First quarter UK timber and wood products import figures give little clue to the sector’s emergence from recession.
According to the latest Timber Statistics report from The Timber Trade Federation (TTF) softwood imports fell 12.1%, to 1.03 million m³ in the first two months of 2011 compared to the same period last year.
Sharpest falls came in imports from Russia and Ireland, both down around 20%. Sweden, Finland and Latvia were all down around 12%.
Overall imports in March were 13.6% lower than March 2010, making it the fourth consecutive month of year-on-year decline.
Hardwood imports for the first three months fell 17.4% to 98,000m³. European imports were down 27%, African 11% and North American 5%.
All plywood imports for the period rose 19.6% to 341,000m³, with a large Chinese increase offsetting a decline from Malaysia.
OSB was up year-on-year by 9.9% to 49,000m³ and MDF by 12.7% to 166,000m³.
The panel product that lost out was chipboard, down 11.5% to 96,000m³.
Chipboard exports also fell 45.6% to 31,000m3. MDF exports rose 46.4% to 45,000m3 and OSB 30.3% to 39,000m3.
