Declining Trade of Softwood Lumber, Plummeting Lumber Prices in the US and Slowing Wood Demand in China were Some of the Biggest International Lumber Developments in the 3Q/18, reports the Wood Resource Quarterly

The 3Q/18 brought development in East Asia, as Chinese imports of hardwood chips reached a record high and Vietnam expanded its market share at Australia's expense, reports the Wood Resource Quarterly

Global Timber Markets

• Softwood sawlog prices declined throughout the world in the 3Q/18.

Wood fiber costs for the pulp industry have trended upward in most regions of North America throughout 2017 and 2018, with the biggest increases occurred in British Columbia and US Northwest, according to the North American Wood Fiber Review

Canada will continue to be a major supplier of softwood lumber to the US in the next decade, with the export volume from the Eastern provinces being forecasted to increase substantially, according to a study by ForestEdge and WRI

Global Timber Markets

• The Global Sawlog Price Index (GSPI) fell 1.4% in the 2Q/18.

A surge in lumber prices and modest increases in sawlog costs have resulted in record profits for many lumber companies in North America and Europe in 2018

Market pulp producers saw higher profits in the 1Q/18 as pulp prices jump to record high levels, while production costs increased only slightly

Global softwood lumber prices continued their two-year climb in the 1Q/18 with the pace being higher in North America than in the Nordic countries, Russia and China

There were substantial increases in wood costs for pulpmills in Western US and Canada in the 1Q/18, while wood fiber prices fell to record lows in Eastern Canada

China imported record high volumes of softwood logs and lumber in 2017, making the country the largest log importer in the world and the second largest lumber importer after the US, according to the Wood Resource Quarterly.

A new study forecasts that softwood lumber consumption in the US will reach all-time highs by 2030.

The Global Sawlog Price Index has increased by 9.8% during 2017, with the biggest increases in sawlog prices occurring in the Nordic countries, Eastern Europe and Western North America

Wood fiber costs for hardwood pulp manufacturers in Sweden are among the lowest in Europe after having been on a downward trajectory since 2011, according to the Wood Resource Quarterly.

Modest increases in wood fiber costs and a substantial rise in market pulp prices have improved profitability for many market pulp manufacturers worldwide during the second half of 2017, reports the Wood Resource Quarterly

Global trade of softwood lumber reached a record-high in 2017 as demand for wood continued to increase in the US, China and Europe, reports the Wood Resource Quarterly