DHA eNews - South Korea Launches Antidumping Probe Into Vietnamese Plywood
The South Korea antidumping investigation was prompted by claims that cheap imports of plywood are seriously damaging the domestic industry. Vietnamese products accounted for approximately 40% of South Korea's estimated $677 market for plywood in 2018. The preliminary result of the antidumping investigation is expected before April 2020.
The U.S. International Trade Commission set February 20 as the date for its final hearing in the antidumping and countervailing duties case against kitchen cabinets and vanities imported from China. The proposed vote date is scheduled for March 24.
The U.S. Trade Representative, Ambassador Robert Lighthizer, confirmed that hardwoods are part of China's commitment to increasing agricultural imports from the U.S. by $50 billion.
The gross output of China's forestry industry grew to about $730.5 billion in the first three quarters of 2019, up 5.3% vs. year ago. More than 50 million people now work in the country's forestry sector. China's foreign trade of forest products reached $160.3 billion in 2018 to make China the world's largest consumer and trader of wood forest products.
Experts predict that the $27 billion U.S. floor covering market will grow 0.5% each year from 2019 through 2023. During that period, expect the $3.2 billion Canadian market to grow 1.4% each year and the $2.1 billion Mexican market to grow 6.6% per year. Engineered wood flooring's share dropped 3.7% in 2018 as laminate's share fell 6.7%, in part due to competition from luxury vinyl tile and wood plastic composite.
The U.S. market for kitchen cabinets is approximately $9.5 billion. Per a recent study by Freedonia, kitchen and bathroom renovation spending will grow 5% each year through 2022 to reach more than $87 billion. This growth is spurred by demand for larger showpiece kitchens with more cabinet and countertop space.
Market analyst John Burns Real Estate Consulting predicts that owner-driven, small-project remodeling spending will outpace big-project spending through 2022 as home prices moderate and wage gains result in minor home improvements rather than major renovations.
HPVA Laboratories® has certified that Veneer Tech meets the ANSI Standard for Due Diligence in Procuring/Sourcing Legal Timber, ANS LTDD 1.0 2015, the national quality assurance standard designed to prevent illegal timber from entering your supply chain. Hiring the ISO/IEC 17065-accredited certification agency to perform an independent audit demonstrates Veneer Tech's commitment to this rigorous performance standard for legal timber.
AHF Products held a ribbon-cutting ceremony this month to celebrate the completion of an 85,000-square-foot expansion of its prefinished hardwood flooring plant in Beverly, WV. The facility is now the largest prefinished hardwood flooring plant in the country.
The Memphis Marathon raised more than $12 million for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Shaw Floors was the highest corporate fundraising team, raising more than $150,000.
Monthly European log exports to China exceeded one million cubic meters in September and October, and now total more than North America's log exports to China this year. The rapid increase is a result of a huge timber salvage program in Europe due to the swift expansion of the bark beetle infestation as well as storm-damaged timber.
Since November 1, the emerald ash borer has expanded into eight more U.S. counties. The pest has been detected in all eastern states in the U.S., except for Mississippi and Florida, and all eastern Canadian provinces. Its territory reaches as far west as Colorado.
The Association of Manufacturers of Plywood Board (AEFCON) in Spain predicts that beginning in 2020, there will not be enough wood harvested in the country to supply local industry and that the situation will continue to worsen through 2023.
Source: Propopulus (Twitter)
In the past two months, two more Romanian foresters - both working to curb illegal logging - have been murdered. Several thousand Romanians protested in Bucharest and across the country to demand a halt to illegal logging. Watch the video for more about the alleged widespread corruption that allows logging in a protected Romanian national forest.
Researchers in British Columbia have published a report assessing the potential of producing liquid fuels from forest residues. A consortium of aviation industry stakeholders has been working on refining several different biocrudes derived from wood into viable liquid fuels with a lower overall carbon footprint than the petroleum equivalents.
Happy New Year!
We will see you in 2020.
Source: The History Press, https://twitter.com/hashtag/WomensTimberCorps