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
----
Showing posts with label china lumber. Show all posts
Showing posts with label china lumber. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
China the top market for BC lumber in May
ForesterBlog.com
Who would have ever thought 10 years ago that another country would be a bigger market for BC lumber than the USA?
In May of this year, sales of BC lumber to China were $1 million above sales to the US.
In May, a record month, B.C.’s producers sold $120-million of softwood lumber to mainland China, triple the level of a year earlier and, more significantly, edging out the $119-million in sales to the United States.
The impact of China's buying in the past few years I believe has made a significant difference to the economic health of BC forest companies, and forest and mill workers. Take away the Chinese buying and lumber markets would be very poor.
China also paid more for their lumber per cubic metre, spending $163 per cubic metre vs $142 for the US. Sales to China are up 178% from a year ago.
There are more details in the article below, which suggests that demand may taper off until the winter. However growth from China has been in the double and triple digits in recent years, and I don't see the overall trend slowing down from year to year just yet.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/china-edges-out-us-as-bcs-top-lumber-market/article2100185/
---------
Who would have ever thought 10 years ago that another country would be a bigger market for BC lumber than the USA?
In May of this year, sales of BC lumber to China were $1 million above sales to the US.
In May, a record month, B.C.’s producers sold $120-million of softwood lumber to mainland China, triple the level of a year earlier and, more significantly, edging out the $119-million in sales to the United States.
The impact of China's buying in the past few years I believe has made a significant difference to the economic health of BC forest companies, and forest and mill workers. Take away the Chinese buying and lumber markets would be very poor.
China also paid more for their lumber per cubic metre, spending $163 per cubic metre vs $142 for the US. Sales to China are up 178% from a year ago.
There are more details in the article below, which suggests that demand may taper off until the winter. However growth from China has been in the double and triple digits in recent years, and I don't see the overall trend slowing down from year to year just yet.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/china-edges-out-us-as-bcs-top-lumber-market/article2100185/
---------
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Asian lumber exports match US in Sept
I just read in today's Globe and Mail newspaper that lumber exports to China and Japan matched those to the US for the first time ever this past September. This is a very significant event for the Canadian forest industry and if the trend continues, could help us decrease our reliance on the US market. Most economic reports I've been reading point to continued growth and expansion in Asian countries, which bodes well for lumber and other commodities like copper and agriculture crops.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
China lumber demand helps BC forest companies
In the past few weeks, I noticed two companies in BC were helped in their quarterly earnings reports by increasing sales of lumber to China. While still a low overall percentage of their sales (10-15%), Chinese demand for Canadian lumber is picking up, and may be the difference for Canadian forest companies given the lower US demand and strong Canadian dollar. In fact, if Chinese demand continues to grow and the US demand comes back, you have to wonder what that would do to our forest industry.
A recent article by Allen Dowd on sales to China highlights some of these points.
China has become a bright spot on the balance sheets of companies still waiting for a recovery of the U.S. housing sector, its mainstay market for decades.
A report this month by British Columbia, Canada's largest lumber exporting province, estimated its producers had sold C $342 million ($335.3 million) in lumber to China in the first eight months of the year, up 71 percent from a year ago.
A stark example of China's new role can be seen in Canfor's decision in May to restart its Quesnel, British Columbia, sawmill. The mill had been idled because of slack U.S. demand, and its production now goes exclusively to China.
Bell added that he hopes the province will be shipping as much wood to Asia as it does to the United States when the U.S.-Canada softwood trade agreement comes up for renegotiation in 2013. "That would make for quite a different discussion," he said.
A recent article by Allen Dowd on sales to China highlights some of these points.
China has become a bright spot on the balance sheets of companies still waiting for a recovery of the U.S. housing sector, its mainstay market for decades.
A report this month by British Columbia, Canada's largest lumber exporting province, estimated its producers had sold C $342 million ($335.3 million) in lumber to China in the first eight months of the year, up 71 percent from a year ago.
A stark example of China's new role can be seen in Canfor's decision in May to restart its Quesnel, British Columbia, sawmill. The mill had been idled because of slack U.S. demand, and its production now goes exclusively to China.
Bell added that he hopes the province will be shipping as much wood to Asia as it does to the United States when the U.S.-Canada softwood trade agreement comes up for renegotiation in 2013. "That would make for quite a different discussion," he said.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)