Timber Update January 2022

• Global and EU-UK customs regulations saw various changes on 1st January 2022. The new requirements cover six areas, including new customs codes with Chapter 44 for wood products.
• A jump in construction output at the end of 2021 has shown that the sector is on an upward trend. Workloads increased by 3.5% in November compared to October, with the total activity for the month valued at £14.68 billion. This made November the highest monthly output since September 2019 and the first month to top the £14.48 billion record from February 2020, weeks before the UK went into lockdown.
• UK imports of construction materials increased by 10.7% to £532 million in Q3 of 2021, compared to the previous quarter.
• Container shipping costs will be higher in 2022 than ever before, even if spot rates soften, according to Xeneta chief analyst, Peter Sand.
• UK FIRES, the research organisation run by the Universities of Cambridge, Oxford, Bath, Nottingham, Strathclyde and Imperial College London, recently released its ‘Minus 45’ report which looks at how the UK’s emissions targets could be met. Its findings suggest that the Government’s ‘Net Zero Strategy’ will not be sufficient and therefore further action must be taken.

To find out how timber could help the UK achieve net zero, click here.

• After a year of near record imports in 2021, the Timber Trade Federation (TTF) reports that the timber industry is likely to see greater stability in 2022. Their latest statistics show that the volume of timber imported between January and October 2021 was 28% higher than the same period in 2020.
• The production of wood pellets in North America is causing controversy due to the way that the carbon emissions are counted. Although the majority of the wood pellets are sent to the UK to be burned for energy, the carbon emissions are accounted at the harvest site in North America, rather than the place where they are actually burned.
• Joe Sanderson of Domain Timber Advisors reports that lumber prices are at a 7-month high and are looking to stay elevated due to three key trends; millenials are reaching homebuying age, a rise in Canadian lumber tariffs and increased costs of raw goods.

To find out more about rising lumber prices, click here.

We offer a range of FSC® and PEFC™ certified timber for multiple uses. Our homegrown product, C16, is sourced from Ireland, while our C24 comes from Scandinavia and the Baltics. Both C16 and C24 are currently available in full, part and mixed loads in treated and untreated, for delivery across the UK.

Click here to request prices.

Using data from museums, botanical gardens, agricultural associations and a variety of other sources, a group of scientists have compiled a searchable online archive which includes over 60,000 tree species.

The data shows that Brazil, Columbia and Indonesia are home to the most amount of tree species, with each being home to at least 5,000. Nearly 60% of trees are native to just one country.

Click here to find out more.