According to the latest statistics from the Timber Trade Federation (TTF), for the whole of 2013 imports were up 8% but the TTF points out it was a year of two halves: in the first half imports were down by over 3% on 2012, but increased by 21% in the second half.
"After a six-year period of weakness for timber imports, it would seem that the recovery is finally under way," the report says.
Softwood imports rose by 6.8%, with all leading supplying countries shipping greater volumes, except Germany, whose volumes fell by 0.2%. Latvia enjoyed the largest growth, with exports up 25%.
For panel products, chipboard and OSB recorded the biggest changes – up 37.1% and 16.5% respectively.
Plywood imports rose by 6.9% on 2012. Hardwood plywood volumes were up 1.4% and softwood plywood by 19.4% – driven by a nearly 70% increase in imports from China.
Only hardwood recorded a drop in imports – down 3.9% on 2013.
