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Report from
North America
Tropical hardwood imports fall again
The volume of sawn tropical hardwood imported by the
US fell again in February, as the US Census Bureau
reported only 5,387 cubic metres of wood imported, which
is a 30% decline from January.
Imports from Ecuador, Brazil, and Cameroon all fell more
than 50%. Year-to-date totals for 2021 are hard to
compare with 2020 since newly implemented USDA
categorisations are no longer counting Ipe and Jatoba
imports toward these totals as they have in previous years.
If Ipe and Jatoba were counted, the decline in February
would be only 14% from January, with a February total
11% higher than February of 2020.
US import volumes of Balsa, Sapelli, Acajou d¡¯Afrique,
Mahogany, and Meranti all fell sharply in February, while
Keruing, Cedro, and Jatoba imports all grew by more than
30%.
Canadian imports of sawn tropical hardwood were down
3% in February and trail last year¡¯s imports by 28%
through the first two months of the year.
Hardwood plywood imports jump
US imports of hardwood plywood jumped 18% in
February, bouncing back from a weak January total. The
volume of imports from Indonesia nearly doubled and
imports from Malaysia more than tripled as total imports
rose 55% above February 2020 levels.
Imports from Vietnam fell 19% and are down 2% through
the first two months of the year, while imports from
Russia fell 20% and are down 5% through February.
Veneer imports briefly rebound
Imports of tropical hardwood veneer also rebounded from
a poor January, gaining 58% over the previous month.
Despite imports for February being 39% higher than the
previous February, year-to-date imports are still down
16% through the first two month of the year.
Imports from Italy, which were reported to be zero in
January, rose enough to now be 13% ahead of January and
February 2020, while imports from Ghana rose ten-fold in
February and are up 68% year-to-date. Imports from
China, Cameroon, and India were all down sharply and all
trail 2020 year-to-date totals by more than 35%.
Hardwood flooring imports cool
Imports of hardwood flooring cooled down after a strong
January, falling 15% in February. Imports remain 21%
ahead of 2020 imports year-to- date as imports from Brazil
rose 21% in February and are more than double last year
through the first two months of the year.
Imports from Indonesia were down 65% in February and
are down about the same year-to-date. Imports from
Malaysia and China are also down sharply year-to-date,
although imports from Malaysia rebounded somewhat in
February.
Imports of assembled flooring panels also fell in February,
decreasing by 20%. Imports dropped by more than 10%
from every one of the top US trading partners, with
imports from Thailand down 93% for the months. Despite
this, year-to-date totals are up 33% due to a very strong
January.
US moulding imports hold firm
Iimports of hardwood moulding stayed relatively flat in
February, falling 1%. Because moulding imports fell
sharply last February, this February¡¯s imports were 16%
higher than the previous February and year-to-year
imports now surpass the same period last year by 3%.
Imports from Malaysia rose 38% in February and are
ahead 10% year-to-date. Imports from China were up
12% in February but are down 38% year-to-date through
the first two months of the year.
US wooden furniture imports end growth streak
After eight straight months of growth US imports of
wooden furniture fell by 18% in February. While still
totalling more than US$1.7 billion for the month, imports
from China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, and India all
fell in the 20% range. However, comparing the value of
imports in February 2020, before the world realised a
pandemic was imminent and February 2021 the strength of
recovery in the US furniture market has been remarkable.
Despite the slump, year-to-date imports from each of these
countries is up more than 10% for the first two months of
the year. Conversely, imports from Canada were up 3% in
February, but are down 8% year to year.
Cabinet sales rebounded in February
In a press release the Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers
Association reports cabinet sales rebounded in February
with overall sales up 5.9% from January.
Custom sales were up 12.2%, semi-custom sales up 6.5%,
and stock sales increased 4.2%. Participating cabinet
manufacturers reported an increase in overall cabinet sales
of 5.7% for February 2021 compared to the same month in
2020. Custom sales are up 9.4%, semi-custom increased
9.9%, and stock sales increased 2.2%.
See:
https://www.kcma.org/news/pressreleases/january_2021_trend_of_busines_press_release
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