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Softwood Export Council Newsletter
June 2008
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Carrefour du Bois 2008 |
During the last week of May, American
Softwoods, with members from the Pacific
Lumber Exporters Association the Maine
International Trade Council, and the
Southern Forest Products Association
exhibited at the Carrefour du Bois show
in Nantes France. Introduced in 1990 by
Atlanbois, a wood products association
in the Pays de la Loire region, the
International Timber Trade Show is now
one of the largest wood products shows
in Europe. The 2006 show featured 468
exhibitors (23% of whom from Europe) and
over 9,000 visitors.
The show was well attended by
representatives from panel, flooring,
furniture and other secondary wood
products manufacturers, home centers,
and sawmills. The show also attracts a
large number of traders and
importer-exporters.
The American Softwoods display displayed
a number of US species and included a
treated Southern Yellow Pine deck. The
display at Carrefour du Bois marks the
continued promotion of US treated
softwood decking in France and Belgium
as well as high quality western
softwoods for millwork applications..
The show was an excellent venue to see
new trends in wood products use in
Europe and make new contacts. US
softwood lumber exports to France
continue to increase due to the weak
value of the US dollar and during the
first quarter of 2008, France was the
third leading EU export destination,
lagging only Spain and the U.K.
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2006 |
2007 |
2008 |
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France |
3,379 |
2,402 |
1,139 |
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Italy |
10,060 |
9,377 |
3,990 |
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Spain |
32,474 |
19,779 |
4,074 |
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UK |
10,801 |
29,971 |
2,892 |
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Total |
56,715 |
61,529 |
12,094 |
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EBPA China Sales Mission |
By Rose Braden
China Sales Mission results
in $1.7 million in Lumber Sales
During the week of May 12-19,
the Evergreen Building Products
Association, an SEC member, led
a group of representatives from
10 US companies, trade
associations, and state
international trade offices on a
sales mission to Chongqing,
Changsha, and Shenzhen, China.
Attendance at the seminars was
on good with 268 architects,
developers, manufacturers,
distributors, government
representatives,
importer/traders, designers and
members of the media. During
the mission contracts for the
sale $1.7 million in softwood
lumber from four WWPA mills were
signed. Other US participants
said that they expect additional
sales to result from contacts
made at the seminars and during
the week.
The mission included half-day
seminars about US building
materials and technologies.
Seminars included presentations
by US company representatives
about their building products
and technologies. Xu Fang,
Director of AF&PA-China,
provided the key-note
presentation titled "Old Yet
Ever New", which included
information about designing wood
frame structures and landscaping
features. The presentation
included examples of wooden
structures and interior design
in China to illustrate how
traditional wooden Chinese
design has evolved through the
years. His presentation also
included information about codes
and standards with examples from
around the world and China.
Seminar attendees had a number
of questions for the presenters
in all three cities. A
significant number of architects
attended the seminar in Shenzhen
and they had a number of
questions about green building
materials, LEED certification,
forest sustainability, and
technical questions about design
and use of wood building
materials. Shenzhen is
recommended as a location for
follow up technical and design
seminars. In part, due to the
great interest expressed at the
seminars, but also because a
large number of the developers
who are active in China are
located in adjacent Hong Kong.
Treated SYP planks and hemlock
posts were supplied by US
suppliers for this boardwalk in
Changsha
In addition to holding seminars,
mission participants visited a
luxury housing development and
wood frame clubhouse in
Changsha. In Changsha, Kevin
Yao, from Allsight, a
distributor for Boise Cascade
and Andersen Windows arranged a
tour of "American Dream", a
luxury residential development
of concrete townhouses and
single family homes. Mr. Yao
supplied the developer with
Douglas fir, hemlock, and cedar
that was used to construct a
wood frame sales
office/clubhouse, which was a
replica of CanadaWood's Shanghai
offices. "American Dream"
included approximately 25
completed 5,000 square concrete
three story townhouses and
single family homes, which sell
for approximately US$1.2
million. According to the
developer, Changsha De Pu Real
Estate Development Co., Ltd.,
the first phase of the project
sold in the first hour and half
that they were made available.
The group also visited a treated
southern yellow pine (SYP) and
hemlock boardwalk and shopping
area that he had supplied. The
deck boards for the boardwalk
were pressure treated SYP with
pressure treated hemlock posts.
The next EBPA/USCB China sales
mission is scheduled for October
2008 and will visit Beijing,
Shenyang, and Kunming.
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China Market Report |
By Xu Fang
Support on Application of
Wood Construction from Chinese Trade
Association
In April 2008 edition of China Timber
Information, an official trade magazine
published by the China Timber
Distribution Association (CTDA), Mr. Zhu
Guangqian, President and CEO of the
Association, presented an article
entitled 'Develop Application of Wood
Construction for Energy Conservation and
Environmental Protection'. In the
article, Mr. Zhu lists a number of
advantages related to wood construction
and provided data collected from many
scientific sources, including the Athena
project.
As a national trade association, CTDA is
a leader in developing the regulatory
framework for the Chinese wood industry
and shaping market trends in China's
wood products industry. Mr. Zhu's
article is one sign that Chinese trade
associations are developing increasingly
positive attitudes toward the
development of wood frame construction
in China. Such attitudes are expected to
become more widespread following the
devastating earthquake on May 12th in
Sichuan.
Forestry and Forestry
Product Listed in AmCham (China)
2008 White Paper On April
28, 2008 AmCham Shanghai,
AmCham-China (Beijing) and AmCham
South China released its signature
policy document, the 2008 White
Paper: American Business in China.
In this year's edition, Forestry and
Forestry Product are ranked one of
the 17 leading industry issues
affecting the US busineass community
in China - the first time in the
White Paper's history. Thanks to
work by AF&PA Beijing Office,
Chinese government subsidies,
quality conformity, fire safety
design requirements, illegal logging
and other non-market practices are
addressed in the current edition.
The White Paper serves as platform
for continued dialogue and
cooperation between US businesses
and Chinese and US government
authorities. The Paper is also a
useful resource for anyone
interested in improving their
understanding of the China business
environment, the challenges facing
American companies, and what it
takes to be successful in the
competitive China marketplace.
China Issues Updated
Catalogue of Prohibited Products
On 4 April 2008, the Ministry of
Commerce and General Administration
of Customs issued the updated
Catalogue of Prohibited Products in
the Processing Trade for 2008
(Circular No. 22/2008). The updated
catalogue lists products that are
being prohibited to control high
polluting commodities for export,
mitigate risks to the environment
and promote transformation of the
processing trade.
The Catalogue covers 1,816 ten-digit
customs tariff codes. This year,
606 forest products were included,
an increase of 183 from 2007. The
Processing Contract involving newly
prohibited products approved before
May 5 may be filed with customs
according to relevant regulations
and completed within the contract
validity period. Enterprises under
online monitoring can complete their
contract by April 5, 2009.
Most representatives from China's
wood products industry believe that
the regulation won't have much
negative impact on imports since the
prohibited products are primarily
those made with local raw
materials.
US Southern Yellow Pine
Lumber Used in Chongqing Housing
Market
Following its widely accepted
applications in outdoor landscaping
in China, Southern Yellow Pine
lumber is being used by local
contractors in the construction of
the loft space in high-rise
residential buildings in Chongqing,
one of China's largest cities.
New to the residential high-rise
market, high-ceiling condominiums
(typically with ceiling height
exceeding 16 feet) are becoming
increasingly popular in western
China. The selling price of this
type of condominium is higher than
condominums with standard ceiling
heights, yet the new design uses
less building space than a full two
story condominium, an attractive
feature for both developers and
buyers. This attractive layout may
provide the incentive to develop
more condominums with taller
ceilings.
Following their purchasing, home
buyers typically have contractors
add an additional floor to form a
loft space. Due to limitations on
the weight of construction material
used, wood framed floors have become
the preferred choices. With its high
structural strength, beautiful wood
grain, reasonable price and abundant
availability, SYP lumber has beaten
out other species to become the
leading lumber species used loft
construction. One local distributor
estimates that these lofts alone may
use 8,000 to 10,000 m3 by the end
this year. Consumption is expected
to increased an additional 15-20%
each year after that.
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Mediterranean
Market Report
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By Ignacio Martinez, American
Softwoods Mediterranean
Representative
According to the EU Commission, the
Spring outlook in the European Union
shows a strong inflation rate at
3.2%, which is it estimated to
contract to 2.2% in 2009. The
Commission advises EU governments to
avoid inflationary rushes that
eventually have a greater impact on
lower income families. For the 27
nation group, inflation is forecast
to reach 3.6% in 2008 and 2.4% by
2009. Most of the increase is
attributed to higher energy and food
costs.
Of particular concern is the fact
that economic growth is declining
both in the EU and the Eurozone.
While the inflationary pressure, is
a major concern, EU authorities are
discouraging individual EU members
from attempting to shape their
economies, which may instead induce
a spiral of inflation. Provisions
for new jobs creation is halved and
wages may accelerate at 3.8% and a
slightly moderate at 3.5% the next
year.
More problems are expected regarding
the evolution of the GDP in the UE,
with an anticipated fall of more
that 25 basic points, due mainly to
the need for additional public
expenses and a reduction on tax
income, social transfers and delayed
investments from past exercises. On
the GDP evolution, there are
projections that anticipate a
reduction to 1.7% of the 15 euro
partners, or half point less than
anticipated in past autumn; for the
whole EU it is calculated today at
2% down from 2.4 previously
estimated. In 2009 today's
provisions call for a reduced 1.5%
growth.
In the meantime, the euro continues
to reach historical heights against
the US dollar, which in turn makes
US softwoods more competitive.
According to the specialized press,
lumber exporters are facing severe
problems locating cargo space
destined to Europe due to the
bottleneck created by the
exacerbated export activity of
commodities and other goods. This is
producing delays in deliveries and
making supplies rather
unpredictable. During the last few
weeks, however, the Euro weakened
slightly against the dollar (USD1.55
= 1Euro).
Spanish Wood Market Evolution
Softwood imports in Spain during the
first two months of 2008 reveal a
severe slowdown in demand and
consumption, and Swedish exporters
have been able to fill demand
alone. Lumber supplied by Sweden
includes European redwood (pinus
sylvestris) and whitewood (picea
abies), the basic raw material for
the Spanish wood industry. The
decrease in imports points to weaker
activity in the sector.
However industry analysts
anticipated that not all of Spains
softwood lumber suppliers will be
affected equally. Countries
exporting the same type of wood:
Finland, Russia, Germany are have
seen a strong decline in sales,
while exporters of other type of
softwoods (basically that classified
in the 44.07.10.98 class of the
Harmonized Tariff Nomenclature):
Chile, Brazil, USA, France, Portugal
and Austria may not experience the
same declines since they supply
lumber used in more specialized
applications.
Italy
The Italian economy exhibits a
growing trade deficit and GDP
declines. Prices are up 3.2%,
and Italy's trade deficit
continues has increased from
1.9% of total GDP in 2007 to to
2.3% in the first quarter of
2008.
The EU Commission forecast for
2009 includes a larger public
deficit of 2.4% due to lower
personal income stemming from
slower overall economic
activity. At the same time,
expenses are expected to remain
stable. The EU Commission also
forecasts a slight reduction in
public deficit. but is likely
recently implemented policies by
the new Italian executive will
affect these forecasts.
Italian Softwood Import
2006-2007
The situation of the Italian
economy shows a growing deficit
with a GDP reduction. Prices are
up to 3.2% and the deficit
continues to escalate up to 2,3%
of the GDP from a 1.9% in 2007,
that is estimated to fall by
0.5% from previous projections.
The forecast for 2009 of the EU
Commission establishes a larger
public deficit up to 2.4%
because of lesser incomes due to
a weaker activity, while the
expenses are expected to remain
basically at the same rate. It
is also predicted a small
reduction of the public deficit,
but is likely that lately
implemented policies by the new
Italian executive may change
sensibly these forecasts.
Value. Euros
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Euros |
2007 |
2006 |
D% |
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Germany |
159.191.403 |
154.433.640 |
2,99 |
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Sweden |
52.017.371 |
59.668.481 |
-14,71
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Finland |
66.213.420 |
69.016.167 |
-4,23
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Austria |
681.314.958 |
681.035.756 |
0,04 |
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Swizzerland |
12.459.928 |
14.661.755 |
-17,67
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Poland |
10.043.642 |
8.335.207 |
17,01
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Cech Rep |
42.610.707 |
37.178.096 |
12,75
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Ukraine |
22.789.813 |
19.210.195 |
15,71
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Russia |
46.066.530 |
44.394.413 |
3,63 |
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USA |
10.542.475 |
9.197.230 |
12,76
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Canada |
27.714.844 |
29.715.509 |
-7,22
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Brazil |
3.121.299 |
886.334 |
71,60
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Latest data on Italian Softwood
Imports
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Cubic meters |
Jan 2008 |
Jan 2007 |
D% |
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Germany |
53.952 |
49702 |
7,88 |
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Sweden |
11.750 |
14286 |
-21,58
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Finland |
13.074 |
14485 |
-10,79
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Austria |
200.263 |
229641 |
-14,67
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Swizerland |
8.000 |
4851 |
39,36
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Poland |
3.676 |
3329 |
9,44 |
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Zech Rep. |
16.085 |
16135 |
-0,31
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Ukraine |
11.813 |
14781 |
-25,12
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Russia |
16.316 |
15682 |
3,89 |
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USA |
2.830 |
1802 |
36,33
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Canada |
2.161 |
3823 |
-76,91
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Brazil |
681 |
1924 |
-182,53
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The table shows solid growth in
volume for the first month in
2008. Although it is premature
to draw any conclusions, this is
a positive sign. Market share
for other suppliers is declining.
The value for the same period
(January 2007/2008) offers
another view, confirming the
increase of US exports into
Italy as well. It is also
interesting to note severe
decline in Austrian and
Swedish imports, suggesting a
slowdown in the Italian wood
industry's output.
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