The latest Timber Trade Federation (TTF) statistics show that the recovery in imports of timber continued into the month of November, reaching record levels and with volume 37% higher than the same month in 2019.

TTF Timber Statistics Industry Facts& Figures, February 2021 reveal that imports of the main timber and panel products were above the one million m3 mark for the second consecutive month. The November 2020 volume of 1.08 million m3 was the highest monthly total since the October 2007 volume of 1.04 million m3.

Looking at the January-November comparison periods as a whole, though, solid wood imports were 3% below that of 2019, and panel imports were 13% lower. Combined, all timber imports were 7% down on the same 11-month period in 2019.

Softwood imports from January-November 2020 were down 2.1% on the previous year, with cumulative volume at 5,929,000m3 (2019: 6,055,000m3).

The dramatic fall in volumes from some of the main supplying countries in the first lockdown have been reversed during the second half of 2020, and Latvia has seen its spring downturn of 17% converted to an 8% increase. Germany’s downturn of 29% has also been converted to an 8% increase.

Russian volumes were also 12% ahead of 2019 by the end of the January-November period and Sweden has also regained much of the ground it lost in the first part of the year.

The value of softwood imports in the 11 months to November 2020 was 6.5% – or £79m – down on the same period in 2019. The value of sawn softwood was down by 8% and planed good were down by 4%.

Hardwood imports in the January-November comparison periods were down 17.5% on 2019 figures, with cumulative volume for the 11 months at 408,000m3 (2019: 495,000m3).

However, imports during the month of November were at very similar levels to November 2019, indicated that much of the cumulative reduction in volume was experienced during the lockdown months.

The leading countries of supply have all experienced double-digit percentage falls in volume, with the exception of Italy, which is down by 9%. Poland is the only country of the top seven hardwood suppliers to the UK to show growth in the January-November period – up 3.5%.

Total plywood imports were down 8.3% in the comparison periods, with cumulative volume at 1,259,000m3 (2019: 1,372,000m3).

Within that, hardwood plywood volume was down 6.3%, with cumulative volume at 825,000m3 (2019: 879,000m3).

Russia, Finland, Indonesia, Germany and Spain all shipped less hardwood plywood to the UK during the period but the overall fall in volume was mitigated by increases from China (up 6%) and Malaysia (up 19%), with further smaller increases from Latvia and Uruguay.

Softwood plywood import volume was down 11.8%, with cumulative volume January-November at 434,000m3 (2019: 492,000m3).

Finland and China each exported 43% less volume to the UK in the year-to-date, while volume from Chile was down 28%. The only country in the leading group of suppliers to the UK to have increased its volumes in 2020 was South Africa, which exported almost the same volume to the UK as Chile and France.

Chipboard imports continue to record the biggest fall in volume of all the timber products during the January-November comparison periods – a drop of 33.5%.

Cumulative volume to January-November was 536,000m3 (2019: 806,000m3).

Nearly all the countries exporting chipboard to the UK saw a decline in volume, with the exception of China, which supplied around 3,000m3 more in 2020 than in 2019, attaining a 1% share of supply.

Between them, Germany, France and Portugal accounted for more than 250,000m3 of the total reduction of 270,000m3 in the first 11 months of 2020.

OSB imports were down only marginally in the comparison periods – by 0.2%. Cumulative volume to January-November was 376,000m3 (2019: 375,000m3).

OSB exports were up 14% in the period – from 132,000m3 in January-November 2019 to 150,000m3 in the same period in 2020.

MDF imports were down 8.6%, with cumulative volume at 625,000 (2019: 683,000m3). MDF exports were up 1.1%.