Russia Emerges as the World’s Largest Softwood Lumber Exporter

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The latest edition of Wood Resources Quarterly (WRQ) indicates that Russia has surpassed Canada to emerge as the world’s largest exporter of softwood lumber in 2019. It foresees yearly lumber shipments from Russia at approximately 32 million cubic metres, representing 23% of the lumber trade across the globe during the year.

According to the report, lumber production has recorded decline in the U.S. and Canada, primarily on account of muted demand growth from the U.S. housing market and the subdued demand for North American lumber in overseas markets.

The exports of softwood lumber from Germany are likely to hit the highest level in almost ten years in 2019, aided by increased shipments to major destinations including China, the U.S., UK and India.

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The sawlog prices witnessed decline in most major markets during the third quarter of 2019. The abundant log supply coupled with declining market demand led to price reductions, WRQ noted. The Global Sawlog Price Index (GSPI) recorded its third largest quarter-on-quarter decline in almost a decade. Also, the European Sawlog Price Index (ESPI) dropped by another 5% during Q3 ’19.

The global pulp prices extended their decline during the quarter. The prices for softwood pulplogs and wood chips recorded marginal decline over the previous year. The Softwood Fiber Price Index (SFPI) hit the lowest level in two years. Also, the Hardwood Fiber Price Index (HFPI) recorded slight decline from the prior quarter.