The Global Sawlog Price Index (GSPI) increased to US$76.34/m3 in the 4Q/17, up 1% from the 3Q/17. This was the fourth consecutive q-o-q rise, with the GSPI beingup 9.8% in one year, Wood Resource Quarterly reported in its latest issue. Sawlog prices have gone up universally in US dollar terms in 2017, with the biggest growth occurring in Eastern Europe, the Nordic countries and in Western North America Sawlog prices in Europe were generally lower in the 4Q/17 (in Euro terms) after having reached a two year peak in the 3Q/17. In the 4Q/17, the European Sawlog Price Index (ESPI) fell 1.2% from the previous quarter.
Trade of softwood lumber reached an all-time-high in 2017 as demand for wood was strong in most key markets around the world. An estimated 126 million m3 of softwood lumber was shipped from forest- rich countries such as Canada, Russia, Sweden and Finland to markets with high consumption of lumber, including China, the US, the United Kingdom, Japan and Germany. US softwood lumber production in 2017 reached the highest level seen in ten years, with the biggest increase in the southern states. The strong market for lumber in the US led to record high lumber prices in both the US and Canada in late 2017 and early 2018. Finnish softwood lumber production reached a ten-year high in 2017. The higher production was driven by expanding lumber exports, particularly to China. Over the past two years, prices for imported softwood lumber to China have been steadily rising and reached the highest levels in three years in early 2018. The Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) lumber markets grew fast from 2007 to 2015, reaching a peak in 2015. Since then, import volumes have fallen by over 20% to an estimated nine million m3 in 2017. Although lumber imports to Japan fell in the 4Q/17, the total volume for the year was up slightly for the second consecutive year.
