Europe Lumber Trade Recorded First Decline in Eight Years

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): As reported by Wood Resources Quarterly (WRQ), lumber trade in Europe registered marginal decline during the previous year. The shipments from major exporting countries in the region witnessed marginal decline by 1.2%. This is the first decline in the past eight years, the report said.

The countries to report reduced shipments in 2020 include Finland, Latvia and Austria. On the other hand, Swedish exports swelled during the initial eight-month period of the year and are on its way to hit a new all-time high. The Swedish exporters have expanded their market share in several countries including the US, China, Germany, Denmark and Egypt. The lumber prices surged higher in Finland and Sweden, noted WRQ.

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The lumber imports by the UK recorded substantial increase during Q3 2020. However, the cumulative imports during the first nine months stood much below the year-ago level, falling by nearly 22%. Sweden continued to be the largest supplier to the country. The import prices surged higher during the fall of 2020.

Incidentally, European suppliers including Ukraine, Sweden, Germany, Finland, and Belarus increased the volume of lumber exports to China, taking advantage of the loss in export market share by traditional largest suppliers-Russia and Canada.