Russia has surpassed Canada to become the world’s largest exporter of softwood lumber in 2019 and is on track to ship almost 32 million m3 of lumber this year, representing 23% of globally traded lumber.  Lumber production has fallen in both the US and Canada in 2019 because of disappointingly low activity in the US housing market and meager demand for North American lumber in overseas markets.  Lumber import prices to China have fallen for three consecutive quarters and in the 3Q/19 hit their lowest level since 2016.  Germany’s ...