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Japan
Wood Products Prices
Dollar
Exchange Rates of 29th Sep. 2006
Japan
Yen 118.05
Reports
From Japan
Mixed prospects for plywood from Southeast Asia
Japanese demand for imported plywood was improving together with prices. Major Malaysian manufacturers of plywood for concrete forming had already received full orders for the rest of the year as users increased buying in anticipation of more acute shortages. Items such as 12mm plywood for concrete forming, structural plywood and coated plywood remained in short supply while prices continued to rise. A large plywood supplier in Sarawak stopped accepting orders for concrete panels which forced buyers to seek concrete panels and floor boards from plywood manufacturers in Japan. Meanwhile, imported
plywood continued to be increasingly substituted by softwood plywood in Japan.
Since the price of plywood headed for Japan was increasing in Sabah, prospects for greater volumes were promising provided that the supply of logs improved. However, while supply prospects in Malaysia looked bright, the situation in Indonesia remained severe. Forest fires and a drought had deterred log production while lumber stocks remained very low. The start of the fasting month of Ramadan in late September and the approaching Monsoon rainy season were not likely to reverse the
situation this year.
Although improvement of prices in Japan had encouraged Indonesian plywood factories to shift
production towards the Japanese market, volumes remained constrained by limited availability of raw materials. Analysts thought that Indonesian factories would continue to struggle in securing timber resources and that the possibility of lower production or temporary stoppages was high.
Japan increases production of softwood plywood
According to statistics of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Japan’s domestic production of
regular plywood rose 3% to 289,000 m3 in July, the highest level in the last 10 months. The production of softwood plywood surged 2.6% to 215,000 m3, accounting for 74.4% of the total production. Japan is increasing the production of softwood plywood due to a reduction in the supply of tropical and other hardwood logs from key producer countries.
Japan’s hardwood chip imports unchanged
Japan’s total woodchip import volume declined 1.6% to 7 million bone-dry metric tonnes (bdmt) in the first half of 2006, compared with the same period in 2005, according to Robert Flynn, Director, International Timber RISI. Hardwood chips were unchanged at 5.73 million bdmt (82% of imports) while softwood chips fell 8.4% to 1.27 million bdmt. Average landed prices for woodchips in Japan were 3.2% higher for hardwood chips and 2% up for softwood chips.
Japan’s main hardwood chip suppliers were Australia (up 3.5% to 1.87 million bdmt of hardwood chips), South Africa (down 13.4% to 1.4 million bdmt) and Chile (up 11% to under 1 million bdmt, mainly eucalyptus chips). Uruguay was emerging as an important supplier of woodchips (notably eucalyptus E. globules).
Woodchip supply from Southeast Asia came mainly from Vietnam (up 12% to 340,000 bdmt, notably acacia and eucalyptus woodchips) and Thailand (sharply down 130% to less than 100,000 bdmt). Imports from Malaysia, Indonesia and PNG were relatively low. However, Indonesia was expected to become a major supplier of woodchips to China as major Chinese woodchip importers (APP and APRIL) own surplus plantations of acacia in Indonesia. APRIL was beginning shipments from its
Dumai chip plant in Sumatra to its pulp mill in Rizhao,China in 2006.
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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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