Canadian Lumber Exports to the U.S. Saw 23% Dip

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The value of lumber exports from Canada to the U.S. declined significantly by approximately 22.8% during the first five months of the current year, says the most recent data published by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). However, the lumber export volumes recorded only marginal drop, falling by 0.58% over the previous year.

The Jan-May ’19 exports by volume and value totaled 13.2 million cubic metres and $1.9 billion respectively. The lumber export prices witnessed notable decline by 22.4% over the previous year to $143 per cubic metre.

Meantime, the total lumber imports to the U.S. were down marginally by 0.19% to 14.8 million cubic metres. By value, the imports tumbled by almost 18% to $2.5 billion. The lumber import prices to the U.S. averaged at $169 per cubic metre. The U.S. lumber imports from Germany spiked up by 20%, whereas those from Brazil dropped 3% during the initial five-month period of the current year.

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The data released by the Customs and Tariff Bureau of Japan suggests huge drop in Canadian lumber exports to Japan during Jan-May ’19. The exports totaled 586.1 thousand cubic metres, significantly down by 23.4% year-on-year. The value of exports too dropped sharply by 23.8% to total $238.8 million.

The lumber imports from Finland to Japan witnessed over 6% decline, whereas the imports from Russia reported marginal gain by 0.77%. The Japanese lumber imports from Sweden too contracted by almost 7.5% year-on-year.