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Report from
North America
Sapeli, ipe, keruing and mahogany imports up
Imports of sapelli, ipe, keruing and mahogany grew in
April compared to March imports. Keruing imports were
over 2,000 cu.m. with year-to-date imports 17% higher
than in April 2014. The US imported 4,863 cu.m. of
sapelli, up 10% from March and a 49% increase year-todate.
Mahogany imports were up in April at 1,246 cu.m., but
year-to-date imports were 8% lower than at the same time
in 2014.
US imports of temperate sawn hardwood increased in
April, while tropical sawnwood imports were unchanged
from the previous month.
Temperate imports almost doubled to 95,553 cu.m. in
April compared to 21,594 cu.m. of tropical imports.
Imports of most tropical species actually grew in April,
but a decline in balsa sawnwood imports resulted in
overall unchanged import volumes.
Year-to-date tropical imports were 20% higher than in
April 2014.
Imports from Cameroon and Malaysia increased
significantly in April due to the higher sapelli and keruing
imports, respectively. Sapelli sawnwood imports from
Cameroon reached 3,635 cu.m. in April, while sapelli
imports from Congo (Brazzaville) fell by half to 946 cu.m.
Ipe sawnwood imports from Brazil were up at 2,721 cu.m.
in April, but Brazilian shipments of other species (jatoba,
virola and other species) declined from the previous
month.
Higher Canadian sawnwood imports from Indonesia
March imports of tropical sawn hardwood were revised
upward, but in April Canadian imports declined further
(-9%) to US$1.44 million. Year-to-date tropical
sawnwood imports were 27% down from April last year.
Sapelli remained the main species imported, but imports
fell one third to US$360,934 in April. March to
US$567,568.
Combined imports of virola, imbuia and balsa fell monthon-
month (-40%) and year-to-date (-17%). While not
reported separately, country-level data shows the decline
was mainly in balsa imports from Ecuador, which fell by
almost half from March.
Year-to-date Ecuador and Cameroon remain the largest
sources of tropical hardwood imports, followed by Congo
(Brazzaville) and Indonesia. Indonesian shipments to
Canada increased 27% month-over-month in April and
year-to-date shipments are 8% higher than at the same
time last year.
IWPA develops training for Lacey Act compliance
The International Wood Products Association, which
represents US importers of wood products, is developing a
training programme to help companies comply with the
Lacey Act.
The US Lacey Act bans trade in endangered or illegally
harvested species, including wood. The goal of the
training program is to provide buyers and sellers of wood
products with the latest information about resources and
procedures how to comply with the legislation.
It has sometimes been difficult for companies to comply
with the Lacey Act since it was introduced for forest
products in 2008. Even a large retailer like Lumber
Liquidators is being investigated for trade in illegal wood
products.
The association¡¯s first training session for Lacey Act
compliance will take place this October.
Softwood producers target Indian market
The fast-growing Indian market has caught the attention of
softwood producers in North America and Europe.
Tropical hardwoods are generally preferred in India, but
with tropical supplies tight, especially of teak logs, Indian
manufacturers increasingly use temperate hardwoods and
even softwoods.
More than half of the wood consumption is in doors,
windows, furniture and millwork, where manufacturers
have started to substitute hardwoods with softwood
species. New Zealand has exported pine logs to India for
many years now, but a more recent trend is the import of
higher-value sawn softwood.
The US exports southern yellow pine to India, while
Germany ships pine and spruce sawnwood. Canada aims
to grow its sales of Douglas-fir, western red cedar and
hemlock to compete with tropical species in appearance
applications.
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