North American softwood exports to China fell between January and August, leading to fears that the Chinese market will not sustain the big growth seen in recent years.
Industry newsletter Random Lengths said US shipments to China for the period were 24 million board feet, a 3% fall from last year. Exports continued to grow until the end of March but then faded.
The decline is being attributed to a big drop in incense cedar exports, which fell 41%. Several incense cedar traders blame the situation on log supply problems.
Southern pine exports to China rose three times to 7.4 million board feet but some traders say strong domestic prices for the species have reduced the incentive to ship overseas.
Treated lumber shipments to China have totally disappeared this year, compared to volumes of 6.6 million board feet a year ago.
Canada’s exports to China were down 19%, despite the government’s efforts to boost sales in the Chinese market.
