Reduced activities in the housing construction sector in China decreased importation of softwood logs and lumber in late 2011, reports the Wood Resource Quarterly. Despite the decline in the 4Q, total imports during 2011 reached a record high, making China the largest importer of logs and lumber in the world.

Seattle, WA -- (ReleaseWire) -- 02/03/2012 -- Importation of softwood logs and lumber to China has increased continuously over the past 15 years, and in 2011 the country was the largest importer of softwood lumber and logs in the world, according to the Wood Resource Quarterly. Total import value equaled almost eight billion US dollars last year, which was an increase of 57 percent from 2010, and up from only 70 million dollars 15 years ago. Annual growth over the past five years has been almost 30 percent, and over the past 15 years, the CAGR has been as high as 36 percent.

Imports of softwood lumber have increased faster than imports of softwood logs over the past few years, but log imports still constitute a higher share of the total import value of softwood products. After having increased for seven consecutive quarters, the importation of softwood logs and lumber fell for the first time in the 4Q/11 because of reduced domestic demand and high inventories at many of the country's ports. The decline was 14 percent from the 3Q/11, but the total import value was still higher than the fourth quarter in 2010.

By volume, importation of softwood log and softwood lumber to China fell 10 percent in the 4Q/11 as compared to the previous quarter. Importation of logs and lumber from Russia decreased the most, while lumber from New Zealand and logs from Canada actually increased slightly during the fourth quarter.

Much of the increased import demand for softwood raw-material has been, and continues to be, driven by the fast expansion in the house construction sector combined with the fact the China lacks domestic forest resources to meet the growing demand for most forest products.

A tightening monetary policy with a restricted money supply resulted in reduced activities in the construction sector in the second half of 2011. It has also been reported that there were overstocked inventories of real estate (over 20 months of unsold inventory in Beijing and Shanghai), and that housing transaction volumes in many big cities fell by more than 50 percent in the fourth quarter. Societe Generale reported that housing starts were down 25 percent in December as compared to the same month in 2010.

It can be expected that the housing market will continue to face headwinds during the first half of 2012 unless the Chinese government steps in to ease the country's monetary policy. As a consequence, the prospects for log and lumber imports will be faced with uncertainty short-term, but will likely continue to trend upward long-term.

Global timber market reporting is included in the 52-page quarterly publication Wood Resource Quarterly. The report, established in 1988 and with subscribers in over 25 countries, tracks sawlog, pulpwood, lumber and pellet prices and market developments in most key regions around the world. To subscribe to the WRQ, please go to http://www.woodprices.com

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The plantation ownership in Australia is in transition after the Management Investment Scheme (MIS) collapsed in 2009, reports the Wood Resource Quarterly. Foreign pension funds and pulp companies have shown increased interest in acquiring timber assets as forest plantations owners have gone into receivership.

Seattle, WA -- (SBWIRE) -- 12/02/2011 -- In the aftermath of the collapsed Management Investment Schemes (MIS), plantation ownership and management of the Australian timber resources is in a transitional mode, reports the Wood Resource Quarterly. The MIS plantation scheme was launched in 1997 with the objective of pooling funds from small investors to make large investments in forest plantations. The MIS companies established, managed and marketed the timber investments on behalf of the individual investors. During the period 1997 until the partial collapse in 2009, the plantation area in Australia grew from 1.1 million hectares (ha) to about 1.9 million ha, with Eucalyptus being the preferred species planted. At that time, MIS companies managed about 75 percent of the hardwood plantations and six percent of the softwood plantations.

Since 2009, a number of MIS forest companies have gone into receivership, including the FEA Group, Great Southern Plantations, Environinvest, Willmott Forestry and Timber Corp. There are reportedly a number of timber companies and investors showing interest in taking over the management responsibility of the MIS schemes.

Unexpectedly, an investment company in the province of Alberta, Canada, recently announced it would acquire 240,000 ha of timber assets from the largest MIS company, Great Southern Plantations. The institutional investment company, AIMCo, which invests globally on behalf of pension and government funds, will partner with the Australia New Zealand Forest Fund. The new ownership may create a more stable long–term supply source for forest and energy companies located in Asia.

There is continued interest from foreign investors both to acquire pulp mills and forest plantations. The latest development is the Singapore-based pulp company APRIL, with pulp mills in Indonesia and China, which is considering the purchase of forest plantations and export chip loading facilities. The intention would be to export Eucalyptus wood chips to the company's pulp plant in Rizhao, China.

Plantation Eucalyptus log production in the 1Q/11 was significantly higher than the same quarter last year. This development came at the same time as availability of roundwood and wood chips from natural forests declined substantially. Prices for pulplogs have not shifted much the past year in local currency, with plantation hardwood continuing to be about 24 percent higher for plantation wood compared to wood from natural forests.

Pine and Eucalyptus pulplog prices, in US dollar terms, have climbed steadily in Australia for almost two years, according to the Wood Resource Quarterly (WRQ). Prices are currently the highest ever recorded since WRQ started tracking Australian prices in 1990. During the past nine years, Eucalyptus log prices have more than tripled, with only Sweden, Spain and Germany currently having higher hardwood pulpwood prices.

Global timber market reporting is included in the 52-page quarterly publication Wood Resource Quarterly. The report, established in 1988 and with subscribers in over 25 countries, tracks sawlog, pulpwood, lumber and pellet prices and market developments in most key regions around the world.

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm

The US and Canada have been exporting record volumes of logs and lumber to China in 2011. The Wood Resource Quarterly predicts that exports in 2011 will double those seen in 2010 to reach an estimated value of 2.6 billion dollars.

Seattle, WA -- (SBWIRE) -- 11/30/2011 -- Shipments of softwood lumber and logs from the US and Canada to China will reach a new record high in 2011. In 2010, the two countries exported 1.3 billion US dollars worth of softwood products; if the pace seen in the first seven months of 2011 continues, the two countries' exports will more than double from last year, reaching a record 2.6 billion US dollars, according to the Wood Resource Quarterly.

Despite the disappointing developments in the US housing sector the past year, lumber production in both the US and Canada has been higher in 2011 than in 2010. Many sawmills in the Western US and Canada have benefitted from the dramatic increase in demand from Chinese lumber consumers and some sawmills are exporting up to 30-40 percent of their production to the fast developing market in Asia.

The biggest increase in shipments the past year has been that of softwood lumber from the province of British Columbia in Canada. Much of this lumber comes from the massive supply of timber that has been killed by the pine beetle over the past 15 years. The value of lumber shipments from Canada has increased from just 55 million dollars in 2005 to an estimated 1.2 billion dollars this year.

While Canada has drastically raised lumber shipments to China in recent years, the US has instead expanded exportation of logs to Chinese lumber manufacturers. This year, US west coast log exporters are projected to ship logs valued at over 900 million dollars, which is up from only 42 million dollars just four years ago.

The US and Canada have not only increased shipment volumes of logs and lumber to China the past five years; the countries have also expanded their importance in the Chinese wood market. In 2005, only four percent of all softwood logs and lumber imported to China originated from North America. Last year, this share had gone up to 18 percent, according to the Wood Resource Quarterly. Many North American log and lumber suppliers have the opportunity to expand their export sales in the coming years and it is likely that their presence in the Chinese market will grow.

Global timber market reporting is included in the 52-page quarterly publication Wood Resource Quarterly. The report, established in 1988 and with subscribers in over 25 countries, tracks sawlog, pulpwood, lumber and pellet prices and market developments in most key regions around the world.

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm

Over the past two years, North America has become a major supplier of wood pellets to Europe. In 2010, an estimated 1.6 million tons of pellets were shipped from the US and Canada to the Netherlands, the UK and Belgium, according to the North American Wood Fiber Review. This is a doubling of volume compared to 2008.

Bothell, WA -- (SBWIRE) --05/31/2011 -- The European Union has stated that by 2020, at least 20 percent of total energy consumption should be supplied by renewable energy resources. In an effort to reach this target, many countries have increased their consumption of woody biomass in the form of both wood chips and pellets the past few years. In 2010, just over 11 million tons of wood pellets were consumed, which was about seven percent higher than the previous year.

Demand for wood pellets in some European countries, including Sweden, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Denmark and the UK, has outpaced domestic production over the past few years.

This has resulted not only in increased imports from neighboring countries, but also from North America. Over the past ten years, Canada has been the major overseas supplier of pellets to Europe, reaching about one million tons in shipments in 2010, according to the North American Wood Fiber Review. The US did not start exporting pellets until 2008 when 85,000 tons were shipped to the Netherlands, but exports have since taken off, reaching almost 600,000 tons in 2010. In fact, the total shipments from the US and Canada have almost doubled in just two years.

The majority of North American pellets have been shipped the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Belgium, with occasional shipments to Sweden and Denmark. In 2010, almost 50 percent of the Atlantic trade was destined for the Netherlands, while one-third landed in ports in the UK.

Higher demand for oil by Asia and Latin America and the uncertain situation in the oil-producing counties in the Middle East and northern Africa has boosted oil prices about 28 percent the past three months. Higher oil prices will benefit wood pellet exporters in North America, and shipments to Europe can be expected to increase during 2011.

The North American Wood Fiber Review has tracked wood fiber markets in the US and Canada for over 20 years and it is the only publication that covers both pulpwood and biomass markets in North America. The report includes prices and market commentary for 15 regions on the continent, and is an essential source for anyone that needs to track pulpwood, wood chips and biomass prices in the largest and most dynamic wood fiber market in the world.

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Global market pulp production increased by seven percent in 2010, which increased demand for wood raw-material. As a result, prices for wood chips and pulplogs were up in most regions of the world, according to the Wood Resource Quarterly. The Softwood Wood Fiber Price Index (SFPI) has increased 16.5 percent the past two years, while the Hardwood Wood Fiber Price Index (HFPI) went up 17.7 percent.

Bothell, WA -- (SBWIRE) -- 05/04/2011 -- Global pulp production in the second half of 2010 was higher than many had anticipated, and pulp markets were better than they had been the first six months of the year. The total production of chemical market pulp last year reached an estimated 45 million tons, which was about seven percent more than was produced in 2009. North America and Western Europe increased production by 10 percent and 12 percent, respectively, while Latin America/NZ reduced production slightly. Other regions including Asia, Africa and Russia also raised production in 2010.

High demand for wood raw-material by the pulp industry pushed the costs for wood fiber upward in the second half 2010, as reported in the Wood Resource Quarterly. Softwood chips and softwood pulplog prices were higher in most key markets around the world in the 4Q/10. As a consequence, the Softwood Wood Fiber Price Index (SFPI) increased for the third consecutive quarter. The Index reached US$103.60/odmt, which was the highest level since the beginning of the financial crisis, and the SFPI is now 16 percent above the 1Q/09 price. The biggest price increases in the 4Q/10 occurred in the US Northwest, Sweden, Spain and Brazil.

The Hardwood Wood Fiber Price Index (HFPI) has gone up faster than the SFPI since early 2009. The 4Q/10 Index was US$108.28, which was up 3.4 percent from the previous quarter and almost 18 percent higher than 1Q/09. The HFPI has only been higher twice since its inception over 20 years ago. Pulp mills in Germany, Spain, France and Brazil all had to pay more for hardwood logs in their local currencies. In addition, the US dollar weakened against most currencies and therefore contributed to a higher Price Index

One of the few regions that experienced reductions in wood fiber costs in 2010 was the US South, with 4Q prices being about 10 percent lower than in the 1Q. Wood prices in the South were the lowest in all of North America in the 4Q/10, and pulp mills in this region have benefited from some of the lowest wood fiber costs in the world.

Global timber market reporting is included in the 52-page quarterly publication Wood Resource Quarterly. The report, established in 1988 and with subscribers in over 25 countries, tracks sawlog, pulpwood, lumber and pellet prices and market developments in most key regions around the world.

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm

Over the past 20 years, pulp mills in Eastern Canada have consistently had higher wood fiber costs than the mills in the Western provinces with the exception of a short period in 1995, according to the North American Wood Fiber Review. In the 4Q/10, softwood chip prices had fallen in Quebec and Ontario and increased in British Columbia and Alberta resulting in the smallest cost gap between the two regions in 10 years.

Bothell, WA -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/18/2011 -- For most of the past 20 years, pulpmills in Western Canada have had lower wood fiber costs than pulpmills in the Eastern provinces.

One year ago, pulp manufacturers in British Columbia paid almost C$60/odmt less for softwood chips than did pulp mills in Ontario and Quebec, and five years ago the difference was almost C$100/odmt, according to the North American Wood Fiber Review.

Because wood costs account for almost 50 percent of the production costs for Canadian pulp mills, companies in Eastern Canada have been at a competitive disadvantage to many other mills, not only in other regions of Canada, but throughout North America.

Pulp mills in Ontario and Quebec have consistently had some of the highest wood fiber costs in North America. However, prices have fallen lately; softwood chip prices have declined ten percent over the past 12 months and they were 25 percent lower in the 4Q/10 than five years ago. Prices are currently the lowest they have been in this region in over ten years. In US dollar terms, wood costs in Eastern Canada are now lower than most countries in Europe, as reported in the Wood Resource Quarterly.

In the 3Q, wood chip prices in Western Canada increased again due to their formulaic tie to market pulp prices. However, they did not go up as dramatically on a quarter-by-quarter basis as they did from 1Q to 2Q earlier this year. The latest uptick resulted in prices at levels not seen since 2001. Pulp mills in the region currently have some of the highest chip prices in North America. With NBSK pulp prices now beginning their descent; softwood chip prices will follow downward in the coming quarters.

Despite a price decline in Eastern Canada and an increase of almost 40 percent in one year in the West, pulp mills in British Columbia continue to have lower wood fiber costs than mills in the eastern provinces of the country.

Biomass and wood chip market updates are included in the 32-page publication North American Wood Fiber Review. The report, established in 1982 and with readers in a large number of forest and energy companies in North America and Europe, tracks wood fiber prices in 15 key markets of the US and Canada.

Contact Information
Wood Resources International LLC
Hakan Ekstrom
info@wri-ltd.com
http://www.woodprices.com

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm

The forest industry in China is continuing its expansion, and with limited domestic timber resources, importation of logs and wood chips are at an all-time high, especially as tight supply of domestic logs has increased local log prices to new highs in the 2Q/10, according to the Wood Resource Quarterly.

Bothell, WA -- (SBWIRE) -- 11/17/2010 -- Continued increases in demand for wood raw-material from sawmills, plywood plants and pulp mills in China has pushed domestic log prices upward and many Chinese companies are increasingly exploring the opportunities of importing more logs and wood chips to supplement the domestic fiber sources.

The tight log supply has resulted in higher prices for domestically sourced logs this year. Chinese fir sawlogs prices were almost 17 percent higher in the 2Q/10 as compared to the same quarter in 2009, according to the Wood Resource Quarterly (WRQ). Eucalyptus logs, mainly used by the pulp industry, have also become more expensive the past 12 months, reaching new record-highs.

The continued high costs of locally sourced logs has resulted in higher volumes being imported so far this year. During the first eight months of 2010, the total imports of softwood and hardwood logs were up 23 percent compared to the same period in 2009. The importation of tropical hardwood logs has increased almost 50 percent, and Papua New Guinea has overtaken Russia as the major hardwood log supplier to the Chinese sawmilling and veneer industry.

After Russia introduced a log export tax of 25% of the log value in 2008, shipments to China fell from a record 25 million m3 in 2007 to less than 15 million m3 this year. Unless Russia reduces their log tariffs, it is difficult to see importation expanding between the two countries. Instead New Zealand, Australia, the US, Canada, Papua New Guinea, Salomon Island and a number of African countries will all continue to benefit from the Chinese forest industry's diversification of their log sourcing.

During the first eight months of this year, imports of wood chips to China have more than doubled compared to last year, as reported in the WRQ. Pulp mills in China have increased their consumption of imported wood fiber dramatically in just two years. The total chip imports for 2010 are likely to be close to five times as much as in 2008. Vietnam is by far the largest supplier of chips followed by Indonesia and Thailand. The three countries together currently supply about 90% of all imported chips.

Shipments of wood raw-material to feed the growing Chinese forest industry have increased dramatically the past ten years and because of the limited supply of domestic timber resources, this trend it is likely to continue in the coming years.

Global timber market reporting is included in the 52-page publication Wood Resource Quarterly. The report, established in 1988 and with subscribers in over 25 countries, tracks sawlog, pulpwood, lumber and pellet prices in most key regions around the world and the report also includes regular updates of the latest developments in international timber, pulp, lumber and biomass markets.

Contact Information
Wood Resources International LLC
Hakan Ekstrom
info@wri-ltd.com
http://www.woodprices.com

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm