Lumber prices plummeted in 2015 in Russia, Brazil, Central Europe and Western Canada due to weaker currencies against the US dollar, according to consulting firm Wood Resource Quarterly. European sawnwood prices have dropped even more than in most other regions of the world.
Global trade in sawn softwood fell by ten percent from 2014 to 2015, mainly due to declining imports by Asian countries. Despite this, the volume of imports in three main directions in Asia - China, South Korea and Japan, significantly decreased in 2015, these countries still import almost half of the world's commercial softwood logs.
Russia is the leader in terms of the volume of sawn timber supplied to the Asian market. Many timber processing plants in Russia supply their products to the external and internal markets, among which plywood, timber, fiberboard and euro lining are in the greatest demand, here she is in Moscow and the region, as well as delivered to all regions and neighboring countries. Among the major importing countries in 2015 were Germany, Austria, Sweden and the Czech Republic.
In just the past two years, sawnwood prices have dropped 21.6 percent on the back of a stronger US dollar and lower demand in Asia. An impressive decline in prices in dollar terms was observed in a number of countries, including Russia (-48 percent), Brazil (-32 percent), Norway (-31 percent), Austria (-30 percent), Germany (-28 percent).
Lumber prices in Europe as a whole have fallen much more than in other parts of the world. In central Europe, prices fell by almost one third in two years. Late last year, the European Lumber Price Index (ESPI) stood at $ 91.00 /m3, falling to its lowest level since 2009. The price decline can be attributed to the weakening of currencies in Europe against the US dollar. In local currencies, changes in the price of lumber were more modest, and even went up in some countries, including Sweden and Poland.
