Softwood lumber imports at last year’s level

Article by Martina Nöstler (translated by Eva Guzely) | 08.04.2024 - 09:06

In January and February, the US imported the same volume of softwood lumber as in the same period of last year. There were, however, big changes in the import volumes from the various supplying countries, such as Canada or Germany.

According to the FAS, the US’s imports of softwood lumber totaled just under 5.49 million m³ in January and February. Compared to the same period of 2023, when imports had amounted to 5.47 million m³, only a minimal increase was recorded.

What stands out is that softwood lumber imports from Canada increased by 9% to 4.54 million m³, while substantially smaller volumes were purchased from Germany (398,000 m³; -34%) and Sweden (148,000 m³; -22%). Imports from Brazil were more or less at the same level as year (92,000 m³), while those from Austria decreased slightly by 1% to 76,000 m³.

As always, you can track the development of US softwood lumber imports in our Datacube.