Import:Export Wood Purchasing News - October/November
IMPORT/EXPORT www.woodpurchasingnews.com Vol. 47 No. 2 Serving Forest Products Buyers Worldwide OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2020 Despite historic pandemic, importers see glimmer of hope By Matthew Fite For importers of wood, “It’s been a different year,” according to one importer in New York State. Another importer said the market for his company has had its ups and downs. But all respondents surveyed reported either OK or good markets for their products. The importer from New York added, “What the rest of the year will bring is uncertain at this point, but if we can keep our current pace, it will not be the worst year.” Following are comments from importers from wide-ranging locales. Jordan Dery Tropical Forest Products Mississauga, Ontario AHEC Reveals Some Potential ‘Silver Linings’ In the Global Market By Sue Putnam Jordan Dery of Tropical Forest Products in Mississauga, Ontario, stated, “The imports are moving quite a bit for us, and we just can’t seem to get enough in our inventory before it all sells out. For Ipe, it’s going fantastic. All the Sapele items have been extremely hot JORDAN DERY for us. African Mahogany has really picked up as well.” The main species this company sells are Mahogany, Sapele and Ipe. “We don’t really sell to China,” he remarked, “so we haven’t really been affected by the Chinese tariffs. We’ve pretty much kept our business to North America only. In March, COVID was really bad for us, but April through July have been fantastic for us. A lot of people have been doing home projects rather than taking vacations. So, for us, it’s been a great second quarter, and we’re planning on having a great third one as well.” Transportation has not been a problem for Tropical Forest Products. A downside that he sees is the U.S. dollar dropping and the euro getting stronger. F JORDAN MCILVAIN PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID JEFFERSON CITY. MO PERMIT NO. 303 Jordan McIlvain Alan McIlvain Company Marcus Hook, PA Jordan McIlvain, of Alan McIlvain Company of Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania, observed that, in the spring, “We pushed deliveries back due to things slowing down and shutdowns from Coronavirus. But since then,” he said, “everything’s come in. When we said, ‘Start ship- Continued on page 14 Change Service Requested Import/Export Wood Purchasing News P.O. Box 34908 Memphis, TN 38184-0908 American Hardwood Export Council Executive Director Michael Snow recently delivered a mid-year market report webinar outlining how 2020’s Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically impacted global lumber markets. No country, no continent’s economy or lumber market has escaped adverse impacts by the global reach of this virus. Snow acknowledged it is difficult to draw major conclusions from what we as an industry have seen during the first six months of this year. He added, “For the reason that, obviously, we are going through something that was completely unpredictable and we’re not really sure where it is going to go – not only here in the U.S. but overseas – and obviously it is going to have impact moving forward beyond our ability to really influence.” Snow drew comparisons between exports this year, last year and even into 2018. Yet the big question is: where do exports stand now – months into COVID – and what “silver linings” are emerging in the industry. There are a few. First, though, Snow provided context. He noted, “The United States again remains comfortably the largest exporter. China not surprisingly is again, by far the largest single importer of hardwood lumber than anywhere in the world. If you take the EU together, they are next, if you are looking at individual countries, Vietnam follows, and actually the U.S. is the fourth largest importer in the world of hardwood lumber. “But specifically if we look at our exports, the U.S. exports to the world as does China, Canada, Mexico and Vietnam, followed by the European Union. The export volume kind of trails off from there – Japan, and some Southeast Asian countries. When considering the six months through June of 2020 and beginning in 2015 running through this summer, East Asia, which is not only China but also Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea, there was a fairly large drop in export markets. Almost all of it a reflection of decline to the Chinese market. North America, Canada, and Mexico markets in the first six months dropped as well. Southeast Asia is a smaller drop. In the EU, surprisingly there was a mixed bag during some of the early COVID lock downs, but we are starting to see signs of movement.” At the time of the webinar, Snow noted that while he would focus mostly on lumber, he acknowledged the market was beginning to see quite a bit of movement of logs. While that activity is significantly down from year-over-year activity the past five years, the uptick in sales bears watching, he said. Continued on page 10
