May 31, 2001
By Ikuo Yami Yamiguchi
1) SOFTWOOD
vs. HARDWOOD
Although
an encyclopedia defines "SOFTWOOD" as the general term for trees that
have needle-like or scale-like leaves and bear cones, the term has no reference
to the actual hardness of the wood.
Most Japanese, however, may inadvertently misinterpret it. Therefore, please be careful when using the
term "SOFTWOOD" with the Japanese.
It would be safer to use the term "CONIFERS," or
"Shin-yo-ju" in Japanese, rather than "SOFTWOOD," to avoid
possible confusion, and in the same way, "HARDWOOD" is best explained
by "Broad-Leaved Tree," or "Ko-yo-ju" or
"Katsu-yo-ju" in Japanese.
2) PLYWOOD
vs. VENEER
The
formal term in Japanese for "PLYWOOD" is "GOHAN," but it is
also colloquially called "VENEER-ITA," meaning "Veneer Laminated
Boards." Because this colloquial
term is frequently shortened to "Veneer," few Japanese people know the
difference between the words "PLYWOOD" and "VENEER." So, be careful in using the terms. Although it is not so popular for the people
in general, the formal professional term for veneer is Tanpan.
3) LAMINATED LUMBER
Because
of the latest trend in Japan for heavy timber construction, "Glulams"
are experiencing a boom. However, the
traditional Japanese uses of wood components are also increasing in the form of
glued lumber, as opposed to solid wood.
This applies to such items like "posts (Hashira)," "rails
for sliding doors (Shikii and Kamoi)," "moldings like nageshi, (Horizontal
member surrounding inside of room at the level of atop of upper rail of sliding
doors)," Stepboards (Kaidan-ita,)" "Handrails (Tesuri),"
etc. A problem is that the Japanese
term for these glued wood products is "Shusei-Zai," meaning
"laminated lumber," whether they are a "Glulam" heavy
timber, a "header" to be used for window or door openings,
furnitures, posts (baby squares) or other home components as indicated above to
be used for conventional Japanese homes, which are manufactured by laminating,
edge-gluing, end-gluing and/or finger jointing. Under the circumstances, if and when you are asked by Japanese
about the "materials for laminated lumber (in most cases, they say
"core materials for Shusei-Zai" since they are often covered by
decorative veneers), be certain to ask the intended uses. In many occasions, they do not mean
laminating stock for a Glulam heavy timber but for something else, normally
smaller in size.
4) METRIC
SIZE vs. ENGLISH
SIZE
The
Japanese use the metric system of measure but it is just a variation of the old
measuring system in Japan called "Shaku". As you may know, the most common size for Hemlock or Douglas Fir
Baby Squares are of either 4-1/8" or 3-9/16", or in the metric sizes
105mm or 90mm. One Shaku happens to be
very similar to One Foot; the former is 30.3cm whereas the latter is 30.5cm,
just a difference of 0.2 cm. The 105mm
is just 35% of one Shaku and the 90mm is 30% of One Shaku. Most of the lumber sizes used for the
traditional Japanese construction are based on this Shaku system and, to make
things more complicated by the different practices in sizes depend on region by
region, and, therefore, you may encounter various odd sizes in discussions with
Japanese importers. The same principle
applies to plywood. The common size in
Japan is considered to be 3'x6'.
However, it is not really 3'x6' (or 91.5cm x 183.0cm), but 3 Shaku by 6
Shaku (or 91cm x 182cm). Thus, the most
common interval of studs and joists is 455mm o.c. (150% of one Shaku) and not
18 inches o.c.
5)
SOME JAPANESE TRADITIONAL TERMS, NOW BEING USED FOR THE
IMPORTED ITEMS
Although
some Japanese terms used for wood construction in Japan are indicated in the
Item 3) above, here are
STATISTICS AND
BACKGROUND FOR WOOD
PRODUCTS IN JAPANESE
MARKET
The
population of Japan is approximately 100 million and the Japanese use around
100 million cubic meters of wood and wood fiber annually. In other words, on average, each person uses
one cubic meter or 424 board feet of wood every year. This used to be a general guideline, but since the early 1980's,
a trend began which saw less per capita wood consumption. Fortunately, however, a recovery is seen
between 1987 and 1991, mainly reflecting the increased Yen value and the
government's domestic demand stimulating policy, partly derived from American
pressure, called "structural impediment talks", as referred as MOSS
and Super 301. Since 1991, however,
reflecting the so-called "Collapse of Bubble Phenomenon," the
depression has been continuing.
The
quantity breakdown by country of origin of the "materials" during the
past several years is shown below. By
"materials," they mean logs and materials for remanufacturing. Therefore, finished lumber from North
America and northern Europe, imported plywood from Indonesia, etc., are not
reflected in these figures, but referred to in other chapters. (Unit:
1,000 cubic meters. Source:
Japan Plywood Manufacturers Association's Statistical Yearbook and Japan Lumber
Importers Association. Also refer to
Statistical Exhibits referred as Statistical Exhibits I, II, III, IV and V, as
appeared in the last portion of this report.)
|
|
1994 |
1995 |
1996 |
1997 |
1998 |
1999 |
2000 |
|
Total |
79,661 (100%) |
79,046 (100%) |
78,124 (100%) |
76,049 (100%) |
67,781 (100%) |
67,256 (100%) |
64,436 (100%) |
|
Domestic Species |
17,440 (21.9%) |
16,252 (20.6%) |
16,154 (20.7%) |
15,430 (20.3%) |
13,400 (19.8%) |
13,246 (19.7%) |
13,019 (20.2%) |
|
S.E.
Asia |
6,802 (8.5%) |
5,925 (7.5%) |
5,781 (7.4%) |
5,233 (6.9%) |
3,969 (5.8%) |
4,326 (6.4%) |
4,007 (6.2%) |
|
U.S.A../ Canada |
14,325 (18.0%) |
13,380 (16.9%) |
12,799 (16.4%) |
11,064 (14.5%) |
9,079 (13.4%) |
8,458 (12.6%) |
8,521 (13.2%) |
|
Siberia |
3,896 (4.9%) |
4,000 (5.1%) |
3,845 (4.9%) |
3,991 (5.2%) |
3,362 (5.0%) |
3,731 (5.5%) |
3,822 (5.9%) |
|
New
Zealand |
1,316 (1.7%) |
1,366 (1.7%) |
1,307 (1.7%) |
1,408 (1.9%) |
1,223 (1.8%) |
1,148 (1.7%) |
982 (1.5%) |
|
Europe |
- |
507 (0.6%) |
192 (0.2%) |
140 (0.2%) |
79 (0.1%) |
11 (0.02%) |
44 (0.07%) |
|
Others |
308 (0.4%) |
420 (0.5%) |
436 (0.6%) |
398 (0.5%) |
364 (0.5%) |
344 (0.5%) |
306 (0.5%) |
|
Pulp & Chips (Domestic & Imported) |
35,574 (44.6%) |
37,196 (47.1%) |
37,610 (48.1%) |
38,383 (50.5%) |
36,305 (53.6%) |
35,992 (53.5%) |
33,735 (52.4%) |
Explanatory
Notes:
1) Domestic indigenous species are mostly
coniferous trees such as Hinoki (Chamaecyparis obtusa), Pine (Matsu), Cedar
(Criptomeria Japonica), Hiba (Thujopsis dolabrata), Tsuga (Tsuga sieboldii),
Ezomatsu (Picea Jezoensis), Todomatsu (Abies sachalinensis) and Karamatsu
(Larch). Some broad-leaved trees are
included, such as Birch, Beech, Oak, Ash, Maple, Cherry, Shina (Tilia
Japonica), Ho (Magnolia obovata) and Keyaki (Zelkova serrata makino). All are basic materials for Japanese
conventional home construction, decorative panels, cabinets and furniture.
2)
Species
from Southeast Asian countries are represented by the general term,
"Lauan," which is a broad-leaved
tree
and has many different names and species according to the exact origin. Lauan is particularly good for obtaining
very thin, defect-free veneer to produce relatively thinner plywood panels than
in the U.S. made panels. Because of
this, the Japanese concept of plywood (thinner defect-free hardwood panels for
more decorative uses) is fundamentally different than the American concept of
plywood (thicker and rather knotty softwood panels for more structural uses
). Because of the recent remarkable
increment of plywood import, mainly from Indonesia and Malaysia, plywood log
imports from Southeast Asian countries have been decreasing, i.e. 26,789 M
cubic meters recorded in 1973 was the largest figure, as opposed to todays 4
million level. (See Statistical Exhibit I ).
3) Species from the U.S.A. and Canada are those
you are familiar with. Regarding the
quantity breakdown of imported materials by type, species and origins, please
refer to the attached Statistical Exhibits II and III.
American
species have been used not only to supplement the insufficiency of indigenous
wood but also because of the higher yield obtainable from the larger logs,
especially for "Finish" or "Appearance Grade" lumber or for
the typical conventional Japanese structural members used for the traditional
Japanese house construction, many Japanese sawmills rely on those logs, though
the import of American sawn lumber is gradually increasing its ratio against
logs as also shown in the Statistical Exhibits I and II. Meantime, 1995 is the remarkable year since
the quantity of sawn lumber import exceeded first time in history than the same
of logs.
Most
American species have Japanese names as follows:
Bei-Hinoki or Bei-Hi (American
Hinoki) for Port Orford Cedar,
Bei-Matsu (American Pine) for
Douglas Fir,
Bei-Sugi (American Cedar) for
Western Red Cedar,
Bei-Hiba (American Hiba) for
Alaskan Yellow Cedar and
*Bei-Tsuga (American Tsuga) for West Coast Hemlock.
*(In
a certain area such as Osaka, Bei-Tsuga is referred to as Bei-Toga.
Some people also refer to Sitka Spruce as Alaska Hinoki,
Western Red Cedar
as Canada Sugi, Alaskan Yellow Cedar as Canada Hinoki and
Western Hemlock as Canada Tsuga.)
In the
meantime, reflecting the campaign taken place by various Japanese language
literature as well as the trade shows in Japan since 1995, continuous
advertising programs, and the Japanese interest in seeking any alternative
unknown species on the global basis, an interest in Southern Yellow Pine is
tremendously increasing these days, especially for the interior decorative uses
and the exterior decorative and structural uses.
4) Siberian species are Pine (Pinus
Koraiensis), Larch (Larix olgensis), Picea (Picea Jezoensis) and Abies (Abies
sachalinesis). The log sizes are
comparatively smaller than those of American species and they have less
varieties in usage than American species.
Their main usages are for packaging, sheathing strips, rafters and other
general uses. However, some plywood
manufacturers are now producing plywood out of Russian Larch and this trend is
expanding, because plywood manufacturing industry has changes these days to use
smaller diameter logs.
5) The primary New Zealand species is Radiata
Pine. The same comments apply as above
regarding the log sizes and usages.
Moreover, the knots are conspicuous and grain is relatively coarse
(wider in width between annual rings), which also prevents its wider use. However, pruned logs are now widely
available. Also, New Zealanders are now
eager to supply to Japan their 2 by sized dimension lumber. The same species also comes from Chile.
6) Others in the above table include those
items from Taiwan, China, Africa and other countries. Especially since 1993, reflecting the price increment of North
American lumber, North European's lumber to Japan is increasing as shown in the
Statistical Exhibit IV.
HISTORY OF
AMERICAN LUMBER IN
JAPAN
While
history says Commodore Perry brought Douglas Fir block to Japan in 1853, the
year of 1923 was an epoch-making year in the history of Japanese imports of
American lumber. On September 1st of
that year, the city of Tokyo was completely destroyed by the Great Earthquake. The domestic supply of lumber products was
insufficient and a good quantity of American lumber, mainly in the forms of
medium to large squares such as 12" x 12" to 24" x 24", was
imported. The Japanese terms for the
species cited above mostly originated at that time.
More
serious disasters came during the World War II. Not only the city of Tokyo but more than 100 cities and towns all
over the nation were destroyed by bombing.
To make the matters worse, most of the trees all over Japan were cut for
the purposes of war and fuel (not only for fire wood but as a substitute of
crude oil), as virtually no other resources were available. Consequently, when the war was over, only
naked mountains remained.
To
recover, both the governmental and private sectors decided to both build as
many non-wooden houses as possible and begin a major reforestation campaign.
Nevertheless,
people cannot live without wood and the Japanese sought material in the form of
logs from the U.S.A., the Philippines and later, from Siberia, New Zealand,
Malaysia, Indonesia, etc. The logs from
South East Asian countries were converted into hardwood plywood and then
exported to the U.S. as a major source of foreign currency. This situation remained until the mid
1960's, when the Koreans and Taiwanese captured the majority share of Lauan
plywood exports to the U.S.A., which is now captured by the Indonesians.
As for
softwood lumber, because of insufficient supply and a gradual increase in
demand reflecting the overall economic recovery, prices rose to an
extraordinary high level. Therefore, in
1961, another epoch-making year, a powerful minister of construction decided to
stimulate lumber imports from North America.
Reacting
to the minister's stimulus, Canadians started to ship their full sawn 4"
baby square Hemlock by large break bulk vessels. This trend continued for some 10 years and many American sawmills
joined this business, though with frequent complaints about cyclical ups and
downs. Then the Oil Crisis ended this
boom, leading to forecasts of a continuous depressed market.
Around
that time, 2x4 construction started with the support of the government (to be described
below) and a new market for American dimension lumber was created. The baby squares were gradually changed to
the traditional Japanese dimension and the 4" size was changed to other
sizes. One time, the baby squares had a
share of almost 80% of the total quantity of imported lumber from North
America. Now it is only about 16%, as
other sizes, mostly referred to as "custom cut", or "side
cut", predominate, as referred in the JLIA statistics as "Various
Sizes" which cover almost 62% of total sawn lumber import.
The
system of transportation has also changed.
At one time, a break bulk shipment was common. Currently, containerization is more prevalent. Latest statistics show that container
shipments to Japan cover about 50% of total imports. As a result of containerization, importers may now save inventory
cost, however, at the same time, Canadians are also actively using new large
vessels called RO-RO (Roll on Roll off), which make their shipments more
efficient.
The
successful result of the reforestation program started soon after the World War
II has now created serious problem for the forest owners in Japan. These trees, mostly Japanese Cedar, followed
by Hinoki, have now grown and it is time to thin or harvest them. Due to a lack of labor and the high cost to
take care of these forest due to steep mountains and narrow mountain roads,
etc., the problem will not be easily solved, being a headache of forest owners
in both private and government sectors.
HOUSING STARTS
The
number of houses built, their total floor space and the average floor space per
unit since the good years before the oil crisis up to now are indicated below.
Year Number of Units Total
Floor Space Average
per Unit
1972 1,821 M 1,519,742
M sq. ft. 834 sq. ft.
1973 1,905 1,732,812 909
1974 1,317 1,274,891 968
1975 1,356 1,343,853 991
1976 1,524 1,489,737 977
1977 1,508 1,514,997 1,003
1978 1,549 1,611,081 1,040
1979 1,492 1,620,408 1,086
1980 1,268 1,280,321 1,010
1981 1,152 1,159,397 1,006
1982 1,146 1,157,086 1,010
1983 1,137 1,068,981 940
1984 1,187 1,077,430 908
1985 1,236 1,108,647 897
1986 1,365 1,193,259 874
1987 1,674 1,424,637 851
1988 1,685 1,446,169 859
1989 1,663 1,451,551 873
1990 1,707 1,484,388 870
1991 1,370 1,260,115 920
1992 1,403 1,278,104 911
1993 1,486 1,415,581 953
1994 1,570 1,564,309 996
1995 1,470 1,466,989 998
1996 1,643 1,697,412 1,033
1997 1,387 1,388,696 1,001
1998 1,198 1,201,442 1,003
1999 1,215 1,269,430 1,045
2000 1,230 1,320,611 1,074
Up
until 1967, housing starts per year were less than one million. Rapid growth started in 1968 to record a
peak of 1,905M dwellings in 1973.
However, due to the first oil crisis, a drastic drop occurred in
parallel with increased cost of land and building materials. Lowering of real income was another factor
of decline and such discouraging trend continued until the early part of the
1980's. However, because of the
increased yen value, favorable money supply and generally good economic
situation, a tremendous recovery is observed since 1986, so much that 1990 was
the third best year in Japanese history.
Japan
has now a sufficient number of houses (existing houses now total 36 million
units, whereas the number of households is 33 million). The houses to be built from now on must be
better in quality and greater in space, to replace the old, narrow and
deteriorated houses, most of which were built soon after the World War II using
cheap materials. Most of such houses
and buildings were victims at the time of Kobe Earthquake, January 17,
1995. Conforming to this basic
understanding, recent trends show that floor space per unit is gradually
increasing as shown above.
While
the trend to increase the space of single family dwellings is still continuing,
another trend is the inability of people to buy detached house due to
extraordinarily high cost. Many people
must stay in high-rise concrete apartments, the space of which is usually not
so large. Ridiculously enough, such
apartments are called a "mansion" in Japanese and we even use the
very funny expression of a "one room mansion". Originating from the Japan Housing
Corporation's (Quasi-government organization) term, we use the terms 1DK, 2DK,
3DK, 4LDK, etc. for the sizes of a house.
DK stands for "Dining Kitchen" or a kitchen with the space to
place a dinner table. A kitchen not
large enough to place a dinner table is symbolized as "K". "L" stands for living room, so,
4LDK means 4 rooms (for multiple purposes of a bedroom and other uses such as
Tatami-mat rooms), one living room (normally in Western style) and one dining
Kitchen. Most commonly, the size of a
room is good for 6, 8 or 4.5 Tatami mats, namely, roughly 9'x12', 12'x12' or 9'x9',
respectively.
Meantime,
some important points we should realize are the facts that we still have a
stable market of more than one million housing starts, which is the second
largest market in the world, next to the U.S.A., and that the quality has been
much improved.
Another
thought should also be given to the market of "Repair and
Remodeling." As indicated above, a
number of old, narrow and deteriorated houses still exist. Many of those who cannot afford new houses
must repair, rehabilitate or remodel their existing homes. Thus, our campaign toward the Repair and
Remodeling, or Reforming, including the "Outdoor Living Idea", or
recent popular term of Gardening, is highly popular. However, the Collapse of Bubble phenomenon
started in 1991 got into the worst situation in 1997/1998 and we are now hoping
the earliest economic recovery. Incidentally,
another favorable new trends are towards the "3-story, multi-family wooden
construction", which is mentioned at the latter part of this report, and
more consciousness on lumber products for more precise pre-cutting and related
drying, due to CAD / CAM fabrication for home components is getting popular.
Breakdown
of Housing Starts in 1999/2000
|
|
1999 |
2000 |
2000/1999 |
|
Total |
1,214,6011 (100%) |
1,229,843 (100%) |
+1.3% |
|
Wood
P & B |
489,680 (40.3%) |
476,700 (38.8%) |
-2.7% |
|
Wood
2x4 |
75,864 (6.2%) |
79,114 (6.4%) |
+4.3% |
|
Pre-fab |
185,724 (15.3%) |
175,069 (14.2%) |
-5.7% |
|
Other
Non-Wood |
463,333 (38.2%) |
498,960 (40.6%) |
+7.7% |
TYPE OF
HOUSE
Although
the wood related industries in Japan are working hard to keep the ratio of
wooden houses as large as possible, the share of non-wooden houses, such as
concrete buildings, houses with steel posts and beams, etc. is increasing, with
the ratio as indicated above. However,
wooden houses in 2000 cover 692,796 square feet, or 52.5% of the total floor
space. In other words, wooden houses
are relatively larger than non-wooden houses.
Since
the majority of wooden houses is still traditional Japanese homes, American
suppliers of wooden materials to the Japanese market should try to conform to
traditional Japanese specifications, in addition to the campaign for 2x4
construction.
The
specifications for lumber for conventional houses have many varieties. Supposedly there are some 400 different
sizes, whereas American dimension lumber has its five basic sizes only. One typical example is the baby square in
full sizes of 4-1/8" x 4-1/8" (105mm x 105mm) and 3-9/16" x
3-9/16" (90mm x 90mm) in lengths of 10' and 13', which are used not only
as the structural members of a house but are sometimes a part of the interior
decoration, the surface of which is kept natural and unfinished.
Because
of this fact, the Japanese are attaching to the whitish fine grain unknotty
wood and thusly, a fine grain Cascade type Hemlock is preferable, especially
for the "post" size of 4-1/8" squares, while this consideration
is
less
important for the "purlin" size of 3-9/16", or the
"beam" sizes of heavy timber in Douglas Fir, since they are
concealed.
As
indicated above, Japanese specifications have many varieties. Under such circumstances, there are many
opportunities for American suppliers to find out specifications which best suit
their mill's production.
WOOD FRAME
PLATFORM CONSTRUCTION
In
1974, a new building code recognizing wood frame platform construction was
added to the conventional building methods such as post and beam construction,
concrete buildings, prefab home, etc. and North American dimension lumber has
got a great penetration into the market.
Incidentally, this new construction system is generally called in Japan
the "2x4 construction system." i.e., that "Made in Japan"
English terms have got also popular in the United States these days.
Contrary
to the enormous anticipation that prevailed at the time of its official recognition
in 1974, the development of "2x4 construction" has been rather slow
and the progress of this construction is as follows:
1974......................................... 168 units
1975........................................ 2,572
1976........................................ 5,117
1977........................................ 5,163
1978........................................ 6,115
1979........................................ 11,720
1980........................................ 13,003
1981.......................................
13,486
1982....................................... 16,208
1983....................................... 17,233
1984....................................... 20,240
1985....................................... 24,095
1986....................................... 31,708
1987........................................ 40,105
1988....................................... 41,493
1989....................................... 47,572
1990....................................... 51,093
1991....................................... 45,437
1992....................................... 52,933
1994....................................... 64,037
1995...................................... 73,989
1996....................................... 93,693
1997.....................................
79,458
1998 ....................................
67,923
1999
...
75,864
2000
79,114
Total........................................1,035,838,
namely,
the year of 2000 is a historical year, exceeded 1 million, in. total for this
past 28 years.
The
followings are some reasons even today for the slow movement of the
construction method as well as some good reasons for a remarkable improvement
during the past few years.
1)
Some
of the Japanese people are still unaware of the advantages of the new system,
as conventional housing
construction
has a history of several hundred years.
2) The difference in building modules between
the two countries, 4 foot by 8 foot versus 3 foot by 6 foot, had not yet been
harmonized. It might be more
appropriate to say that Japan started its unique "2x4 construction"
based on a 3x6 module, as referred as "Japanized 2x4 Construction",
since the most common spacing of studs, floor joists and rafters is about 18
inches o.c., or specifically 455mm o.c., based on the traditional Japanese
measuring system.
3) In conformity with the new building code,
the materials for housing construction are specified by JAS (Japan Agricultural
Standard) for lumber and plywood or JIS (Japan Industrial Standard) for nails,
gypsum boards, etc. These specifications
are now becoming serious problems, because of the recent move on "Imported
Packaged Houses," for which, according to the Japanese stipulations, all
the materials for structural purposes should have "JAS" or
"JIS" marks. The latest trend
to make North American sawmills and plywood plants JAS authorized or what is called Internationalization have
greatly solved this problem.
The
reasons favoring the progress of "2x4 construction" are as follows:
1) The Government Housing Loan Corporation
(GHLC), which provides funds for new home construction at a relatively low
interest rate, has published a building specification book for "2x4
construction", which has stimulated this construction method.
2) As a result of the test conducted in
1976/1977 by the Building Research Institute, an agency of the Ministry of
Construction, "2x4 construction" houses built under a certain
preventing measure (dry wall system or gypsum board application) were proven to
be fire resistant. Therefore, such
houses can get a higher loan from GHLC and a lower premium for fire insurance,
which provided further incentives.
3) The fire tests conducted in December, 1978
by the government and the Japan 2x4 Homebuilders Association (J2x4HBA) for
their experimental town-houses building further proved that a townhouse built
by a 2x4 system has got fire resistance (party walls with gypsum board
application worked as the complete fire barrier). Since this idea can work for effective use of scarce land space,
the Japan Housing Corporation, many local government owned housing corporations
and also some private builders have been building many townhouses using the 2x4
system.
In
addition to the above, "2x4 construction" also provides resistance
against earthquake, as proved by the Kobe Earthquake on January 17, 1995, a
higher degree of energy-saving than any other building methods, cost savings in
construction, etc. Meantime, a series
of seismic and fire tests was conducted in the later part of 1991 to allow
multi-story/multi-family wooden construction, which were jokingly referred to
as "Shake and Bake" tests.
An
expected scarcity of skillful craftsmen required for the traditional Japanese
construction should also stimulate the growth of "2x4
construction". Yet, Japan is also
now experiencing a shortage of labor for 2x4 construction, which is one reason
why the growth had slowed in 1988 and 1991, when the economies were good for
other fields.
Considering
the above advantages and favorable trend, ASJO and its Canadian counterpart,
COFI, are closely working with the Japan 2x4 Homebuilders Association (J2x4HBA)
for the promotion and application of 2x4 systems so that more dimension lumber
can be sold in Japan.
J2x4HBA
is an organization supported by the government and is composed of some 1000
companies such as homebuilders, general contractors, developers, architect
offices, trading companies, building material suppliers and other related
organizations, including ASJO, APA/EWA and AF&PA.
SPC
and SEC have published a set of many publications in Japanese all of which are
receiving a great deal of attention by those who want to know about 2x4
construction and other American softwood matters. Their titles are as follows:
APA-Engineered
Wood Association, American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC), and AF&PA also
have a good quantity of various attractive brochures in Japanese.
Most
lumber products from West Coast are free of duty but we still have quite a few
tariff barriers. A comprehensive
summary of duty rate, as of January 1, 2001, applicable to the items available
in the U.S.A. is listed below. Meantime,
because of the introduction of many new materials, tariff rate assessment by
the Japanese customs officers is getting problems for some items like
mouldings. We wish these tariff system
to be simplified, if not to be totally Zero, while some safeguard issues are
being talked from time to time.
Free of Duty Logs
of all species, sawn lumber of all species more than 160mm in thickness, Sawn
lumber
not
more than 160mm in thickness of Douglas Fir, Western Hemlock, Mountain Hemlock,
Sitka
Spruce, all Cedar families, California Red Fir, Grand Fir, Noble Fir and
Pacific Silver
Fir,
Windows and Doors and Packaged Home.
4.8% Duty Rate Sawn lumber, rough sawn, not more than 160mm in thickness of
all Genus Pinus, Genus Abies and Genus Picea, but excepting those species as
mentioned in the Free of Duty category. (It is recommended that , if you are shipping White Fir, it should
be invoiced as Hem-Fir or Hemlock to escape from the duty.)
6% Duty Rate Same as above but Genus Larix.
4.8% Duty Rate Dimension lumber excepting
the species indicated in the Free of Duty Rates (S-P-F Dimension Lumber falls
in this category.)
2.9% Duty Rate Wooden Products, not otherwise
specified.
3.9% Duty Rate Laminated
Lumber and other items intended for specified uses.
3.6%
Duty Rate Solid
softwood Mouldings.
5%
Duty Rate
Softwood Veneer.
6% Duty Rate
OSB/Waferboard/Particleboard. and Softwood Plywood.
6% Duty Rate Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL), Veneer overlaid products such
as mouldings, Stepboards, etc.
6% Duty Rate Laminated Lumber
in general.
SUMMIT HOUSE
'86 and SUPERHOUSE
'92
This
report cannot be completed without mentioning about these joint promotional
venture by the American industry and government.
As a
result of the MOSS Talks, a three story experimental model structure was built
in Tokyo in 1986, which had worked to stimulate a campaign in Japan for the
3-story wooden building. It originated
with a USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture) plan but its aftereffect has been
a tremendous boost toward changing Japanese Building Codes.
The
philosophy of this campaign falls into 5 categories as follows:
If proper arrangements are made
1) Wood is resistive against fire and
2) Wood is resistive against decay.
Furthermore,
3) Wood is structurally strong,
4) Wood is attractive by nature and
5) Wood construction itself is economical in various ways.
As a
result of the Super 301 talks in 1990, another project called "Super
House" was completed in September, 1992.
It is now being developed to further the concept of the 3-story single
family Summit House, into a multi-family residential construction. This 3-story multi-family idea is now called
in abbreviation in Japan as "Moku-San-Kyo", meaning "Wooden,
3-story and multi-family residential building." Since its official code change in May, 1993, 433 Moku-San-Kyo
were built in the first 3 years up to 1995, which now turned out favorably as
1,121 units in the year of 1999.
The
Japan Offices for SEC, SPC, APA/EWA and the American Hardwood Export Council
(AHEC) and AF&PA are maintaining good team work in Japan to expand the
applications of American wood products.
RELATED ORGANIZATIONS IN JAPAN
As of
January 6, 2001, Japanese government Offices are re-organized and here are many
new names.
Government
Offices and Quasi-Government Organizations
Ministry
of Foreign Affairs (MOFA)
Ministry
of Finance (Import duties and Customs are among their jurisdiction)
Housing
Bureau of Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MLIT)
Ministry
of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI)
Ministry
of Agriculture, Forestry and Fishery (MAFF)
Center
for Food Quality, Labeling and Consumer Service
Forestry
Agency, an agency of MAFF (Distribution, supply and demand and other sectors of
forest products, domestically and internationally.)
Government
Housing Loan Corporation (GHLC), government owned financing agency for home
owners.
Housing
and Urban Development Corporation (Jyu-To-Kodan), formerly known as Japan
Housing Corporation.
Japan
Wood-Products Information and Research Center (JAWIC)
Japan
External Trade Organization (JETRO)
Independent
Administrative Institution
Building
Research Institute (Ken-Ken), located at Tsukuba.
Forestry
and Forest Products Research Institute (Shinrin-So-Ken), formerly known as
Forest Experiment Station, also located at Tsukuba.
Grading
and Inspecting Organizations
All
Japan Federation of Lumber Associations (Zen-Moku-Ren), who inspects lumber, in
addition to their
consolidated lumber
promotional activities .
Japan
Plywood Inspection Corporation (JPIC), who inspects plywood, LVL, structural
panels, floorings
and laminated lumber
The
Building Center of Japan, who inspects all other building materials, in
addition to their general information activities in construction in general.
Japan
Housing and Wood Technology Center (HoWTeC)
Center
for Better Living
Associations
Japan
Two-by-Four Homebuilders Association (J2x4HBA)
Japan
Two-by-Four JAS Lumber Council (JAS-Kyo)
Japan
Lumber Importers Association (JLIA)
Japan
American Lumber Conference (JALC)
Japan
American Wood Sawmiller's Association (Bei-Sei-Kyo)
Japan
Plywood Manufacturers' Association (JPMA or Nichi-Go-Ren)
Japan
Wood Processing Technology Association
Japan
Wood Forum
Japan
Young Lumbermen's Association (Moku-Sei-Ren or MSR)
All
Japan Federation of Traditional Homebuilders (Zen-Ken-Ren)
Japan
Wood Preservers Association
Japan
Laminated Lumber Association
Japan
Pre-cut Lumber Association
Japan
Log House Association
Manufactured
Imports Promotion Organization (MIPRO)
Wooden
Home Builders Association of Japan (Moku-Ju-Kyo)
Federation
of Housing Association s (Ju-Dan-Ren)
Registration
Organization for Warranted Houses (Hosho-Kikoo)
Council
of Forest Industries of Canada (COFI)
North American
Timber Importers by Species
Units: m3
|
|
1991 |
1992 |
1993 |
1994 |
1995 |
1996 |
1997 |
1998 |
1999 |
2000 |
|
|
(Logs) HEM DF SPR RC YC POC NF WF TAM WP PINE MIX |
2,133,563 5,460,999 950,718 95,403 103,669 31,463 15,605 356,740 9,848 10,587 11,347 45,898 |
2,120,566 5,329,328 949,600 102,490 139,684 23,371 15,327 199,957 5,252 6,819 9,667 5,443 |
1,718,515 4,768,900 857,206 90,761 138,442 20,155 17,447 181,337 3,993 3,859 88,704 884 |
1,457,599 4,689,402 836,669 69,965 132,501 15,513 13,220 160,823 2,544 4,160 2,366 630 |
1,203,820 4,549,486 754,089 75,516 111,793 9,327 11,787 153,892 3,359 5,855 1,487 97 |
1,096,930 4,737,401 829,988 47,132 66,353 9,972 13,200 118,718 1,513 1,645 1,651 1,217 |
1,038,185 3,466,527 745,500 56,294 68,506 11,242 7,902 114,264 1,638 994 881 2,326 |
685,789 3,369,168 399,244 30,925 70,741 3,266 8,175 69,759 1,344 781 259 0 |
692,591 3,388,237 395,543 25,050 58,467 3,638 3,121 76,909 819 620 153 0 |
707,510 3,430,385 350,737 37,280 82,204 2,972 4,594 48,072 158 149 31 0 |
|
Softwood Sub
Total |
9,225,840 |
8,907,504 |
7,890,203 |
7,385,392 |
6,880,508 |
6,925,720 |
5,514,259 |
4,639,451 |
4,645,148 |
4,664,092 |
|
Hardwood |
93,533 |
69,454 |
89,924 |
65,767 |
54,541 |
51,690 |
50,546 |
28,975 |
13,428 |
8,653 |
|
TOTAL |
9,319,373 |
8,976,958 |
7,980,127 |
7,451,159 |
6,935,049 |
6,977,410 |
5,564,805 |
4,668,426 |
4,658,576 |
4,672,745 |
|
(Sawn Lumber) HEM |
3,086,159 918,856 1,266,316 59,594 325,654 119 50,407 6,077 92 8,625 34,684 155,925 |
2,810,638 1,220,351 1,405,891 74,940 362,683 576 26,919 5,976 35 10,038 41,003 73,905 |
3,330,368 1,206,909 1,690,041 79,224 320,676 647 15,911 11,097 82 4,644 66,245 45,683 |
3,332,919 1,405,622 1,782,996 79,404 311,497 453 8,533 230 51 405 69,671 2,854 |
3,240,997 1,582,125 1,862,550 106,552 328,769 1,190 10,449 5,127 0 0 85,450 2,159 |
2,823,185 2,010,579 2,030,699 93,168 370,290 1,100 3,516 4,324 0 0 62,685 37,595 |
2,428,495 1,454,901 1,640,556 115,782 312,190 643 4,223 7,574 0 0 55,048 50,514 |
1,483,960 1,122,908 1,038,169 54,543 228,719 201 2,306 1,045 0 0 18,639 23,545 |
1,623,744 1,308,328 1,188,528 54,801 214,893 9 1,882 150 0 0 27,726 34,683 |
1,500,708 1,273,584 1,130,709 54,540 261,464 167 591 0 0 0 11,877 20,865 |
|
Softwood Sub
Total |
5,912,508 |
6,032,955 |
6,771,527 |
6,994,635 |
7,225,368 |
7,437,141 |
6,069,926 |
3,974,035 |
4,454,744 |
4,254,505 |
|
Hardwood |
112,200 |
108,994 |
124,266 |
134,164 |
145,241 |
146,320 |
161,150 |
78,746 |
79,948 |
69,968 |
|
TOTAL |
6,024,708 |
6,141,949 |
6,895,793 |
7,128,799 |
7,370,609 |
7,583,461 |
6,231,076 |
4,052,781 |
4,534,692 |
4,324,473 |
Statistical Exhibit II
North American
Timber Imports by
State of Origin
Unit: m3
|
|
1991 |
1992 |
1 993 |
1994 |
1995 |
1996 |
1997 |
1998 |
1999 |
2000 |
00/99 |
|
(Logs) Alaska Oregon Washington California Others |
1,313,123 983,695 6,270,065 177,797 12,832 |
1,277,082 725,273 6,212,672 61,016 24,420 |
1,195,052 682,269 5,459,195 61,203 96,328 |
1,220,904 628,070 5,284,217 46,009 4,221 |
1,203,621 534,532 4,969,659 39,510 26,005 |
1,234,246 472,023 5,088,330 57,040 3,171 |
1,140,633 234,934 4,006,560 79,153 3,021 |
675,979 135,397 3,364,342 19,890 2,478 |
604,240 64,370 3,176,620 5,053 2,591 |
559,108 99,198 3,026,129 2,580 1,875 |
% -7.5 +54.1 -4.7 -48.9 +27.6 |
|
US
Total |
8,757,512 |
8,300,463 |
7,494,047 |
7,183,421 |
6,773,327 |
6,854,810 |
5,464,301 |
4,198,086 |
3,852,874 |
3,688,890 |
-4.3 |
|
Canada |
561,861 |
676,495 |
486,080 |
267,738 |
161,722 |
122,600 |
100,504 |
470,340 |
805,702 |
983,855 |
+22.1 |
|
Total |
9,319,373 |
8,976,958 |
7,980,127 |
7,451,159 |
6,935,049 |
6,977,410 |
5,564,805 |
4,668,426 |
4,658,576 |
4,672,745 |
+0.3 |
|
(Sawn
Lumber) Alaska Oregon Washington California Others |
359,234 361,453 975,277 46,568 122,885 |
303,706 262,392 876,129 23,384 86,778 |
305,272 399,302 863,076 22,974 97,575 |
252,707 490,903 730,770 9,203 119,094 |
126,315 391,634 777,195 3,305 132,401 |
61,503 367,224 853,147 4,215 132,789 |
54,646 231,298 652,994 3,556 143,676 |
24,799 170,333 271,505 2,502 62,838 |
21,817 192,356 252,553 2,002 69,058 |
116 176,999 247,193 1,086 63,726 |
-99.5 -8.0 -2.1 -45.8 -7.7 |
|
US
Total |
1,865,417 |
1,552,389 |
1,688,199 |
1,602,677 |
1,430,850 |
1,418,878 |
1,086,170 |
531,977 |
537,786 |
489,120 |
-9.0 |
|
Canada |
4,159,291 |
4,589,560 |
5,207,594 |
5,526,122 |
5,939,759 |
6,164,583 |
5,144,906 |
3,520,804 |
3,996,906 |
3,835,353 |
-4.0 |
|
Total |
6,024,708 |
6,141,949 |
6,895,793 |
7,128,799 |
7,370,609 |
7,583,461 |
6,231,076 |
4,052,781 |
4,534,692 |
4,324,473 |
-4.6 |
Source: Japan Lumber Importers Association
Statistical
Exhibit III
|
|
|
1991 |
1992 |
1993 |
1994 |
1995 |
1996 |
1997 |
1998 |
1999 |
2000 |
|
00/99 (%) |
|
|
|
Log |
10,114,790 |
9,969,408 |
7,438,263 |
6,802,103 |
5,924,504 |
5,781,061 |
5,232,651 |
3,192,231 |
3,403,726 |
3,033,952 |
|
-10.9 |
|
|
South-Sea |
Lumber |
1,202,518 |
1,196,981 |
1,357,592 |
1,296,725 |
1,330,287 |
1,213,973 |
1,271,557 |
776,896 |
921,764 |
973,401 |
|
+5.6 |
|
|
|
Total |
11,317,308 |
11,166,389 |
8,795,855 |
8,098,828 |
7,254,791 |
6,995,034 |
6,504,208 |
3,969,127 |
4,325,490 |
4,007,353 |
|
-7.4 |
|
|
|
(%) |
(91.4) |
(98.7) |
(78.8) |
(92.1) |
(89.6) |
(96.4) |
(93.0) |
(61.0) |
(109.0) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Log |
9,319,373 |
8,976,958 |
7,980,127 |
7,451,159 |
6,935,049 |
6,977,410 |
5,564,805 |
4,668,426 |
4,658,576 |
4,672,745 |
|
+0.3 |
|
|
US & Canada |
Lumber |
6,024,708 |
6,141,949 |
6,895,793 |
7,128,799 |
7,370,609 |
7,583,461 |
6,231,076 |
4,052,781 |
4,534,692 |
4,324,473 |
|
-4.6 |
|
|
|
Total |
15,344,081 |
15,118,907 |
14,875,920 |
14,579,958 |
14,305,658 |
14,560,871 |
11,795,881 |
8,721,207 |
9,193,268 |
8,997,218 |
|
-2.1 |
|
|
|
(%) |
(94.3) |
(98.5) |
(98.4) |
(98.0) |
(98.1) |
(101.8) |
(81.0) |
(73.9) |
(105.4) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Log |
4,303,232 |
4,267,674 |
4,984,953 |
4,846,539 |
5,464,145 |
5,448,355 |
6,133,950 |
4,761,471 |
6,096,491 |
5,511,652 |
|
-9.6 |
|
|
Russia |
Lumber |
250,441 |
222,224 |
275,202 |
328,384 |
396,762 |
397,898 |
503,940 |
295,332 |
448,180 |
541,468 |
|
+20.8 |
|
|
|
Total |
4,553,673 |
4,489,898 |
5,260,155 |
5,174,923 |
5,860,907 |
5,846,253 |
6,637,890 |
5,056,803 |
6,544,671 |
6,053,120 |
|
-7.5 |
|
|
|
(%) |
(89.2) |
(98.6) |
(117.2) |
(98.4) |
(113.3) |
(99.7) |
(113.5) |
(76.2) |
(129.4) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Log |
1,604,278 |
1,812,036 |
1,539,485 |
1,757,324 |
1,753,896 |
2,045,078 |
1,799,280 |
1,804,588 |
1,510,631 |
1,747,340 |
|
+15.7 |
|
|
New Zealand |
Lumber |
241,281 |
233,534 |
210,458 |
227,494 |
276,601 |
242,561 |
261,848 |
212,257 |
222,600 |
242,229 |
|
+8.8 |
|
|
|
Total |
1,845,559 |
2,045,570 |
1,749,943 |
1,984,818 |
2,030,497 |
2,287,639 |
2,061,128 |
2,016,845 |
1,733,231 |
1,989,569 |
|
+14.8 |
|
|
|
(%) |
(119.3) |
(110.8) |
(85.5) |
(113.4) |
(102.3) |
(112.7) |
(90.1) |
(97.9) |
(85.9) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Log |
8,032 |
9,968 |
126,238 |
28,392 |
18,937 |
14,690 |
48,045 |
8,215 |
10,207 |
13,347 |
|
+30.8 |
|
|
Chile |
Lumber |
400,573 |
257,576 |
410,824 |
343,823 |
522,707 |
396,717 |
633,107 |
373,338 |
441,361 |
466,471 |
|
+5.7 |
|
|
|
Total |
408,605 |
267,544 |
537,062 |
372,215 |
541,644 |
411,407 |
681,152 |
381,553 |
451,568 |
479,818 |
|
+6.3 |
|
|
|
(%) |
(85.2) |
(65.5) |
(200.7) |
(69.3) |
(145.5) |
(76.0) |
(165.6) |
(56.0) |
(118.4) |
|
|||
|
Africa |
Log |
95,928 |
99,508 |
512,201 |
652,069 |
531,142 |
626,226 |
666,118 |
152,672 |
202,009 |
230,684 |
|
+14.2 |
|
|
|
(%) |
(76.0) |
(103.7) |
(514.7) |
(127.3) |
(81.5) |
(117.9) |
(106.4) |
(22.9) |
(132.3) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Log |
224 |
3,924 |
97,883 |
294,507 |
507,115 |
192,391 |
140,152 |
79,034 |
11,344 |
44,253 |
|
+290.1 |
|
|
Europe |
Lumber |
2,962 |
4,355 |
237,060 |
569,520 |
832,099 |
1,195,251 |
1,759,962 |
1,101,278 |
1,870,100 |
2,195,854 |
|
+17.4 |
|
|
|
Total |
3,186 |
8,279 |
334,943 |
864,027 |
1,339,214 |
1,387,642 |
1,900,114 |
1,180,312 |
1,881,444 |
2,240,107 |
|
||