Timber industry research & analytics 
UK detects Russian origin of imported Chinese plywood
September 6, 2022 ` 22:27
Timber Development UK (TDUK), has issued a trade alert urging vigilance to ensure no plywood offered by Asian manufacturers to UK importers contains birch originating in Russia. TDUK note that a worrying development has emerged in recent weeks...
US lumber prices decline in early August
August 18, 2022 ` 13:32
Dropping markedly after two weeks flat, for the week ending August 5, 2022 the price of benchmark softwood lumber item Western Spruce-Pine-Fir 2×4 #2&Btr KD (RL) was $610 mfbm, according to Madison’s Lumber Reporter. This is down by...
US housing starts hit 18-month lows
August 18, 2022 ` 13:21
Construction of new US homes hit 18-month lows in July, according to Commerce Department data on Tuesday that suggested that interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve were boosting mortgage rates that in turn were strangling the property...
Russian Timber Journal 05-2022: interview with Alexander Shangin, CEO, Vologodskiye Lesopromyshlenniki Group; roaring demand in 2021 caused a consumption/supply imbalance in the Russian MDF/HDF market; Rosleskhoz urges for reduced liability of forest users operating LesEGAIS; plywood production continues to decline in Russia; Valmet’s withdrawal from Russia is progressing; Rehau to withdraw business in Russia
June 27, 2022 ` 17:01
Russian Timber Journal 05-2022: Alexander Shangin, CEO, Vologodskiye Lesopromyshlenniki Group: “Substantial assistance to systemically important federal-level enterprises is currently non-existent”; roaring demand in 2021 caused a consumption/supply imbalance in the Russian MDF/HDF market; Rosleskhoz urges for reduced liability of forest users...
Russian Timber Journal 02-2022: interview with Jean-Francois Guilbert, Managing Director of FrenchTimber; survey of WhatWood clients on 2021 performance and prospects for 2022; how anti-Russian sanctions will affect the Russian timber industry; Government of the Russian Federation articulated support measures for the timber industry; ULK Group suspends construction of Pinezhsky LPK; some foreign timber companies suspend their activities in Russia
March 30, 2022 ` 17:55
Russian Timber Journal 02-2022: Jean-Francois Guilbert, Managing Director of FrenchTimber: “Sawn timber prices have been stable for 20 years so they’re catching up now”; WhatWood surveyed its clients — actors in the Russian timber industry market – in order...
Russian Timber Journal 11-2021: Interview with Metin Mete, General Manager at HAYAT Russia; U.S. has decided to almost double the duties on Canadian softwood lumber; U.S. homebuilding surged to an eight-month high in November 2021; Government of the Russian Federation approved the purchase of 75% of RFP Group by a Japanese investor; Russian Railways reports a significant reduction of timber cargo export from Russia in December
January 28, 2022 ` 15:43
Russian Timber Journal 11-2021: Metin Mete, General Manager at HAYAT Russia: “The whole market of paper tissue products is growing by an average of 5% a year”; U.S. has decided to almost double the duties on Canadian softwood lumber...
US OSB prices have skyrocketed more than 500% since January 2020
August 17, 2021 ` 22:01
The price of OSB has increased 510% since January 2020, exceeding the peak price increase in lumber by nearly 180 percentage points in the USA, as the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) reported. Although plywood panel prices have substantially...
Malaysia: Furniture manufacturers ask again that factory operations be allowed
August 17, 2021 ` 21:37
Malaysia continues to see an upward trend in the rate of Covid-19 infections with 17,045 recorded in one day in late July, the highest ever in a day since the pandemic hit the nation. The cumulative total infected...
US lumber prices continue to plummet
July 27, 2021 ` 13:42
According to Madison’s Lumber Reporter, in the week ending july 16, 2021 the wholesaler price of benchmark softwood timber commodity item Western S-P-F KD 2×4 #2&Btr was $555 ($359/m³), reaching the minimum value since the beginning of the...
U.S. housing starts rise in June
July 21, 2021 ` 17:41
U.S. homebuilding increased more than expected in June, though expensive lumber, as well as shortages of labor and land, continued to constrain builders’ ability to fully take advantage of robust demand for housing. Housing starts rose 6.3% to...
Russian Timber Journal 06-2021: interview with Alexander Vysotskiy, Product Director at Data Driven; European Commission’s report on imposing a provisional anti-dumping duty on imports of birch plywood originating in Russia; as of January 1, 2022, quotas on exporting softwood pulpwood and logs will be cancelled in Russia; US lumber prices fell sharply; the Ministry of Industry and Trade considers pulp and paper mills construction in the Far East to be inefficient
July 20, 2021 ` 22:38
Russian Timber Journal 06-2021: Alexander Vysotskiy, Product Director at Data Driven: “Lockdown created the necessary conditions for the digital business”; the European Commission approved for 6 months the introduction of preliminary anti-dumping duties on birch plywood from Russia; the...
Russian Timber Journal 04-2021: Possible scenarios of Russia’s unprocessed wood balance after imposing a ban on exports of softwood and hardwood logs; a state company for roundwood export will be established in Russia by the end of 2021; Segezha Group announces pricing of IPO and listing on Moscow Exchange; the European Commission published tentative anti-dumping duties for Russian producers of birch plywood
May 21, 2021 ` 21:27
Russian Timber Journal 04-2021: WhatWood agency about possible scenarios of Russia’s unprocessed wood balance after imposing a ban on exports of softwood and hardwood logs; Yury Trutnev, Deputy Prime Minister and Presidential Envoy in the Far East, declared that...
