|
Report from
North America
March tropical sawnwood imports up, temperate
imports down
Total US sawn hardwood imports fell by 21% in March to
70,604 m³.
The decline was in imports of temperate species, while
tropical sawnwood imports grew by 14% to 19,368 m³ in
March. Year-to-date tropical imports were 16% higher
than in March 2013.
The largest growth was in imports of balsa from Ecuador,
almost doubling to 5,483 m³ in March.
Imports from Brazil grew by 44% to 3,497 m³. Shipments
from Brazil to the US of both ipe (2,348 m³) and virola
(644 m³) increased in March.
Virola sawnwood imports from Peru jumped from zero to
980 m³ in March. As a result total sawnwood imports from
Peru increased in March, but imports are still lower than at
the same time last year.
Malaysian shipments to the US fell in March, mainly
because of lower imports of keruing (1,275 m³). Keruing
imports from Indonesia increased (396 m³), however, and
total US imports of keruing sawnwood declined by just
12% from February.
Sawnwood imports from Cameroon also decreased in
March to just over 1,000 m³. The main reason was a 61%
drop in sapelli imports (676 m³).
By species, the largest decline in March imports was in
sapelli and acajou d‟Afrique.
The strongest growth was in balsa, virola and ipe. Imports
of mahogany, cedro, meranti and jatoba also increased
from the previous month.
Canada imported more sawn hardwood from Africa in
March
Canadian imports of tropical sawn hardwood increased by
5% from the previous month to US$1.95 million in March.
Year-to-date imports are one third higher than in March
2013.
Ecuador, Brazil and Cameroon were the largest sources of
supply. Imports from Ecuador fell by 11% to US$370,676,
while Brazil‟s hardwood sawnwood exports to Canada
were worth US$359,436.
Imports from Cameroon were US$297,102 in March, up
15% from the previous month. Imports from Ghana more
than doubled to US$192,599.
Canadian imports of virola, imbuia and balsa combined
were worth US$403,608 in March, triple the value year-todate
than in March 2013. Sapelli imports were
US$377,188 in March, up 41% from last year on a yearto-
date basis.
US wood window and door market set to grow
US demand for windows and doors of all materials is
expected to grow 7% per year to 2018. Demand will reach
$32.0 billion in 2018, up from $22.8 billion in 2013
(Freedonia, Industry Study Windows & Doors, May
2014).
The market share of wood windows and doors was 33% in
2013, compared to 42% for metal and 25% for plastic. The
wood share is mainly in doors, while plastic dominates the
window market.
Over the next five years plastic will take away market
share from both wood and metal. Low cost, superior
energy performance and low maintenance are the main
advantages of plastic doors and windows.
Wood windows and doors are forecast to have the slowest
demand growth of the three materials. Still, demand is
expected to grow 6.2% every year through 2018. Demand
would increase from US$7.5 billion in 2013 to over
US$10 in 2018.
The main demand for wood will be in residential interior
doors. Housing starts are expected to continue the slow
recovery, boosting demand for construction materials
including doors. In exterior applications (windows, doors)
wood will continue to lose market share to plastic.
The main market for wood windows is the higher end
residential market where demand exists for an
aesthetically more pleasing material than plastic.
American Hardwood Export Council uses art to
promote hardwoods
The American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC) has
long promoted American hardwoods at trade shows,
industry conferences and seminars in export markets in
Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Latin America.
To promote the use of American hardwoods to the public
as well as to professionals, AHEC has sponsored the
design and construction of wooden exhibits at the London
Design Festival in recent years.
In 2013, the exhibit was ¡°Endless Stair¡±, an outdoor
sculpture which used American poplar in cross-laminated
timber (CLT). The design promoted both the novel
application of poplar in CLT and the use of hardwood in a
structural application.
The poplar was donated by AHEC member companies. In
April 2014, the Endless Stair exhibit was reassembled in a
different design in Milan, Italy.
AHEC produced an environmental profile according to
ISO standards for the exhibit, using the data from its
recently completed Life Cycle Assessment project for all
major American hardwoods.
According to the association, tens of thousands of people
have seen the exhibit and the accompanying promotion of
US hardwoods.
| 
