japan

Softwood sawn timber imports fell

Article by Martin Heidelbauer (adapted for holzkurier.com; translated by Eva Guzely) | 20.07.2018 - 09:25

Japan imported 3% less sawn timber in the first five months of 2018. In May alone, quantities remained stable on last year’s level.

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From January to May 2018, Japan imported 2.51 million m³ of sawn timber. According to Statistics Japan, the overall volume decreased by 3% compared to last year. The country’s main suppliers Canada (762,000 m³; -4%), Finland (415,000 m³; -3%) and Sweden (337,000 m³; -2%) report drops. On the other hand, Japan bought more sawn timber from Russia (377,000; +0.5%), Chile (158,000; +45%) and the USA (83,000; +7%).

In May, Japan imported 571,000 m³ of sawn timber, i.e. 0.3% less compared to May 2017, and thus remained stable on last year’s level.

Japan sawn timber May 2018
Japan Imports of softwood sawn timber incl. planed goods (1,000 m³)
Country	Jan–May 2017	Jan–May 2018	Change in %
Canada	793	762	–4
Finland	427	415	–3
Russia	375	377	0.5
Sweden	343	337	–2
Chile	109	158	45
Austria	126	118	–6
USA	78	83	7
Romania	97	69	–28
Latvia	52	46	–12
Czech Republic	42	41	–3
Germany	75	33	–56
Other countries	66	67	1
Total	2,583	2,506	–3