The post-lockdown bounce back in imports of timber and panel products continued in the third quarter with volume 7% higher than in Q3, 2019.
And, according to the latest Timber Trade Federation (TTF) figures – TTF Timber Statistics Industry Facts & Figures, December 2020 – September’s volumes were at a 14 year high for the month. The last time September volumes approached 1 million m3 was in 2006.
Import volume in September 2020 was around 17% higher than in September 2019 – a dramatic change from April 2020, which saw imports 39% down on April 2019.
That said, overall volume is still down on 2019 when looking at the January-September year-on-year comparison periods.
Softwood imports, for example, were down 12.3% on the nine-month comparison periods, with cumulative volume January-September 2020 at 4,430,000m3 (2019: 5,052,000m3).
September saw a doubling of volume from Russia, compared to September 2019 and a near doubling from Germany.
The value of softwood imports for the first nine months of this year was lower by 20%, or £240m, with sawn goods down by 21% and planed softwood lower by 18%. However, the value of softwood imports in September was 26% higher than in September 2019.
Hardwood imports were down 20.8% on the 2019 comparison period, with cumulative volume from January-September 2020 at 318,000m3 (2019: 402,000m3).
Volumes from Estonia and Latvia fell by 40%, while the US shipped 21% less hardwood to the UK than in January-September 2019. France and Italy both supplied around 10% less to the UK in 2020 to date but because of the decline in volume from other main suppliers, they actually increased their share of supply – France from 10% to 11% and Italy from 7% to 8%.
The TTF notes that demand for oak in the UK has held up better than other species, which may explain the better volume performance for France and Italy.
Total plywood imports were 10.5% down on the comparison period, with cumulative volume January-September 2020 at 1,026,000m3 (2019: 1,147,000m3).
Within that total, hardwood plywood imports were down 8.6%, with cumulative volume to January-September 2020 at 661,000m3 (2019: 723,000m3).
September saw hardwood plywood imports from China double with its share of supply in the January-September comparison periods rising from 55% to 64%. This increase dwarfs the small rises in volume from Malaysia and Latvia in the month.
Softwood plywood imports in the nine month period were down 13.9% on the same time last year, with cumulative volume to January-September 2020 at 365,000m3 (2019: 424,000m3).
Brazil still dominates the import figures, with a 66% share of supply (up from 58% in January-September 2019) despite actually shipping 3% less volume to the UK than the same period last year.
Chipboard imports have fared the worst out of all the timber product sectors and were down 36.9% in the comparison periods, with cumulative volume to January-September this year at 414,000m3 (2019: 657,000m3).
Volume from Germany, France and Portugal has fallen by 40% in the first nine months of 2020, which the TTF attributes to the effects of the pandemic and a strong UK production base.
OSB imports in the period were down 11% on last year, with cumulative volume January-September 2020 at 274,000m3 (2019: 307,000m3). Meanwhile, MDF imports were down 13.5%, with cumulative volume to January-September 2020 at 475,000m3 (2019: 550,000m3).
