Japan Wood Products
Prices
Dollar Exchange Rates of
15th September 2008
Japan Yen 104.88
Reports From Japan
Imported plywood market firms up
Japan Lumber Reports said that prices for imported
plywood had firmed since June despite weak demand.
Some Japanese plywood companies have commented that
prices hikes should be gradual, as distributors selling
plywood at higher prices have been facing difficulties. The
Japan Lumber Journal also noted that demand for
softwood and hardwood plywood had picked up in recent
weeks, although supply of logs from the Southsea areas
will prove difficult, as rising production costs have led
some Malaysian producers to curtail production of certain
types of plywood.
Housing starts show year-on-year rise of 19%
Japan Lumber Reports posted July’s year-on-year gains
for housing starts (Figure 1) and a 6% rise in plywood
imports (Figure 2). The gains were seen in contrast to last
year’s figures, when housing starts and plywood imports
began to fall as a result of Japan’s revised Building
Standards Act. JLR indicated that building permits for July
were up 55% from July 2007 and were 5.5% greater than
in June 2008.
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