Experts in the OSB sector believe the EUTR could provide a boost as buyers seek to circumvent the "increasingly complicated" plywood path.
Even though the regulation does not come into force until March next year, significant interest in OSB is already coming from "those canny plywood buyers who want to secure access to material", a producer told TTJ.
For the moment, however, these rosier prospects have not roused OSB from its price malaise. Market levels have been "steady" for several months – partly because they have been "held back" by lower-priced imports, according to one specialist.
However, he believes OSB values "have got to go up" in the first quarter of 2013 to reflect likely cost increases, the widening gap to plywood prices and the possibility of increased demand at the expense of plywood. It was also pointed out that OSB prices have been rising in North America.
For the moment, UK demand for OSB is also "steady". In releasing its financial results for the third quarter of 2012, Norbord said its panel markets in the UK and northern Europe had remained "surprisingly resilient" despite the eurozone difficulties. OSB prices softened by around 2% when comparing the third quarter with the previous three months but "higher panel shipments and flat raw material costs have offset any impact on our margins", the company stated.
Compared to the same period in 2011, UK imports of OSB dropped by 21% in January- September this year to 130,000m3 whereas exports climbed by nearly 12% to 137,000m3, according to the Timber Trade Federation.
