Japan Wood Products
Prices
Dollar Exchange Rates of
15th December 2008
Japan Yen 90.74
Reports From Japan
Southsea logs and lumber imports slump
Japan Lumber Journal reported on the regular meeting of
the Japan Southsea Lumber Conference in Tokyo, where
participants noted there were no Southsea logs arriving at
the Port of Tokyo in October, with only a port in Chiba
prefecture receiving a small amount of Southsea logs.
Buyers noted that supply conditions were difficult in
Malaysia due to poor weather, China continued to sustain
its purchases of logs and India’s buying trends continued
to be in a slump. Participants said that since supply for
logs was quite high in Japan, some shippers started their
holidays early, with others expecting new shipments of
logs to arrive again in February 2009. Overall, Southsea
log imports for October were down 31% from the previous
year’s levels. Arrival of lumber products was down 23.6%
for Malaysia, 20% for China and about 39% for Indonesia
when compared to the previous year. Japan Lumber
Reports indicated that prices for logs and lumber have
been falling across the board since mid-November.
October plywood imports show minimal growth
Japan Lumber Reports showed Japan’s October 2008
plywood imports growing only 3% from October 2007
levels (Figure 2). Recent articles in Japanese trade papers
have revealed a sense of crisis in the plywood market’s
conditions presently and in the near future. The Japan
Lumber Journal reported that October’s housing starts had
nearly increased 20% from the previous year’s levels and
anticipated Japan was on pace to meet the 1,100,000
housing unit level for 2008. JLJ noted that the market size
for housing renovation (which includes purchases of
furniture and interior goods) fell for the second straight
year, reaching a market size of about 4.7 trillion year
(about 3% up from the previous year).
|
Abbreviations
| LM Loyale Merchant, a grade of log parcel |
Cu.m
Cubic Metre |
| QS Qualite Superieure |
Koku 0.278 Cu.m or 120BF |
| CI Choix Industriel
|
FFR
French Franc |
| CE
Choix Economique |
SQ
Sawmill Quality |
| CS Choix Supplimentaire |
SSQ
Select Sawmill Quality |
| FOB Free-on-Board |
FAS Sawnwood Grade First and |
| KD Kiln Dry |
Second |
| AD Air Dry |
WBP Water and Boil Proof |
| Boule A Log Sawn Through and Through |
MR
Moisture Resistant |
|
the boards from one log are bundled |
pc per piece |
|
together |
ea
each |
| BB/CC Plywood
grades. Letter(s) on the left indicate face veneer(s), those on the right backing
veneer(s). Veneer grade decreases in order B, BB, C, CC, etc. |
MBF 1000 Board Feet
|
|
Plywood |
MDF Medium
Density Fibreboard |
| BF Board Foot |
F.CFA
CFA Franc
|
| Sq.Ft Square
Foot |
PHND
Pin hole no defect grade |
| Hoppus ton 1.8 cubic metres |
  Price has moved up or down |
|
|
|
