Chinese wood demand falls; Exports from North America deteriorates

VANCOUVER (Scrap Monster) : The Chinese demand for woods fell during the year 2012, affecting the log and lumber exports from North America significantly.

The net exports of softwood logs and lumbers from North America were down 17% in 2012 when compared to the previous year.

Imports of logs fell sharply during 2012. The lumber imports also fell but not as much as those of logs. It must be noted that the imports of softwood logs had reached a record high during 2011. Substantial decline was witnessed in the imports of Russian logs and North American lumber.

Since 2010, the log and lumber imports by China from North America has recorded a big jump, going past Russia to become the largest supplier of lumber to the country. The net exports of logs and lumber by US and Canada amounted to 2.1 billion dollars, which is almost four times higher than those in 2009, although down by 17% from 2011.

According to statistics, around 32% of the total exports of lumber from Western Canada are destined for China. The exports of logs from Western US have also jumped ten times in the past 5 years. It remains a big question how the saw mills in Western Canada will be able to maintain the exports to China at the same rate in the event of increased US demand.