North American Lumber Market

01-15th May 2007

US imports of tropical lumber halve in 2006
This second article looks at the historical trends of US imports of tropical hardwood lumber between 2002 and 2006, in particular the changing species composition. Overall tropical lumber imports in the USA advanced from 231,615 m3 in 2002 to 353,985 m3 in 2005, halving to 176,806 m3 in 2006. The decline led to an erosion of the market share of tropical lumber in relation to overall hardwood lumber imports in the USA. The share of US tropical lumber imports fell to 23% on a value basis and to 12% on a volume basis in 2006, down from 34% and 15%, respectively, in 2002.

Balsa lumber was the most voluminous tropical wood imported by the USA (35,760 m3 or 20.2% of all US tropical lumber imports). During 2002-2006, balsa imports grew a staggering 310%, but declined 46% in 2006 alone. In that period, balsa’s ranking changed from fifth in 2002
to first place in 2006. Most balsa supply (95%) originated in Ecuador. Balsa shipments from South Africa are relatively minor but quality and price are higher. At $390 per m3 in 2006, balsa is still a relatively inexpensive wood. The value of balsa lumber imports amounted to $13.9 million in 2006, up from only $2.4 million in 2002. The market share of balsa of the total import value stood only at 1.5% in 2002 but climbed to 10.6% last year.

Mahogany lumber still held the top position in regards to the value of US imports of tropical lumber. However, due to its listing in CITES, US imports of mahogany lumber have been on a steady decline for many years. The import value of this species fell to $23.8 million in 2006, sharply down from $69.7 million in 2002, while its market share dropped to 18% in 2006 from 44% in 2002. The dominating position of the value of US mahogany imports is due to its high unit value price, which averaged $1,407 per m3 last year, up 35% from 2002. This compares to an average price of only $742 per m3 for overall US tropical lumber imports. On a volume basis, mahogany lumber imports were of lesser importance and ranked behind balsa. The import volume plunged to 16,909 m3 in 2006, down from 67,020 m3 in 2005. As a result, mahogany
lumber lost market share, falling from 29% in 2002 to only 9.6% in 2006.

Over one-half (51% or $12.2 million) of the value of US mahogany lumber imports came from Peru, down from 68% or $47.6 million in 2002. Meanwhile, the import volume declined from 41,280 m3 (62% of the imports) in 2002 to 7,167 m3 (42%) in 2006. Bolivia is the US second
largest mahogany lumber supplier after Peru. Exports from this country grew from $3.9 million in 2002 to $5.3 million in 2006. Its market share swelled from 6% to 22% during the same period. However, in volume terms, shipments from Bolivia declined from 4,700 m3 in 2002 to 3,826 m3 in 2006. Nevertheless, the country managed to improve its market share from 7% to 23%.

Other tropical lumber species of lesser importance included keruing (15,695 m3 worth $8.8 million) and virola (14,751 m3 worth $6.7 million). Other, more expensive species included red meranti ($10.3 million) and teak ($9.4 million).

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  Grade B faced and Grade C backed	MBF           1000 Board Feet
Plywood	MDF           Medium Density Fibreboard
BF         Board Foot	F.CFA         CFA Franc
Sq.Ft     Square Foot	Price has moved up or down