WRI Report Foresees Robust Softwood Lumber Market Over the Next Decade

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The latest Focus Report on global lumber markets by Wood Resources International (WRI) and O’Kelly Acumen suggests extremely robust lumber outlook for the forthcoming decade in most regions, including North America and Asia.

According to the report, softwood lumber demand has continued to remain high in the U.S. and Europe throughout the current year. The commodity witnessed temporary price surges, triggered by constrained supply. The prices which had hit record high levels during spring, witnessed substantial decline in early summer.

ALSO READ:

WRQ Signalled Highly Resilient U.S. Lumber Markets

Global Log Demand Surged Significantly in H2 2020

The U.S. has traditionally been the world’s largest lumber market. Nearly 30% of the lumber consumption in the country is met with imports. The anticipated robust market for new housing as well as increased demand for wood products from the repair and remodelling sector is likely to ensure ongoing demand. The country is likely to depend more on European lumber imports as the imports from Canada is expected to remain weak.

The robust growth to softwood lumber market in Asia will be mainly driven by China. The country’s lumber demand is projected to grow at more than 5% per annum until 2025. The countries in the rest of Asia, including India, Vietnam and Australia, are likely to grow. On the contrary, lumber imports to Japan will likely report decline over the next decade.