Lumber Sales to China Slowing?

ForesterBlog.com

I meant to post about this in December, but it was just too busy and I had to spend a little time finding the right article.

The Globe and Mail reported in December that BC lumber sales to China were slowing down as late as October. If you read the article carefully, it appears that shipments are still near all time highs, they are just not growing as much as they have been year over year. The main reason for this is that China's real estate market has been slowing, and lumber inventories are high. According to the article, things may improve in the spring, but it will depend on how China's economy is doing.

The US is still a major customer of BC lumber, and the forecast is that lumber shipments may keep improving over the next three years.

In a nutshell, while there may not be a lot of growth happening in lumber shipments, China is still taking a lot more lumber than they used to and the US is still the biggest customer.

According to Statistics Canada data compiled by BC Stats, October was the sixth-biggest sales month for B.C. foresters in China but, at $89-million, the figure was only 8 per cent higher than a year ago. While shipments remain near an all-time peak, growth may not re-emerge until spring.

Wood Markets International, a Vancouver industry consultant, predicted on Wednesday that U.S. lumber demand and prices would “rise slowly” in 2012, gain “momentum” in 2013, and that “price surges” would start in 2014, propelled by strong demand as the U.S. and China chase tight supply.


Click below to read the full article, there are many interesting details in it:
Lumber sales to China


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