China is rapidly expanding into higher grades of lumber and non-traditional species of logs to supply a booming market, according to newsletter Random Lengths.
Many producers and exporters of western spruce, pine and fir in Canada have reported a sharp increase in demand from China for No 2 & Btr 2×4.
Some said they had sold more of this grade in recent weeks than Utility, which had fuelled the record-breaking volume of Canadian shipments to China in 2009 and 2010.
One trader called No 2 2×4 the new benchmark in the Chinese market.
The premium between the two has dwindled from as much as US$97 in 2007 to as little as US$32 in 2010, and the unusually narrow price spread has helped open the door to the higher grade.
Remanufacturers and end users have taken advantage of the relatively inexpensive upgrade in a variety of applications. Some builders reuse No 2 & Btr for concrete forming in contrast to requiring new stock each time when using Utility.
A trader said: “They are learning how to extract value from higher quality wood.”
