Timber industry research & analytics Wood house building 
U.S. housing starts show substantial rebound In July
August 21, 2023 ` 19:28
The Commerce Department said housing starts surged 3.9% to an annual rate of 1.452 million in July after plunging by 11.7% to a revised rate of 1.398 million in June. Economists had expected housing starts to increase to...
Russian Timber Journal 06-2023: interview with Vitaly Demidenko, Sales Director at Sveza; in 2022, Russian timber harvesting volumes dropped to the lowest level in the last 9 years; Russian timber exporters were able to reimburse up to 80% of their costs of product transportation via sea ports in the Northwestern Federal District; Federation Council suggested introducing prohibitive duties on furniture and paper from unfriendly countries; Essity has exited the Russian market; Luzales plans to open new plywood plant in the Omsk region; Russian plywood output increased in June 2023
August 16, 2023 ` 15:53
Russian Timber Journal 06-2023: Vitaly Demidenko, Sales Director at Sveza: “The period when the demand for birch plywood surpassed the supply in the available markets is over. The approach to sales changed too.”; According to the Rosleskhoz, in 2022, the...
Russian Timber Journal 05-2023: interview with Andrey Yudin, Logistics Director of Segezha Group; regional authorities ask to support the Russian timber enterprises due to the persisting tense situation in the industry; the Government of the Russian Federation extended the list of checkpoints along the land border with Kazakhstan authorised to process exports of timber products; Ilim Group became the largest timber harvesting enterprise in Russia in 2022; VLP Group to invest 2.6 billion rubles in Hasslacherles’ former enterprise; Segezha Group sold its European paper packaging enterprises for €100 million; L-PACK to invest over 10 billion rubles to build a corrugated cardboard plant in the Moscow region
July 7, 2023 ` 12:59
Russian Timber Journal 05-2023: Andrey Yudin, Logistics Director of Segezha Group: “We are witnessing a serious imbalance between the freight traffic flows and the availability of transport means”; the Arkhangelsk Regional Assembly of Deputies (AOSD) held an expanded meeting of...
Russian Timber Journal 03-2023: interview with Pavel Kunin, Commercial Director at Doza-Gran; Russia exports almost no unprocessed timber; list of assignments given by the President of the Russian Federation as a follow-up to a meeting on the development of the Russian timber industry; China plans to increase plywood production capacity in 2023; Association of Furniture and Woodworking Enterprises of Russia suggests increasing the import duty on European furniture to 50%; owner of Leroy Merlin will hand over its Russian business to the management team; Governmental commission approved the sale of a share in Ilim by International Paper; large timber enterprises of the Tomsk Region are suspending production; Russian plywood output rose in February; Segezha Group sold its European assets that produce paper packaging; in 2022, the Russian export of wood and articles of wood dropped by almost one-fourth
April 10, 2023 ` 10:32
Russian Timber Journal 03-2023: Pavel Kunin, Commercial Director at Doza-Gran: “From the financial and time perspective, a wood pellet line is the most lucrative kind of investment associated with recycling sawmilling waste”; in 2022, the volume of roundwood export...
Russian Timber Journal 02-2023: interview with Yuri Strezhen, CEO at Praktika Group; state support measures for the Russian timber industry affected by the sanctions pressure; China reduced log imports from all the main suppliers in 2022; Vladimir Putin proposed to grant enterprises a deferment on forest area lease payments for unharvested timber; the Government of the Russian Federation increased the maximum amount of compensation for the expenses of timber enterprises for the transportation of their products; in 2022, Russia reduced the volume of logging by 13.5% to 194.6 million m³, according to Roslesinforg; Russian Railways resumed accepting sawn timber for export shipments through Kazakhstan; International Paper reaches agreement to sell ownership interest in Ilim joint venture; Segezha Group may reorient the Segezha West project to new products; the volume of furniture export from Russia dropped by 39% YoY in 2022, down to 29.5 billion rubles; Luzales and Slotex acquire Russian assets of IKEA
March 7, 2023 ` 15:24
Russian Timber Journal 02-2023: Yuri Strezhen, CEO at Praktika Group: “This is a good time to improve the efficiency of both production and administrative processes of enterprises”; support measures mentioned by the business, relevant agencies, regions, the Government...
Segezha Group starts selling apartments in the first CLT houses in Russia
March 2, 2023 ` 12:47
Segezha Group is officially starting selling housing in the first Russian high-rise CLT buildings. These are one-room and two-room apartments with an area of 48–63 m² in two four-storey buildings of Sokoliki Housing Estate in the town of...
Canadian housing starts drop sharply in January 2023
February 17, 2023 ` 19:39
The standalone monthly seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of total housing starts for all areas in Canada declined 13% in January (215,365 units) compared to December (248,296 units) according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). The SAAR...
The Government of the Irkutsk Region is planning to implement a large-scale project of comprehensive wooden housing construction in the region
February 16, 2023 ` 18:22
Federal standards actually allow the construction of individual residential houses in the region at the moment, but the regional authorities are planning to launch a large-scale project of comprehensive wooden housing construction. The first project could be the...
Russian Timber Journal 01-2023: interview with Valeriy Sergeevich Sukhanov, D. Eng., Honored Worker of the Russian Forest Industry; in 2022, the sawn timber export from Russia dropped to an 8-year low; North American companies continue to cut sawn timber production; the Government of Russia allowed transportation of roundwood and sawn timber to EAEU countries; in 2022, the Russian export of timber products reduced by two times and railway transportation, by 22%; over 25 billion rubles’ worth of transportation costs of industrial products export will be subsidized in 2023
February 9, 2023 ` 12:57
Russian Timber Journal 01-2023: Valeriy Sergeevich Sukhanov, D. Eng., Honored Worker of the Russian Forest Industry: “The Russian timber industry has degraded”; in 2022, the export of sawn timber from Russia dropped by 22% YoY, down to 23.5 million...
The Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Construction of Russia continue to elaborate a roadmap for the formation of a domestic market for the production and consumption of standardized glued laminated timber structures
January 24, 2023 ` 19:19
The roadmap is aimed at compensating for the lost exports of sawn timber and glulam structures to the countries of the European Union and at increasing the output of higher-value-added timber products. The roadmap provides for federal funding...
Segezha Group obtained a Kazakhstan certificate for its CLT panels
January 24, 2023 ` 19:14
The certificate confirms compliance with the safety requirements of the republic. Margarita Lee, Vice President of Segezha Group, notes that obtaining such certificates in Kazakhstan will facilitate the implementation of large projects with the participation of government agencies...
Russian Timber Journal 12-2022: interview with Anatoly Shcherbakov, Director for Timber Supply and Logistics at VLP Group; preliminary results of the Russian timber industry for 2022: the beginning of complex structural transformations; Lithuania tightens control over timber imports from Russia and Belarus; the Russian Government extended the increased rates of customs duties applied to exports of raw sawn timber until the end of 2025; plywood production in Russia fell to a ten-year low in 2022
January 19, 2023 ` 14:50
Russian Timber Journal 12-2022: Anatoly Shcherbakov, Director for Timber Supply and Logistics at VLP Group: “No effective state aid measures to support timber harvesting activities have been taken so far”; preliminary results of the Russian timber industry for 2022: the...
