USA’s imports from Europe up 28 % in first quarter

The USA imported a total of 878,501 m³ of sawn softwood from Europe (EU-27) during the course of the first quarter, 28 % more than in the same period of last year. The latest figures from the US Department of Agriculture, Foreign Agriculture Service (FAS), show that the total value of the imports from Europe doubled against last year due to the price increases on the US market to roughly US$343.3m. The arithmetical import value rose by 56 % to US$390.8/m³. Here, imports from Germany amounted to 460,196 m³, which equates to an above-average increase of 39 %. The value of the imports from Germany also rose at an above-average rate of +146 % to US$186.0m or an average of US$404.1/m³ (+77 %). The share of the USA’s total imports from Europe accounted for by Germany rose accordingly by a little over eight percentage points to 52.4 %. Germany is followed by Sweden as the second most important European supplier country, from which the USA obtained 10 % sawn softwood less sawn softwood in the first quarter, however, at 149,640 m³.

In the first three months, the US imports of sawn softwood amounted to 9.136m m³, an increase of 12 %. The USA obtained 7.934m m³ from Canada as its main supplier, equating to growth of 11 % against last year and a share of 86.8 % of the total imports. The value of the deliveries from Canada rose by 156 % to US$2.801bn, putting the value per unit at US$353.0/m³. The traditionally large difference in price to the imports from Europe thus continued to decline during the course of the first three months.
In view of undiminished heavy demand for sawn softwood in the early weeks of the second quarter too, a further increase in prices, largely full utilisation of sawnwood production capacity in the USA recently, imports can be expected to rise again in the second quarter. The ongoing enlargement of production capacity in the US sawmilling industry will probably not become noticeable in the form of a slightly better domestic supply of sawn softwood until sometime next year.

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