New forest industry data out this week from Statistics Canada, the US Census, and the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service:
VOLUMES of Softwood Lumber Production in Canada for full-year 2015 rose by 7.6% , to 62.9744 million cubic metres, compared to 58.1583 million cubic metres the previous year.
VALUES of US Sawmill Products Imports from Canada for full-year 2015 dropped by 7% , to US$4,987 million (CIF), compared to US$5,361 million (CIF) the previous year.
Reasons why VOLUMES from Canada to US are up but VALUES into US from Canada are down:
- strong US dollar in 2015 compared to 2014
- lower lumber prices last year compared to the year before
As US lumber production and sawmill capacity continues to improve over previous years, VALUES of US Timber and Log exports to China for full-year 2015 dropped drastically, by almost 40% , to US$524 million (F.A.S.), compared to US$865 million (F.A.S.) the previous year.
VALUES of US Timber and Log exports to the World also decreased significantly last year, by over 41% , to US$957 million (F.A.S.), compared to US$1,625 million (F.A.S.) in 2014.
US Sawmills are consuming US logs which were previously being exported, most specifically from the west coast to solid wood manufacturers in China.
US Lumber & Construction Material and Building Materials & Supplies Wholesale and Retail Sales:
VALUES of Wholesale Sales of US Lumber and Construction Materials increased by 3.5% in full-year 2015, to US$113,843 million, from US$109,832 million the previous year.
Source: Monthly Wholesale Trade: Sales and Inventories 4233: Lumber and Other Construction Materials: U.S. Total — Not Seasonally Adjusted Sales - Monthly [Millions of Dollars]
VALUES of Retail sales of US Building Materials and Supplies increased by 4.5% last year, to US$286,713 million, compared to US$273,871 million in full-year 2014.
Source: Monthly Retail Trade and Food Services 4441: Building Mat. and Supplies Dealers: U.S. Total — Not Seasonally Adjusted Sales - Monthly [Millions of Dollars]
Previously reported by Statistics Canada and Industry Canada:
Canada’s Total Exports for Sawmills (except Shingle and Shake Mills) To All Countries full year 2015, were up 3.5 per cent to C$9,142 million, from C$8,836 million the year earlier, said Statistics Canada today (Feb 24, 2016).
Canadian Sawmill exports to US were up 7.5 per cent in 2015, to C$6,240 million from C$5,805 million one year ago. Exports to China were down 14.9 per cent, to C$1,266 last year, compared to C$1,487 in 2014.