DHA eNews - Massive Shift In Source Of U.S. Imports Of Hardwood Plywood
U.S. imports of hardwood plywood from China have plummeted from 1.370 billion square feet in 2017 to 139 million square feet in the last 12 months. In that time, imports from Vietnam have surged from 30 million square feet in 2017 to 546 million square feet in the last 12 months; imports from Indonesia jumped from 361 million square feet to 541 million square feet. The value of hardwood plywood imports from China sank from $574 million to $61 million while the value of imports from Vietnam rose from $30 million to $257 million and the value of imports from Indonesia increased from $196 million to $268 million.
The World Trade Organization found that virtually every reason given by the U.S. for imposing countervailing duties on imports of softwood lumber from Canada was unfounded.
The U.S. is no longer China's largest supplier of hardwood logs. China's global imports of hardwood logs fell 17% in the first half of 2020. The country's global imports of softwood logs fell 16%, accounting for 72% of the national total.
Canada's federal government is being pushed hard to discontinue trade talks with Brazil due to the deforestation of the Amazon caused by fires. Brazil's space agency shows that the devastation in 2020 is even worse than in 2019.
Recent updates about our industry include:
- Updates on Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan forgiveness
- Ashley Furniture workers protest working conditions under COVID
- How loggers have been impacted by the pandemic
- Survey finds construction project delays are worsening
- Conference and event updates and changes
- Some more COVID humor
For more information and the latest event changes and cancelations, see the DHA coronavirus news and resources pages.
The 2020 Veneer Tech Craftsman's Challenge grand prize of $3,000 was awarded to Patrice Lejeune whose piece, "Treasure Box III," is an exquisite example of French marquetry as practiced during the 17th and 18th centuries.
Jackson Morrill succeeds Robert Glowinski, who is retiring at the end of the year after 41 years with wood industry associations.
The Decorative Hardwoods Association's Hardwood Plywood Handbook is perfect for new members of your team: it provides a comprehensive visual introduction to hardwood plywood, from panel components and construction to more than 100 photographs that demonstrate the range of appearances between and within grades.
The UN recently released the 2020 State of the World's Forests report about the contributions of forests and those manage them. While forests cover 31% of the global land area, more than half of the world's forests are located in five countries: Brazil, Canada, China, the U.S., and Russia.
A recent ambitious global movement aims to conserve, manage, restore, and grow one trillion trees to help reduce the world's carbon deficit. U.S. launch partners include Microsoft, Salesforce, Timberland, Clif Bar, Bank of America, Mastercard, and the cities of Detroit and Dallas.
The U.S. National Interagency Coordination Center has identified 76 large uncontained fires and 3 contained fires across 14 states. Active fires have burned 2,807,497 acres so far; the year-to-date total is 40,161 fires that have burned 4,063,267 acres. To date in Canada, 3,515 fires have burned 2.43 million acres.
U.S. manufacturers added workers in August, slowing but extending the 41,000 gain in employment in July. The labor market remains well below its pre-COVID-19 pace, with manufacturing employment down 720,000 since February. However, the hardwood plywood sector saw a net overall gain of 1% as well as a 4% gain in full-time hourly employees that offset a loss of salaried jobs.
Source: DHA