National Hardwood Magazine - June 2017

CANADIAN TRENDS News

CANADIAN TRENDS News from suppliers about prices, trends, sales and inventories ONTARIO One contact commented that sawmills had a good supply of logs as the last of the cold weather allowed them to get a few more logs out. In general, the market has been pretty steady on all fronts. The Common and higher grades have been moving very well. Hard Maple has been the more popular wood species. As was the case for the time of year in question, sawmills were focusing on whitewoods before any stain damage became a threat. On the domestic front, it was a struggle to absorb additional whitewood supplies, especially the lower grades due to restrictive tie purchases. Most end users had adequate inventories and were purchasing for replacement needs rather than building inventory. Demand is currently slow from the mat timber, pallet lumber and railroad ties sectors. Export markets remain strong, reported contacts, while domestic ones have not been so active. There is presently strong demand for the higher grades of Ash, as well as Red and White Oak, to Asian markets. Hard and Soft Maple are mostly selling to the North American clients at this time. Thus Ash supplies are thin for kiln-dried inventories for many grades and thicknesses. Distribution yards noted they are not having difficulty selling green production. Demand for Aspen was reported as stable. However, there was concern in early spring as sawmills geared up to produce more whitewoods that green production could strain buyers’ ability to accept and process these supplies. Green Basswood demand has recently been good, and there is a speculation that demand can’t keep pace with mill output, especially for the No. 2A and No. 2B grades. It was noted that supply was not overwhelming buyers at this time, which was keeping prices in check. The booming Canadian housing industry, which has been driven by foreign investments, has led Ontario to place a 15 percent tax on foreign home purchases. Simultaneously, moulding producers were busy with increasing demand for Hard Maple. Flooring plants continued to be busy with demand having improved for 2-¼-inch strip. At the time of this writing, demand for railway ties was slow for some contacts, and quotas on shipments had mills looking further afield for customers. Pallet cant sales were reported as steady, but orders for crane mats were quiet. Natural Resources Canada recently stated that Canada’s forest industry has transformed itself into one of the most in- QUEBEC Industry contacts recently said that business conditions were fair to quite good, depending on location and species in question. Most mills had decent order files, with some mills being sold out of Red Oak. Several border state sellers said FAS/1F Red Oak was a little slower, but demand for No. 1 and No. 2 Common stayed strong. Contacts noted that log supply varied, with some mills reporting lower than normal inventories. Green lumber demand was steady and mills were able to keep from building inventory. Some noted an uptick in demand for Cherry from both China and millwork plants. High quality Walnut was in especially good demand said those in the distribution yards. Sawmills were in good shape, but in early spring they expressed concerns about road restrictions, small profit margins and staining issues. Yellow Birch suppliers said green No. 1 and No. 2 Common were moving in good quantities to flooring plants, while upper grade lumber was being bought by the millwork manufacturers. Cherry suppliers said they netted higher sales prices from both domestic and Chinese customers. Upper grade Hard Maple sales continued to lag behind No. 1 and No. 2 Common, which many suppliers said was in strong demand. Ash moved at a steady pace, with uppers heading to China and domestic flooring plants consuming quite a bit of Common grade. Prevailing prices rose for all grades of kiln-dried 4/4 Ash, and the demand for both green and kilndried lumber has kept inventory levels quite low. Aspen and Basswood demand kept inventories at manageable levels, though there were some concerns as to the depth of demand, as more mills processed these species in early spring to try to avoid staining issues. Hard Maple suppliers commented they saw better markets ahead and were not worried about currently having large inventories of upper grade stock. Increased Soft Maple availability coupled with lower demand levels pressured price levels. Common grade Red Oak moved at a swift pace on both domestic and overseas markets, with strong sales reported to Vietnam and China. A new internal-trade deal that will remove domestic trade barriers is expected to add billions of dollars to the economy. The Canada Free Trade Agreement, unveiled this Please turn to page 75 Please turn to page 76 10 JUNE 2017 NATIONAL HARDWOOD MAGAZINE

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