US hardwood plywood imports declined again month-overmonth in March (-9%). A total of 234,473 cu.m. were imported in March, worth US$133.2 million, ITTO reported in its latest MIS.
Year-to-date import volumes were 2% higher than in March 2015, but the value in current US dollars was down 5%. The drop in imports was almost entirely in shipments from China, which fell by 29% to 112,275 cu.m. in March.
Imports from Indonesia, Malaysia and Russia increased from February. Plywood imports from Indonesia grew 22% from the previous month to 37,325 cu.m. Year-to-date import volumes from Indonesia were down 5% from March last year, but the value of imports grew 7% year-to-date.
Imports from smaller plywood suppliers to the US market expanded significantly in March, most notably from Spain (4,056 cu.m.), Uruguay (3,885 cu.m.) and Brazil (2,948 cu.m.).
