There were dramatic drops in the level of Canadian and US lumber exports last year, according to the timber industry newsletter Random Lengths.
It says Canadian offshore lumber exports fell 19% when key markets in Japan, Western Europe and Australia faltered. On the up side, exports to China rose from about 23 million board feet in 2000 to 39 million board feet in 2001.
Total US exports fell under one billion board feet to 833 million board feet during 2001.
Shipments to offshore markets were just under 500 million board feet – a drop of 36% from the previous year.
North American lumber production fell 4.1% to 62.4 billion board feet last year, the second consecutive annual drop, according to the newsletter Random Lengths.
It reported that output fell in all producing regions except the west coast, where it rose by 1.9%. The inland region fell 5.9%.
Southern pine production fell 3.5%, a significant proportion of which is believed to be due to permanent mill closures.
Canadian shippers largely made up for the production decrease and Canadian exports to the US rose 2% to a record 18.7 billion board feet during 2001. Non-Canadian imports to the US were up 23.1% to a record 1.34 billion board feet.
