20 WESTERN PALLET
Lumber market – Japan
The record high softwood lumber prices in the US have impacted the costs for North American lumber imported to Japan in the past six months. In May 2018, prices for US Douglas-fir lumber (45x105) and Canadian hemlock lumber (45x105) delivered to Japan reached their highest levels for the month of May since 2013. Lumber import volumes to Japan have been sliding for three consecutive quarters and were down to 1.46 million m3 in the 1Q/18 as compared to 1.6 million m3 in the 2Q/17. The biggest declines in lumber supply over the past year have been in wood coming from Canada and Finland; Sweden, Chile and Russia have all increased their market shares.
Lumber market – Russia
Russian lumber exports reached an all-time-high volume of 28 million m3 in 2017, up 10% from the previous year, a doubling of exports from ten years ago. Exports to their primary destination, China, fell 19% y-o-y. It is interesting to note that 20 years ago, eight of the ten major destinations for Russian lumber were in Europe, while in the first quarter of 2018, only three European countries made the top-ten list, according to the WRQ. Average export prices have trended upward in both US dollar terms and rouble terms over the past two years, with the biggest increases occurring in lumber sold to China, Uzbekistan and Egypt
New Record for Pallet Dominoes
Here is yet one more curious thing that can be done with pallets. The mark of 1,377 sets a mew Guinness Record. Click on the image below to watch.