When you take a look at import figures going back to 2016, however, you can see that 2023 was the only year in that period in which smaller volumes of glue-laminated and cross-laminated timber were imported. Between 2016 and 2022, H1 import volumes ranged from 385,000 m³ (2016) to 493,000 m³ (2020).
All of the Top 3 supplying countries recorded increases in their shipments. In the months from January to June, Japan purchased 133,000 m³ (+2%) from Finland, its number one supplier. A bigger volume of laminated timber was also imported from Romania (41,000 m³; +8%). Austria was able to increase its shipments by around one quarter (35,000 m³; +26%), as figures published by Statistics of Japan show.
Japanese laminated timber imports from China doubled compared to the first six months of 2023 (22,000 m³; +113%). Marked increases were also recorded in purchases from Sweden (10,000 m³; +57%) and the US (194 m³; +341%).
Smaller volumes, on the other hand, were imported from Estonia (24,000 m³; -11%), Russia (20,000 m³; -7%) and Poland (16,000 m³; -16%).
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