japan

Slight increase in softwood lumber imports

Article by Martina Nöstler (translated by Eva Guzely) | 30.01.2023 - 09:37

Last year, Japan imported slightly more softwood lumber than in 2021. While imports from Canada decreased significantly, those from Sweden, Finland and Austria, for example, saw double-digit increases.

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Last year, Japan imported just under 4.74 million m³ of softwood lumber, as data published by Statistics of Japan show. Compared to 2021, this is a slight increase of 1% or around 48,000 m³. Since 2000, Japanese softwood lumber imports have nearly halved. At the time, they had totaled over 8.8 million m³.

Shipments from Canada fell by 24% to 932,000 m³, dropping below the 1 million m³-mark for the first time. As you can see in our Datacube, around 2 million m³ were imported each year from 2015 to 2017. In 1999 and 2000, Japan even bought 4.5 million m³ a year from Canada.

Double-digit increases, on the other hand, were recorded in softwood lumber imports from Sweden (847,000 m³; +12%), Finland (842,000 m³; +16%) and Austria (319,000 m³; +38%). Shipments coming from Germany doubled compared to 2021, reaching a total of 120,000 m³.