Norbord has reported earnings of US$37m in the second quarter, as OSB shipments picked up 35% from the first quarter.
“All our operating mills ran full out this quarter and we benefited from the run-up in North American OSB prices,” said Barrie Shineton, Norbord president and CEO.
The company’s North American OSB mills ran at 100% of their capacity in the second quarter compared to 85% in the first quarter. All of the European mills operated at full capacity compared to 90% in the previous three months.
In the UK, year-to-date housing starts improved more than 75% over last year, supporting stronger panel demand, while German house starts were up 3%. European OSB prices improved 14% quarter-on-quarter due to high plywood prices, lower US imports and stronger demand.
“As we have said for some time, the recovery in both US housing starts and OSB demand is fragile,” added Mr Shineton.
“Economic news continues to be mixed, however, a housing recovery is taking hold and we remain confident that our financial performance will continue to improve on the prior year.”
