The financial health of the world’s lumber producers was mixed in the 3Q/19. The gross margins fell in Northern Europe, while they improved slightly in Austria, Eastern Russia, Western US, and Western Canada, reports the WRQ. In North America, lumber prices started to flatten out and increased slightly in the fall.

China is increasing importation of logs from New Zealand and Europe, while diminishing imports from North America and Russia. As a region, Europe is now the second largest supplier of softwood logs to China behind New Zealand, reports the WRQ.

Russia, Belarus, Germany and Finland have boosted their lumber sales the most this year, reports the WRQ

A plentiful supply of logs coupled with declining demand moved sawlog prices downward in most major markets around the world in the 3Q/19. The biggest price reductions came in Central Europe, where storm damaged logs flooded the market.

Pulpmills in Brazil had some of the lowest wood fiber costs in the world in the 2Q/19, according to the WRQ. Over the past three years Eucalyptus pulplog prices have fallen while the global Hardwood Fiber Price Index (HFPI) has trended upward to reach its highest level in four years.

Costs for sawlogs declined in most major regions around the world in the first half of 2019. However, lumber prices have fallen faster in key markets resulting in lower profits for sawmills, particularly in British Columbia, the US South and Eastern Russia, according to the Wood Resource Quarterly.

Many pellet manufacturers in North America have had to increase the usage of logs for their feedstock in 2019 because of reduced availability of lower-cost sawmill residues. This has resulted in higher total wood fiber costs and increases in the pellet feedstock price indices for both Canada and the US in the 1H/19, according to NAWFR.

Wood raw-material costs for many lumber producers in Europe and North America have fallen over the past year both because of increased timber harvests and reduced log demand, particularly in North America and Asia. Some of the biggest price changes in the 1H/19 have been seen in the Western US, Central Europe and New Zealand.

Demand for lumber in China, the United Kingdom, Egypt and the Netherlands increased this year despite a slowdown in the global economy.

The Global Sawlog Price Index (GSPI) fell for the fifth consecutive quarter in the 2Q/19, reaching a two-year low. Log prices were down on all continents, with the biggest declines occurring in Europe.

Wood fiber costs declined for many North American pulpmills during the first half of 2019, with the exception of the US South, where wood fiber prices increased to their highest levels in over three years, reports the North American Wood Fiber Review

Tight supply of hardwood fiber in the Pacific Rim have pushed prices for Latin American hardwood chips upward during the first half of 2019, reports the WRQ. However, a decline in chip consumption in China is expected to occur in the second half of the year, which would likely end the most recent price rally that started in mid-2018.

Large volumes of storm and insect damaged trees in Germany have resulted in an oversupply of logs and declining sawlog prices in 2018 and 2019, reports the WRQ.

Wood fiber costs for softwood pulp manufacturers in 16 countries have gone up the past two years, and as a result, in the 1Q/19, the SFPI price index reached its highest level in five years, reports the WRQ

Sawlog prices declined the most in Central Europe, Western US and Russia, reports the WRQ

The US market share fell by 35%, while Canadian and Russian exporters have increased their shares since 2018, reports the Wood Resource Quarterly

Global trade of softwood lumber increased in the 1Q/19, US lumber prices were substantially lower than in early 2019 and Russian lumber exports are on the rise, reports the Wood Resource Quarterly

The global flow of softwood logs from countries with a surplus of wood rawmaterial to regions with tight, or costly log supply, and higher consumption of forest products continued to expand for the third consecutive year in 2018.

Pulpwood prices in North America were 5-10% higher in the 1Q/19 than the 1Q/18, with prices in the US South having increased the most due to challenging weather conditions, as reported by the North American Wood Fiber Review

The US, Canada, Vietnam, Latvia and Russia, accounted for 69% of global exports in 2018, reports the North American Wood Fiber Review

Softwood lumber prices have generally fallen faster than the costs for sawlogs throughout the world in late 2018, resulting in lower margins for the sawmilling sector, according to the WRQ.