Timber import volumes for Q3, 2024 were ahead of Q3 2023 for softwood, OSB and engineered wood products, Timber Development UK (TDUK) has reported in its latest stats.
While softwood imports in Q3 2024 were 1% higher compared to Q3 2023, and OSB and engineered wood products also recorded growth, there was still an overall deficit of 1.2%, due to volume reductions of the other main products, especially hardwood plywood and MDF.
Average prices of timber and panel products slowly edged upwards in the nine months to September 2024, confirming the end of a sustained period of price volatility between 2000 and 2023.
During the first nine months of 2024, solid wood imports were 1.7% lower than over the same period of 2023, while imports of panel products were 5.2% lower. In fact, across the first three quarters of 2024, UK imports followed a very similar pattern to that seen in the nine months of 2023.
The cumulative volume reduction of 2.9% for the first three quarters of 2024 was fairly evenly spread across the main imported timber and panel products.
The value of softwood imports in the first nine months of 2024 was 2.7% lower than during the same period in 2023. In the first three quarters of 2024, the average price for a basket of softwood imports stood at £254/m3, says TDUK.
Meanwhile, tropical hardwood imports were around 6,000m3 lower in the first three quarters of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023. Cameroon was the largest supplier at nearly 5,000m3. Imports of temperate hardwoods in the first nine months of 2024 were also around 6,000m3 lower, with the US – the largest supplier – being the biggest contributor to this decline.
“It’s encouraging to see prices continuing to stabilise, albeit at a low level, and the overall import deficit shrink to just 1.2%,” said TDUK Head of Technical and Trade, Nick Boulton.
“Going forward there are likely even more significant challenges ahead for timber businesses, with softwood log availability and very low stocks being most pressing on the agenda. While construction demand remains subdued these issues have little visibility.
“However, as the housing and RMI markets push demand upward, buyers will become increasingly aware of the pressures in the system and should be careful not to assume current stable price levels can remain in the longer term.”
TDUK members can sign in and read the full report on the TDUK website.
