14 Pallets West
APRIL 2018
The Canadian lumber producers market share in the US is expected to decline in the coming years, with the biggest reduction occurring between 2017 and 2025. The outlook for available log supply to the sawmilling sector will be different in the two major lumber-producing regions in Canada, with harvest levels falling substantially in British Columbia over the next ten years.
Overseas supply of lumber to the US is forecasted to increase both in volume and market share by 2025, followed by a decline until 2030. Based on the study's lumber supply curve analysis, the major supplying regions are likely to include Brazil, Chile, Germany and the Nordic countries. In the study's High Demand Scenario, which projects a very strong rebound in housing starts, R&R and non-residential construction, overseas supply will be crucial and reach a market share of over 10 % by 2030.
After nearly two decades of real price declines of sawlogs in North America and elsewhere, the combination of a rebounding US softwood lumber demand, constraints on log supply and export production in Western Canada, and continued strong demand for softwood lumber from markets in Europe, Asia and the Middle East/North Africa (MENA) region, is expected to push conifer log prices higher in real US dollar terms in many timberland investment regions by 2030.
The excerpt above is from the new multi-client study "Future Suppliers of Softwood Lumber to the US Market – Supply and Demand Outlook 2017-2030", published by ForestEdge LLC and Wood Resources International LLC. For more information about the study or to enquire about the purchasing of the 218-page report, please contact either Robert Hagler ([email protected]) or Hakan Ekstrom ([email protected])
Multiple Pressures on Nail Prices
A number of factors are leading to pressure on pallet nail prices, according to a feature in Pallet Profile Weekly. An active construction industry, higher steel rod prices, capacity reductions and other factors are at play. Ian Carter of Crane Point Industrial noted that China has been shutting down inefficient and polluting steel mills and galvanizing facilities.
Bruce Kennedy, sales manager of industrial fasteners for Mid-Conti-
nent Nail Corp. was also interviewed, noting that rod from import and domestic sources has jumped $221 per ton ($5.53/box) over the last year. For complete coverage, subscribe to Pallet Profile Weekly.