KUCHING: Many Japanese floor manufacturers have shifted to domestic plywood from imported hardwood plywood for their production activities due to unstable supply of imported plywood.
Domestic plywood and medium density fibreboard (MDF) used to produce composite floorings increased by 2.9 percent to more than 16.4 million square metres in 2018 from 2017 because of unstable supply of imported plywood, according to Japan Lumber Reports (JLR) in its latest publication.
Japan sources its hardwood plywood mainly from Malaysia and Indonesia.
JLR has said recently that some of the plywood mills in the two countries had failed to deliver on time the contractual volumes to Japanese importers due to shortage of logs that had adversely affected their production activities.
“Base material of imported plywood for wood veneer surface is 36 percent but the production dropped largely to 8,456,900 square metres (in 2018).
“Meantime, the majority of base materials of decorative surface sheet is a combination of imported plywood and MDF, the production of which increased to 13,769,580 square metres or 42 percent more; while the combination of domestic plywood and MDF also increased to 11,023,980 square metres or 4.8 percent more.
“Demand for composite base materials with low cost and stable supply has been increasing after South Sea (tropical) hardwood plywood supply tightened and the prices soared,” said JLR, the latest publication of which is reproduced in the International Tropical Timber Organisation (ITTO) Tropical Timber Market Report (March 16-31, 2019).
According to JLR, the movement of both domestic and imported plywood is getting slower now.
“Imported plywood cost continues (to be) high, so both domestic and imports have no room to reduce the prices.
“In imported plywood, market prices of thin and medium thick panel are weakening after the export prices softened.
“Some dealers are offering lower prices on 12mm thick panel in the stagnant market but majority of inventories are high priced items now, so it is unlikely that large volumes at low prices will be offered.
“The importers are well aware that 12mm panel export prices continue to be firm and strong, so they need to maintain present sales prices. Facing higher export prices, the importers are not able to go after future cargoes,” it added.
On Japan’s housing starts in February-2019, the country’s Finance Ministry figures shown that it rose by four percent year-on-year to 71,966 units, the third consecutive year-on-year rise.
The increase was led by higher starts for owner-occupied homes and apartment blocks.
The housing starts determine the demand on construction materials, like plywood.
