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Report
from the UK Building
activity slows as winter nears
The
market has not picked up after the summer holidays and in November,
builders¡¯ activity and construction begins to fall off. It is the end of
the British Summer Time, which means that soon it will be dark by 4pm.
Most outside work is curtailed and building activities slow as work cannot
start earlier. Since the construction sector is crucially important for
the prosperity of the timber trade, the future is unclear as competition
is very keen with margins being squeezed all the time. Another worrying
factor is the number of house repossessions due to default on mortgage
repayments, which have soared 55% in the 2004 according to the Department
of Constitutional Affairs.
Certification
schemes causing confusion The
demand for certified timber continues to grow, however the debate between
competing certification schemes is causing confusion as users do not know
who to believe and tend to avoid any supplier in the chain with other than
first credentials. One company claims that it sells certified timber
accredited by five different schemes. Plywood
importers in the spotlight Plywood
importers are in the spotlight again with Greenpeace demonstrating in
London about alleged use by China of illegal logs sourced from PNG and
other South East Asian countries for the manufacture of plywood for the
UK. This is a concern at a time when many importers will be gearing up to
bid the supplying of fairly large quantities of ¡®board materials¡¯ for
the infrastructure of the Olympic games. At
a recent conference organized by UK¡¯s Timber Research and Development
Association (Trada), the future use of timber was closely examined. The
conference concluded that everyone, from the forest‑owner to the
distributor, has to endorse genuine sustainable forest management and,
until there is worldwide cooperation, the hardwood trade in the UK will
continue to stumble in realizing its potential. Log
Prices in the UK
Sawnwood
Prices in the UK
*When
last available Plywood
and MDF in the UK
*When
last available Opportunities
for timber in London Olympics UK¡¯s
¡°wood. for good¡±, a generic wood campaign started in 2000, is
undertaking a study of the opportunities for timber in the 2012 London
Olympics, according to Ttj. The study will estimate how much timber could
be used in main Olympics construction work and the potential for supplying
timber products for temporary building, shuttering and hoarding. The study
will also cover government involvement in planning and development,
sustainability criteria, and strategies of competing industries for the
games. The UK¡¯s timber
industry has agreed to lobby Olympics stakeholders to maximize its
opportunities in the construction work. Report
from the Netherlands DIY
sector booms as building activity slows With
the Dutch building sector facing tough times due to lower public spending
on real estate as a result of the economic situation, the DIY sector seems
to be booming. There are two dominant players, namely Vendex KBB,
operating nationwide the well known chains Praxis and Formido; and the
Intergamma Group, operating the recognized stores Gamma and Karwei.
Furthermore, there are a handful of smaller stores and locally operating
DIY‑shops. The German DIY-giant Hornbach has 8 branches in the
Netherlands and aims to have 15 big DIY-centres in Holland by the year
2010, probably at the cost of small entrepreneurs. Both Vendex KBB and
Intergamma, which hold roughly 80% of the market, are making efforts to
keep Hornbach from expanding in the country. The
Dutch are currently extremely cost conscious and unwilling to entertain
unwarranted financial risks such as buying an expensive house, renting one
or overspending in other things. That is why renovation and DIY is so
popular. According to a recent Blauw Research survey, 60% of Dutch
consumers are unsatisfied with their spending levels and 85% seem to worry
about their financial position. According to the survey, more than 50% of
the consumers do not intend to expend or invest large amounts of money in
the short term. They rather postpone the purchase of large assets. Ample
stocks of sawn timber in Rotterdam The
economy situation is reflected in timber consumption in general and not
restricted to Malaysian hardwoods. The timber market for hardwoods and
softwoods alike seems saturated, judging from stocks position. A recent
quick tour by the MIS Dutch Correspondent to well known timber
receivers/forwarders in the Rotterdam port area showed that these traders
have plenty of stocks of sawn timber, particularly of the main Dutch size
3x5¡±. For other sizes, the situation is less problematic and there is
still a fair demand both locally as well as on CNF Rotterdam basis. The
market for dark red meranti (DRM) has been slow for a long uninterrupted
period. The hope for revival after the summer vacation waned as school
holidays took place during the second half of October and the meranti
trade became even slower. Some traders feel the need to use the
price‑weapon strategy (dumping stocks below cost) to generate some
sales. Whether the strategy is timely remains to be seen as supply from
Malaysia is limited and tightening as the wet monsoon period approaches. Pen.
Malaysia sawmills have low inventories On
the supply side, the amount of offers received from exporters in
Peninsular Malaysia is extremely low and sellers are really dosing
quotations. Many sawmills have a low log inventory and special sizes such
as 7/4x10, 7/4x12, 2.1/2x5, 2.1/2x6 and 4x5 can hardly be offered. Even
the price of DRM PHND KD 3x5¡± (PHND
= Pin hole no
defect grade) on CNF basis remains extremely firm. Exporters are even
trying to push the price up a bit further. This
situation will certainly not improve due to the monsoon in the coming
weeks and the Chinese New-year by the end of January which will affect
production of Malaysian hardwoods even further. Despite the tight supply,
some traders in the Netherlands are considering to lower sale prices as
the Christmas-leave is approaching and with a very slim chance for market
revival. There is just six weeks left before the Dutch timber sector
ceases operation till early 2006 and some traders are already pushing
sales by sacrificing trade-margins. Substitution
of Brazilian sawnwood continues As
indicated in previous MIS Reports, crackdowns on illegal logging and
bribery scandals have disrupted the supply of sawn timber from Brazil.
This situation has caused significant price hikes on items and limited
volumes that can be shipped, which, in turn, motivated Dutch interest for
alternative sources. Malaysia¡¯s urat mata and white seraya have been
sought to substitute Brazilian cambara, next to gerutu which had already
been selected for this purpose. Red balau has also been sought now that
the purchase season for anti-slip material has started and supply of
bangkirai/selangan batu is not abundant. Sawnwood
prices in the Netherlands
1
ton of 50 Cu.ft. = 1.416 m3; PHND= Pin hole no defect grade. Okoum¨¦
plywood prices in the Netherlands
Surcharges for water‑based primer coating, 2 layers both faces 80¦Ì dry (€ per m2): 4.3 in the Netherlands and 3.3 in China.. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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