In the first half of 2015, US softwood lumber exports to China dropped nearly 50% to 247,290 cubic metres, valued at US$64 million, as compared to the corresponding period of 2014.<\/p>\n
According to the\u00a0US Softwood Export Council (SEC), YoY American softwood lumber shipments to India increased 52% in volume (to\u00a028,696 cubic metres) and 57% in value (to US$6.5 million).<\/p>\n
Despite China's economic slowdown, the country remains the world's top importer of softwood logs, importing a total value of US$5.4 billion in 2014, says SEC. Imports of softwood lumber were valued at US$3.8 billion, just behind the US, the\u00a0world number one importer, at US$5.2 billion.<\/p>\n
Overall, the US softwood industry exports saw a YoY decrease of 18% in value to US$454 million while lumber volume declined 15% YoY to 1.66 million cubic metres. Southern Yellow Pine surpassed Douglas Fir in exports as the leading softwood lumber species at $130 million while Douglas Fir dropped nearly 32% from $150 to $100 million in value.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"