B.C Lumber Production Recorded 3% Decline in First Quarter 2018

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The newly released Wood Resource Quarterly (WRQ) Report suggests substantial surge in lumber production on the U.S. west coast region during the first quarter of 2018, despite notable decline in quarterly consumption.

The U.S. west coast lumber production surged higher by 9%, when compared with 1Q/17. The lumber production in Canada’s eastern provinces recorded marginal increase. On the other hand, the production by B.C. mills dropped nearly 3% over the previous year, mainly on account of low U.S. demand and scarcity of logs due to adverse weather. The lumber exports from the B.C too slowed down. Meantime, the shipments to China surged higher by almost 50% as compared to the first quarter in 2017.

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The lumber export volumes from Nordic countries declined marginally during 1Q/18, when compared with the corresponding period in 2017. However, prices skyrocketed to touch the third highest level seen in the past one decade. Sawmills in Sweden expanded their European footprint, whereas Finnish lumber exports to Japan and the Middle East recorded notable jump. The lumber sales from these countries to China witnessed slowdown, due to reduced demand on account of Chinese New Year.

The Chinese softwood lumber imports hit their lowest level since 4Q/16. The imports from Canada touched an eight-year low. Meantime, the gap was filled by Nordic countries with Finland and Sweden almost doubling their exports to China.

The Japanese lumber import volumes dropped sharply to 1.46 million cubic meters in 1Q/18. The shipments from Canada and Finland dropped sharply during the quarter. However, Sweden, Chile and Russia reported increased lumber exports to Japan. The export markets for Russian lumber shifted from European countries to other markets such as China, Uzbekistan and Egypt, according to the WRQ.