UK timber imports last October were, for the first time in 2009, higher than in 2008.
The latest Timber Trade Federation statistics report shows imports, including softwood, hardwood, plywood, OSB, chipboard and MDF reached 717,000m³ during the month, compared to 692,000m³ in October 2008.
But the year to October volumes still show a substantial reduction, with imports totaling 6.4 million m³ compared to 8.1 million m³ during the same period in 2008.
Softwood volumes for the period were 4.12 million m³ (2008:4.95 million m³) and had been equal or greater than 2008 volumes during August, September and October, mainly driven by an increase in shipments from Sweden and the Irish Republic.
Hardwood volumes reached 310,000m³ (2008: 356,000m³), with increased imports from Italy and France helping to reduce the cumulative deficit compared to 2008. The fact that the last quarter of 2008 was exceptionally weak means that 2009 volumes should have closed the gap further in the final few months.
All plywood product imports totalled 972,000m³ (2008: 1.3 million m³), with hardwood plywood making up 580,000m³ (2008: 810,000m³).
Leading hardwood ply shippers saw their UK volumes decimated during 2009, with China seeing a 29% reverse and Malaysia a 39% dip, while Brazil saw a 49% decline and Finnish shipments were down by 33%.
