KUCHING: The United States of America’s imports of sawn tropical hardwood has continued to drop, impacting key suppliers like Malaysia.
In September 2024, US imports of sawn tropical hardwood fell by 19 per cent after a 14 per cent drop in August.
“The 12,198 cubic metres (cu m) of tropical hardwood imported in September was 32 per cent less than that imported in September 2023, and was the lowest volume imported in any month so far this year,” according International Tropical Timber Organisation (ITTO) Tropical Timber Market Report (November 1-15, 2024), which quoted data from US Department of Agriculture, Foreign Trade Statistics.
The world’s largest economy’s shipments of tropical hardwood from top trading partners Brazil and Indonesia were down 11 per cent and 13 per cent respectively while imports from Malaysia and Cameroon plunged by 65 per cent and 29 per cent respectively. Imports of Ipe (-31%) and Sapelli (-24%) both fell sharply for the second consecutive month.
“Imports from, Cameroon rose 72 per cent in September and were up 81 per cent for the year so far. Imports from most other trading partners fell sharply for the month but remain ahead of last year’s pace through September.
“Canada’s imports of sawn tropical hardwood tell a similar story, falling 19 per cent in September after falling 13 per cent in August. Despite the drop, the month’s imports were 23 per cent above those of last September,” said the report.
In the first nine months of 2024 (9m2024), US reported a 10 per cent decline in the imports of tropical hardwood to 136,428 cu m from a year ago. Shipments from Malaysia sank 42 per cent to 12,161 cu m, the worst hit among the key supplying nations, while imports from Indonesia fell four per cent to 20,400 cu m. US imports from Brazil and Republic of Congo rose two percent and five per cent to 37,909 cu m and 12,482 cu m respectively in 9m2024.
On hardwood plywood, the official data showed that US imports of the product dipped by four per cent in volume for the second consecutive month in September.
The 201,955 cu m of plywood imported was, however, 11 per cent more than the volume imported in September 2023 as imports did not decline as steeply as they do historically in early autumn.
“Despite the loss of volume, the dollar value of imports rose 4 per cent over the previous month. Imports from China contracted by 41 per cent in September and are down 22 per cent for the year while imports from most other top trading partners are up sharply for the year.
In 9m2024, US increased imports of hardwood plywood by eight per cent to 2,030,942 cu m as compared to that of 9m2023.
Vietnam, the No 1 supplier, increased its shipments by 71 per cent to 545,311 cu m to US while Indonesia’s shipments surged by 29 per cent to 486,715 cu m.
Cambodia and Malaysia also registered sharply higher export volume to US by 25 per cent and 67 per cent to 102,967 cu m and 66,985 cu m respectively in 9m2024. China’s shipments to the US plunged by 22 per cent to 27,943 cu m in 9m2024.
On tropical hardwood veneer, the report said a 29 per cent decline in imports by US in September was hardly good news but it was not as bad as it may appear as September is usually a slow month for these imports.
Over the past five years, imports for September had plunged to nearly half to a third of what they had been in August, so the loss of 29 per cent this September was minor.
“This is reflected in the fact that the month’s imports were 6 per cent above those of September 2023. Imports from China were especially robust, rising to their highest level since last October. Total veneer imports for the year were 13 per cent below that of 2023 through September.”
On the other hand, US imports of hardwood flooring climbed by 17 per cent in September after falling to a three-year low in August. Even with the gains, imports for the month came in eight per cent lower than September 2023.
“A 26 per cent increase in imports from Indonesia helped fuel the gain while imports from China, Malaysia, Vietnam and Brazil all trended downward. Total imports of hardwood flooring are down 13 per cent versus last year for the year so far.”
On assembled flooring panels, US reported a further increase in imports by seven percent in September against that of August,and this was the fifth monthly gain in the last six months. Imports from top-supplier Canada grew by 50 per cent while shipments from Indonesia jumped by 92 per cent. Total imports continued to strongly outdo last year, up 36 per cent over 2023 figures through September.
In 9m2024, US registered a 36 per cent jump in the import value of assembled flooring to about US$247.8 million. Shipments from Canada expanded by 39 per cent to US$52.66 million, from Vietnam surged 53 per cent to US$51.67 million and from Thailand soared 218 per cent to US$34.48 million. Indonesia, on the other hand, reported a 26 per cent drop in shipments to US worth US$13.31 million in 9m2024.
On hardwood mouldings, US reported a robust import of the product, surging 16 percent in September to hit their highest level since September 2022. At over US$16 million, the total for the month was 33 per cent better than that of a year ago. The gain was fueled by a 22 per cent rise in imports from top-supplier Canada and a 93 per cent leap in shipments from Brazil.
“Despite the rally, imports from Brazil are still down 45 per cent (in 9m2024) versus last year as Canada continues to gain market share. Total US imports of hardwood moulding are up 27 per cent versus 2023 through September,” said the ITTO report.
In September, US also increased the imports of wooden furniture, up six per cent from August. The gain pushed imports to their highest level since September 2022, which was the last time monthly imports were above US$2 billion.
“The US$1.85 billion of wooden furniture imported in September, while not quite back to 2022 levels, was an impressive 19 per cent better than September of last year. Imports from Vietnam and Canada were both up 14 per cent while imports from India and Indonesia both rose more than 25 per cent. Total imports of wooden furniture for 2024 so far are up 7 per cent over 2023.”
On sales in the domestic market, the ITTO report quoted the latest survey by Smith Leonard as saying that on a seasonally adjusted basis, US reported a 1.4 per cent decline in the sales of furniture at home furnishing stores in September from August, and down 2.2 per cent from September 2023. Sales were also down 5.1 per cent for year-to-date September 2024 compared to the same period in 2023 on an unadjusted basis.
“New orders for residential furniture dropped 7 per cent in August compared to 2023 figures, continuing the trend of year-over-year decline in growth, according to the October issue of Furniture Insights. Approximately 40 per cent of the survey participants reported increased orders in August comparted to a year ago,” said ITTO.
