Wood Products Prices in The U.S. 

01-15th December 2010

Report from North America

 US Department of Commerce continues investigations on imports of multi-layered wood flooring from China
The US International Trade Commission determined on 3 December 2010, that there is a reasonable indication that the US industry is materially injured by imports of multi-layered wood flooring from China. The flooring from China is allegedly subsidized and sold in the US market at less than fair value according to the commission’s determination. The US Department of Commerce will therefore continue to conduct its countervailing and antidumping duty investigations.

Copies of the report explaining the commission’s views are expected to be available after 3 January 2011, by emailing pubrequest@usitc.gov (Multilayered Wood Flooring from China, Investigation Nos. 701-TA-476 and 731-TA-1179 (Preliminary), USITC Publication 4206, December 2).

Better outlook for US window and door market
Demand for windows and doors in the US is expected to rise 6.6% per year to US$31.2 billion in 2014, according to a Freedonia report released in November. While demand will remain below the level seen before the housing market crash, new construction is forecast to recover and drive demand for windows and doors. Wooden windows and doors accounted for just 34% of the total market in 2009.

Demand for wooded windows and doors was US$11.6 billion in 2004 and fell to US$7.7 billion in 2009 (-7.9% annually). Demand is forecast to grow by 7.2% per year to US$10.9 billion in 2014. High-end homes are the most important market for wooden windows and doors. Plastic windows and doors are expected to have the highest growth rates in the coming years. The largest growth will be in fiberglass exterior doors that take market share from wooden and steel doors.

Weakening furniture orders, shipments and retail confirmed
The US market for residential furniture weakened at the end of summer, and the latest survey results by consulting firm Smith Leonard confirm this trend. While this is not surprising given the negative economic news in the US, furniture manufacturers hope that the decline will not continue into next year. A positive sign is that in December the Furniture Buying Index remained steady from November when it was at its highest 2010 level. The Furniture Buying Index is compiled each month by America's Research Group from interviews with 5,000-8,000 consumers across the country.

New order for residential furniture declined in September according to the Smith Leonard survey of manufacturers and distributors. This was the first time this year that orders declined compared to 2009 (down 3% from September 2009). Year-to-date, new orders are still 6% above 2009. Furniture shipments on the other hand were up by 6% compared to September 2009 (up 8% year-to-date). The increase in shipments may be related to imported products rather than US-manufactured furniture, according to Smith Leonard. Furniture inventories continued increasing, likely because retail sales tapered off in late summer. Inventories were 18% higher than in September last year.

New forest certification benchmark fails in vote by US Green Building Council members
The proposed new certified wood credit system for the green building programme LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) did not receive enough votes to replace the previous system, which sees only FSC-certified wood earning points towards LEED certification of a building. LEED is the best known and most significant green building rating and certification programme in North America.

For about two years, the LEED Certified Wood Credit has been undergoing a process of revision. At the centre of this process is the USGBC forest certification benchmark that would have been used to evaluate certification systems including criteria on governance, technical substance, accreditation and auditing, and chain of custody and labelling.

In the run-up to the US Green Building Council vote, forest certification organisations, industry and environmental groups have been outspoken with most opposing the new forest certification benchmark. Industry groups and the forest certification organisation SFI argued that FSC-certified wood would keep its preferred status in LEED and that by promoting FSC-certified wood, LEED is supporting imported wood products at the expense of the North American industry (where SFI and CSA forest certifications predominate). FSC criticised the weakening of governance rules in the new draft and that the mechanism is too weak and unclear.

Since the new wood credit system failed to pass, the current policy remains unchanged at least until late 2012 when the next version of LEED will be released. Certified wood use accounts for just one point in LEED, while at least 40 points are required for a building to achieve the lowest level of LEED certification. Given the strong growth in green building, however, the forest industry and forest certification groups have a strong interest in the LEED Certified Wood Credit.

From northern British Columbia to Panama
A small Canadian company that was founded to use salvaged timber from logging operations, beaches, rivers and old buildings in British Columbia, has now expanded into Panama. Coast EcoTimber remills the salvaged wood and sells it to designers and architects. The company has recently started harvesting hardwoods from the Chagres River in Panama that was dammed in 1913 as part of the Panama Canal. The first shipment of FSC-certified ipe, cumaru and other species from the canal arrived in June 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia. The company is planning to build kilns, a sawmill and an architectural wood manufacturing plant in Panama.

Related News:

• Wood Market Prices in North America (16-30,Nov 2010)

• Wood Market Prices in North America (01-15,Nov 2010)

• Wood Market Prices in North America (16-31,Oct 2010)

Abbreviations

LM       Loyale Merchant, a grade of log parcel	Cu.m         Cubic Metre
QS        Qualite Superieure	Koku         0.278 Cu.m or 120BF
CI          Choix Industriel	FFR           French Franc
CE         Choix Economique	SQ              Sawmill Quality
CS         Choix Supplimentaire	SSQ            Select Sawmill Quality
FOB      Free-on-Board	FAS            Sawnwood Grade First and
KD        Kiln Dry	Second
AD        Air Dry	WBP           Water and Boil Proof
Boule    A Log Sawn Through and Through	MR              Moisture Resistant
the boards from one log are bundled	pc         per piece
together	ea                each
BB/CC  Grade B faced and Grade C backed	MBF           1000 Board Feet
Plywood	MDF           Medium Density Fibreboard
BF        Board Foot	F.CFA         CFA Franc
Sq.Ft     Square Foot	Price has moved up or down