KUCHING: The United States has raised its imports of hardwood plywood by 38 per cent in July 2023 from the previous month, registering an increase for the fifth consecutive month.
July 2023’s plywood imports of 354,292 cubic metres (cu m) was 31 per cent higher than July 2022,making it the first time this year imports for a month surpassed that of the previous year.
Imports climbed from most trading partners, with shipments from top supplier Indonesia up 50 per cent to 50,269 cu m as compared to a year ago, according to data from US Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Statistics quoted by International Tropical Timber Organisation (ITTO) Tropical Timber Market Report (Sept 1-15, 2023).
Imports from Vietnam gained 30 per cent to 47,326 cu m and from China rose 27 per cent to 6,263 cu m.
However, US hardwood plywood imports from Malaysia dipped five per cent to 5,159 cu m in July 2023 from the previous month.
“Despite the upward momentum of late, imports from most countries remained down sharply year on year and total import volumes were down 42% through July,” said the report.
In July, US imports of tropical hardwood veneer and hardwood mouldings both bounced back from weak June numbers, with veneer rising 96 per cent and mouldings gaining 44 per cent.
Imports of sawn tropical hardwood continued their recovery and grew five per cent to 18,773 cu m in July from the previous month, and was the highest-volume month in 2023. However, as compared to July 2022, the import volume was off by 21 per cent.
Shipments of sawn tropical hardwood from Brazil and Ecuador both soared more than 60 per cent while imports from Indonesia surged over 50 per cent. “Imports were still trying to recover from a slow start to the year and were down 36% versus last year through July.”
Canadian imports of sawn tropical hardwood fell 19 per cent in July from the previous month. Despite the decline, imports still managed to outpace last July by 18.5 per cent.
On tropical hardwood veneer, US imports nearly doubled in July, rebounding from a disappointing June to reach their monthly highest level
In 2023, the 96 per cent jump in imports in July was contributed mainly by surging shipments from Cameroon (+147%) and India (+1,000%). As compared to July 2022, the total imports in July 2023 dropped 13 per cent.
“Italy has been the biggest supplier to the US by far in recent years but imports from Italy have fallen sharply this year. The 61% decline in imports from Italy in 2023 has been met with increases of 335% in imports from Cameroon, 128% in imports from Cote d’ Ivoire and 73 per cent in imports from China so far this year.
“(US) total imports of tropical hardwood veneer were relatively flat this year, up 2% over 2023 through July,” said ITTO report.
On assembled flooring panels, US imports rose for a fourth consecutive month, climbing seven per cent in July. Shipments surged from Indonesia and Thailand to more than make up for a 20 per cent drop in imports from top supplier Canada and a 38 per cent fall in imports from China.
“Despite the upward swing, July imports still trailed those of the previous July by 14%. Total year-to-date imports of assembled flooring panels are down 36% versus last year through July.”
On hardwood flooring, the report said US imports were flat in July, falling less than one per cent but were nine per cent lower as compared to July 2022. Imports from Malaysia fell by 42 per cent in July while imports from Indonesia, which have been strong all year, slipped 10 per cent.
On the other hand, Malaysia recorded a significant gain in the exports of hardwood mouldings to the US, by 39 per cent from a year ago.
“US imports of hardwood mouldings continued their upward and downward swings of the past few months, this time heading up 44% in July to recover from a slow June. July imports were 15.5% lower than the previous July despite the gain.
Besides Malaysia, shipments from Canada and China expanded 27 per cent and 26 per cent respectively in July. In first half of 2023, US total imports of hardwood mouldings fell by 32 per cent from the same period in 2022.
On wooden furniture, the ITTO report said US imports in July were valued at US$1.67 billion, down 20.5 per cent from July 2022. For the first seven months of 2023, the import value was down 28 per cent from the corresponding period in 2022.
Imports from most countries continued to remain flat, with the exception of Indonesia where US imports increased by 33 per cent in July after falling 30 per cent in June.
