F&W Forestry

When the Trump administration began imposing tariffs on Chinese products earlier this year— and China retaliated tit-for-tat—the U.S. wood products industry managed to stay out of the fray.

However, there was no escaping the third and latest round of Chinese-imposed tariffs, with forestry products hit hard with tariffs of five or 10 percent on hardwood and softwood logs, lumber, plywood, wood chips and more.

Even prior to the tariffs being imposed, the Hardwood Association reported that anticipation of the tariffs was having a negative impact on hardwood markets, resulting in a significant drop in timber prices.

TO SEE THE FULL ARTICLE IN THE FALL 2018 F&W FORESTRY REPORT, SUBSCRIBE NOW

While West Coast timber prices have recovered nicely, the South continues to wallow in an oversupply of sawtimber and low stumpage (standing timber) prices. But pine log exports to the Far East from Southern ports may offer new opportunities for forest landowners.

Marshall Thomas, F&W President, writes in his company’s summer newsletter that Southern exports to China nearly doubled in 2017 from the previous three years.

“We will have to wait to see if this trend continues, but it sure is heartening to see that we exported pine logs worth almost $350 million last year,” Thomas said. “That’s probably not enough to affect prices, but it is a step in the right direction.”

TO SEE THE FULL ARTICLE IN THE SUMMER 2018 F&W FORESTRY REPORT, SUBSCRIBE NOW

Posts

Trade War Hits U.S. Forest Products Industry

Log Exports To China Could Boost Southern Timber Markets