Japan Wood Products
Prices
Dollar Exchange Rates of
14th May 2010
Japan Yen 94.09
Reports From Japan
Tropical logs
Prices for tropical logs in Japan have risen due to the higher FOB prices being demanded by suppliers and because of increased freight costs.
Market prices for Sarawak Meranti Regular are currently around Yen 6,400-6,500 per koku CIF up Yen 100 from the level in April. Prices of Yen 5,400 for Meranti Small are also up Yen 100. The JLR is forecasting Meranti Regular prices as high as Yen 7,000 if the bullish attitude of suppliers continues.
Current FOB prices for Sarawak Meranti Regular are around US$195 per cu.m, up slightly from a month ago due to pressure from the suppliers who are still asking for a price of US$200. For Meranti, Small FOB prices are around US$165-168 per cu.m.
The JLR reports that the price difference between Regular and Small and Super Small Meranti logs is narrowing mainly due to the preference for Small and Super Small logs by the mills in Sarawak.
Kapur prices in Sabah are also climbing upward reaching US$280 as a result of increasing purchases from China and India.
Plywood mills in Japan utilising imported tropical hardwoods are maintaining much reduced production levels. The JLR says that, because plywood demand in Japan remains very subdued, mill output is only around 30% of full capacity.
Monthly consumption of tropical logs in Japan at around 45,000 cu.m remains unchanged from the previous month. However, log stocks have declined and some mills are actively purchasing tropical logs in spite of the higher prices being demanded.
Plywood
Prices for both domestically manufactured and imported plywood have risen slightly. The domestic softwood plywood market in particular has seen price increases largely due to the determination of manufacturers to push prices upwards.
12mm 3x6 panels were selling at Yen 700 per sheet but for May deliveries, the manufacturers have been demanding Yen 750 per sheet. The JLR reports that plywood inventories at the end of March were less than 162,700 cu.m, some 34% down compared to the level in March 2009 and almost 5% down on the level in February.
The availability of imported 2x6 coated formboard is said to be tight and prices have moved up to Yen 740-750 per sheet. 3x6 panels are selling at Yen 1,030-1,040 per sheet.
The JLR reports that prices for thin and medium thin panels are also moving up.
Supply of Chilean Radiata
The first shipment of radiata pine sawnwood from Chile since the early March earthquake has arrived in Japan. While the transport and shipping infrastructure in Chile had been badly damaged, the ports of Coronel and Lirquen are back in operation.
Japanese importers have been forced to look for alternatives sources of crating material and have increased imports of Radiata from New Zealand but at much higher prices than the Radiata from Chile.
The recent arrival in Japan of around 35,000 cu.m of Chilean Radiata will temporarily ease the shortage because inventories are still low and the demand is holding, says the JLR.
March housing starts
Total housing starts in Japan during March were 65,008 units, 2.4% less than in the same month a year earlier. However, the seasonally adjusted housing starts rose 7.6% from February.
The rate of housing starts has been negative over a year but the pace of decline has eased. The JLR reports that March building permits were 9% more than in March 2009 and have been increasing for the past five months.
Subsidies for energy saving
There are several energy saving measures being considered in Japan and one involves the insulation and construction industry, reports the JLR.
In support of the energy saving standard which came into force last year, the Japanese government is offering a subsidy of a maximum of Yen 300,000 if householders reform their homes to meet the new standard. When new homes are built to the current standard, homeowners can also benefit from a 1% reduction in the mortgage interest rate. The JLR reports that the government plans to make it compulsory for all newly built homes to meet the energy saving standard.
The tropical timber industry could benefit from the energy saving initiatives in Japan if the excellent thermal insulation properties of wood are promoted.
Formaldehyde standard
In 2003, the Japanese Building Standards Act set formaldehyde standards for housing components. This Act stipulates that emissions from building components such as plywood, fibreboard, particleboard and adhesives must meet the F4-star rating. In 2004, the JIS standard for formaldehyde emissions from furniture was introduced but in contrast to the standard for housing components, the JIS standard (JIS S1021-2004) only requires that furniture meet the F3-star rating, except in the case of some school furniture.
Members of the National Federation of Joinery Manufacturers in Japan have now started a voluntary labelling scheme to alert consumers that furniture made in Japan from locally manufactured panel products and low emission paints and adhesives are less than the minimum F3star emission levels as set in the JIS standard.
It is pointed out in the JLR that imported furniture has only to meet the lower F3-star rating as defined in the JIS standard on furniture.
Hardwood stock in the USA growing
The USA is the major hardwood exporter in the world. According to JLR, the American hardwood Export Council (AHEC) has indicated that the USA has a 10 billion cu.m hardwood standing stock with an annual growth at around 300 million cu.m, of which only around half is harvested annually.
AHEC is actively encouraging the US industry to acquire forest certification to secure its domestic and overseas markets.
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