In the third quarter of 2013, US-American hardwood-lumber exports showed year-on-year growth similar to that achieved in the first half of the year. Total deliveries up to the end of September, at 2.548m m³, therefore increased by 8% year on year. The Foreign Agriculture Service (FAS)/Department of Agriculture, based in Washington D.C., reports that the export value up to the end of September increased by as much as 12%.
In terms of individual export regions, US deliveries to the EU in the third quarter showed a slight recovery. The nine-month period saw year-on-year decline of 3% to 253,720m³, following a decrease of 4% in the first half of the year. However, deliveries to the EU continued to show a below-average trend in the third quartere as well; the share of total exports taken by the EU was marginally down, at 10%. In contrast, exports to Asia and other North American countries increased again, with deliveries to East Asia showing the biggest growth with a plus of 23% to 1.164m m³. Compared to the first half of the year (+18%), growth rates for East Asia therefore increased again. East Asia accounted for roughly 46% of total US-American hardwood lumber exports in the first nine months of 2013. The other North American countries took delivery of US hardwood lumber totalling 655,792 m³, representing a year-on-year rise of roughly 6% in exports and a share of 26% of total US hardwood-lumber exports. Exports of hardwood lumber to South Asia were also up year on year, by 6% to 366,687m³.