imports from Brazil rose to 3,485 cu.m. in March (+38% year-to-date). The increase was mainly in shipments of ipe (1,811 cu.m.) and virola (911 cu.m.).


Balsa imports from Ecuador increased to 2,673 cu.m. from February, but they remained below 2012 levels (-36% year-to-date).


March imports from Peru were small at 259 cu.m., but year-to-date imports are still 18% higher than in 2012 because of the large volume of virola imported in January.Imports from Malaysia increased to 1,453 cu.m. (+1% year-to-date), despite a decline in keruing shipments to 910 cu.m.


Cameroon¡¯s shipments to the US declined to 973 cu.m. in March (-30% year-to-date). Sapeli shipments fell to 637 cu.m.

US regional and state economies and housing markets
The Southeast of the US is the largest economic region, followed by the Far West and the Mid-eastern states. GDP grew in all states and regions in 2011 (latest data available), but the rate of growth slowed from the previous year.


The only region where growth accelerated from 2010 was the Far West, which includes the states of Alaska, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon and Washington.


The overall fastest growing region in the US was the Southwest. The growth was led by Texas with a 3.3% increase in real GDP.


California is the largest state in the US, both in GDP and population, accounting for 13% of the total US economy. Californians also have a higher than average personal income, only surpassed by states in New England and in the Mid-eastern states.


The housing market crash in 2008 and 2009 affected the regions differently. Among the hardest hit were Arizona, California and Florida.

Cities here also show the largest increases in home sales, now that the housing market is recovering. Texas remained the largest market in the US in terms of building permits issued in 2012, despite California¡¯s larger population.

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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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