Prices of raw materials are rising all over the world. From Europe to America, in fact, the problems in finding the materials of the last year are making themselves felt every day. And the United States is no exception. In fact, Us timber prices reached unprecedented highs in the second quarter of 2021.
USA
Us lumber prices reached unprecedented highs in the second quarter 2021. For example, the costs for 2×4 framing pine lumber in the Us South averaged almost $800/m3 in May, up from$210/m3 as recent as February 2020 and nearly four times as much as the 20-year average price for southern yellow pine. The costs for sawlogs, typically accounting for 60-70 percent of the production costs when manufacturing lumber, have seen only relatively small adjustments throughout the first half of 2021 in the key lumber-producing regions of North America, according to the Wood Resource Quarterly. The favorable lumber price/sawlog cost ratio has resulted in record-high profits for lumber companies across the continent.
CANADA
Canadian lumber prices have spiked similarly to Us prices, with record highs in May followed by sharp declines during June through August. Canada and the Us reduced lumber exports overseas in the first half of 2021 due to the strong Us lumber market. The most significant decline came in North American shipments headed to China, which fell from over 1.9 million m3 in the first half 2020 to only 820,000 m3 in the 1H/21.
Two of the four largest lumber exporters in Europe, Sweden, and Germany increased their shipments substantially during the first six months of 2021 compared to the same period in 2020. The significant rise in exports from Sweden and Germany was in sales to the Us. Both countries have benefited from not only larger export volumes but also substantially higher lumber prices. In May 2021, average export prices for Sweden and Germany were up 83 percent and 93 percent from May 2020, respectively. The most significant changes in trade by the major European lumber exporters in 2021 have been increases in intra-continental sales and a decline in shipments to China, the US, and the Mena region. Softwood lumber imports to China fell by 24 percent y-o-y in the first half of 2021. Although importation rose in the second quarter, the first half 2021 import volume has been the lowest first half in six years.
