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Japan
Wood Products Prices
Dollar
Exchange Rates of 22th May 2006
Japan
Yen 112.09
Reports
From Japan
Prices between imported and domestic ply narrow
As the availability of Southeast Asian logs declines steadily and local plywood mills try to secure any
available volumes, plywood export prices continue to edge up. In Japan, prices for imported plywood, which
are usually lower than those for domestic products, are narrowing the gap. The plywood mills remaining in
Indonesia are reported to be operating just about half of
capacity while shipments from Malaysia are considerably delayed as mills can hardly cope with increased foreign demand.
Housing starts gain momentum in March
New housing starts surge to 93,759 units in March 2006, up 3.3% from March last year. The rise was due to
increases in rental units despite reductions in owner’s units and those built for sale. Wood based units rose to
41,663, up 2.7% and accounted for 44.4% of the new housing starts in March. Seasonally adjusted annual starts
amounted to 1.217 million units.
Kowa to export certified logs from PNG by 2009
Kowa lumber from Japan has announced that it will start supplying FSC certified plantation kamarere logs from
PNG from 2009. The 20 year-old species is used mainly as core in plywood production. The current total annual
log production is about 115,000 m3, shipped to Japan
(50%), Vietnam (40%), China and Korea. Kowa expects to supply 150,000 m3 of certified kamarere logs in 2009.
Technology transforms wood into plastic-like material
A technology which transforms wood into plastic-like three-dimensional forms has been recently developed by
the Aichi Industrial Technology Institute. The form is obtained by applying steam to the wood to accentuate
certain properties such as heat flow and self adhesiveness. To adjust the wood form, the wood
material is turned into powder and processed with steam. Then, it is shaped in a container with heat and pressure.
In initial tests, plastic-like forms were obtained from lignocellulosic material such as wood, rice hull, cut grass and newspaper.
Low-temperature wood drier saves cost and time
Oshima Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. and Kakuno Seisakusho jointly developed a low-temperature depressurization
(LTD) drier that run at lower cost. The LTD drier can dry timbers at nearly 60°C and reduce water content to less
than 15% without affecting colour, shining or scent. The drier comes in three sizes, 15, 30 and 50 m3. Drying time
depends on timber species with green timber taking about 5-9 days, 1-2 days shorter than conventional driers that
dry at 80°C. Compared with other driers that use higher temperatures, the LTD drier is said to minimize the risk
of crack, shrinkage, bending or twist. Since the LTD drier uses power as heat source, its operating cost is from
one-tenth to one-fifth of the costs of driers using high frequency wave or microwave.
More information on Japan in www.n-mokuzai.com
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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
Plywood grades. Letter(s) on the left indicate
face veneer(s), those on the right backing veneer(s). Veneer grade
decreases in order B, BB, C, CC, etc. |
MBF
1000 Board Feet
|
|
Plywood |
MDF
Medium Density Fibreboard |
| BF
Board Foot |
F.CFA CFA Franc
|
| Sq.Ft
Square Foot |
PHND
Pin hole no defect grade |
| Hoppus ton 1.8 cubic
metres |
 
Price has moved up or down |
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