28 June 2017 | US South grows log exports to China

Sharp increase in log exports from US South to China in early 2017; future growth will be tough –

Total southern yellow pine log exports from the US South to China in 2017-Q1 were 204,000 m3, nearly double the previous first quarter peak in 2015. Even more impressive was that the share of US log exports to China coming from the US South increased from only three percent in 2016, and jumped to 21 percent in 2017-Q1, an all-time record. China’s import demand for softwood logs and lumber were surprisingly strong in early 2017. Log imports were 20 percent higher than in 2016-Q1, and lumber imports were up 24 percent over last year. More than 90 percent of China’s softwood log sources are from five countries: New Zealand, Russia, US, Australia and Canada.

Until recently, Ukraine has been by far the major “Other Supplier” to China, with volumes of pine log exports to China exceeding 1 million m3 in several recent years, and accounting for as much as 4.4 percent of China’s total softwood log imports (in 2014).
However, Ukraine has now banned log exports, starting with hardwood logs in 2015. Since January 1, 2017, exports of unprocessed pine logs are also prohibited. The US South has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of the decline in log shipments from Ukraine.
The main shipping method for logs from the US South to China is using containers.