UK softwood import volumes forecast to grow in 2016

The TTF’s National Softwood Division’s (NSD) Softwood Import Forecast 2015 & 2016 predicts volumes will rise by 2.5% to 6.05 million m3.

The NSD considers that softwood imports in 2015 will be similar to the volumes imported in 2014, with a 0.5% reduction in volume.

The latest import data for the eight months to August shows softwood imports during this period was 0.9% lower than in the same period in 2014.

The UK production forecast, provided by the Forestry Commission, predicts output will fall in 2015 by 4.5%, before rising once more in 2016 by 1.4%.

The effect of these changes results in a predicted reduction in UK softwood consumption of 2.12% in 2015, before increasing in 2016 by 2.2%, to return to the levels of 2014.