Lumber production in Canada surged by 21.8% from February to reach a total of 4,785.3 thousand cubic meters in March. Despite this positive growth, there was a decline of 5.4% compared to the production levels in March 2022, reports Statistics Canada.
In March, Canadian sawmills shipped 4,286.3 thousand cubic meters of lumber, marking an 18.5% rise from the previous month. However, when compared to March 2022, sawmill shipments experienced a modest decline of 3.9%.
While production and shipments demonstrated positive momentum in March, Canada’s lumber exports faced a downturn in the first quarter of 2023. Between January and March, the country’s exports of lumber decreased by 7.9% year-on-year, amounting to 7,640.2 thousand cubic meters. The value of these exports also plummeted significantly by 53.1% to $1,559.9 million.
According to Lesprom Analytics, the average price experienced a substantial decline of 49.1%, reaching $204.2 per cubic meter during the same period.