Despite the COVID-19 pandemic and its bad consequences on trade, there are more positive signals to notice in the global lumber markets: a huge surge in demand in China, a booming demand and record lumber prices in US, while the European sawmills are taking advantage of both cheaper damaged logs, which make them more competitive, as well as of the surging demand in the US and China. 
China
In the 2Q 2020, China increased importation of softwood lumber by 42% quarter-on-quarter, reaching 7.1 million m3. This large increase followed a quarter where import volumes had fallen to a four-year low.
However, for the whole first half of the year, the imported