The U.S. Foreign Agriculture Service recently released the monthly export data for July 2024. And, while only 39% of U.S. hardwood lumber production is exported to other countries, it offers some insights related to global tastes and preferences for our region’s abundant hardwood resources.
We export more hardwood lumber than hardwood logs. Our hard wood lumber export volume tends to be about 1.6 times our volume of exported hardwood logs, meaning we’re adding value to a large proportion of our exported hardwood timber resource before sending it abroad, which is beneficial to our economy compared to simply only exporting logs.
- July 2024’s volume of U.S. hardwood exports is up 35% over the July 2023 figure. Meanwhile, lumber shipments are up 21% during the same timeframe. Average monthly unit-prices have been fairly stable for U.S. hardwood lumber exports (all species, combined) during the past few months, and declining for hardwood logs during the same period. These observations are illustrated in the two charts directly below.
- Trends in monthly shipment volumes and unit prices can vary widely for each individual species. Those species-trends are illustrated in the charts the follow, further below.
For local, custom analytics and market trends suited to your individual interests, please contact FORECON’s appraisal team at 716-664-5602. We’d love to provide you with a customized quote for analysis and insights to help you and your team.