Southern pine is losing market share in Spain to sawn pine from Sweden, France and Russia according to industry newsletter Random Lengths International.
It said that US exporters are having to contend with a 35% drop in softwood lumber exports to Spain, down to 21.6 mbf last year.
Conversely, overall Spanish softwood lumber imports seem to be growing. The Association of Spanish Timber Importers said that imports of softwood rose 14% during September 2003.
Concerns that the change in Spain’s political leadership following the terrorist bombings in Madrid could lead to the country being less friendly to the US have been dismissed. Random Lengths reported one southern pine exporter as saying that wood products traders are far too sophisticated to allow recent events to alter business strategies.
