Substantial disruption of worldwide lumber shipments

Lumber, Boards, Timbers
1

Timber Exchange reports…

The global lumber market worsened due to Ukraine’s war and Western sanctions.

  • The exports of forest products from Russia, and Belarus, lowered due to the war in Ukraine, which were valued at $17 billion in 2021.
  • The Russian forest industry will struggle to source parts, equipment, and finance.
  • The disruption in trade impacted global markets because the three countries (Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine) accounted for 25% of worldwide lumber shipments last year.
  • Russian and Belarusian companies are having problems in making financial transactions and securing credit due to the change in the title of their forest products to “conflict timber.”
  • The label “conflict timber”, restricts exports of Russian lumber to furniture manufacturers in China which export authorized products to Europe and North America.
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Wow! “Conflict Timber” is quite the title.

@David_Bagdy given the difficulty in tracing supply sources, do you think these restrictions will be upheld and enforced by Europe and North America, and followed by Chinese manufacturers?

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To some extent yes. We already know that there is much less Russian wood flowing to these markets. What is significant is the fact that lumber shipments from Ukraine, Belarus and Russia accounted for 25% of last year’s lumber shipments. Currently, shipments from these three countries have dramatically decreased. The impact of less supply will be felt.

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