UK timber imports significantly slowed down despite local growth

According to a UK government report, in Q3 of 2024, the total timber import in the UK decreased by 1.2%. This has happened despite the slightly increasing import of oriented strand board (OSB) and engineered wood products (EWP). But what causes this situation, and how may it influence the global UK building market?

The main source: Timber imports slow

What is the reason for this situation?

The first reason for the decrease in imports is a slight price increase. According to the report, in the last 9 months of 2024, the average cost of timber and panel products slightly grew,  confirming the end of a sustained period of price volatility between 2000 and 2023. By the way, not all wood products increased in price. For example, the average cost of softwood and hardwood even started to decrease, but it did not have a great influence on the industry. 

The second reason is decreasing imports from “traditional markets” (it`s Sweden, Latvia, Finland, Germany, and the Irish Republic) and involving other countries. As you can understand, opening new markets requires building new logistics chains, which in turn requires more time. 

What is the current situation with timber?

Nowadays, the UK building market does not have a huge shortage of timber, but some problems already may exist. Timber Development UK head of technical and trade Nick Boulton said: “It’s encouraging to see prices continuing to stabilize, albeit at a low level, and the overall import deficit shrink to just 1.2%. Going forward there are likely even more significant challenges ahead for timber businesses, with softwood log availability and very low stocks being the most pressing on the agenda. While construction demand remains subdued, these issues have little visibility. However, as the housing and RMI markets push demand upward, buyers will become increasingly aware of the pressures in the system and should be careful not to assume current stable price levels can remain in the longer term. 

Fencyx, as one of the leaders in the UK building industry, follows this situation. From our side, we do not feel a strong shortage of wood products. That`s because our company has several different suppliers from Lithuania, Poland, Germany, Ukraine, and Middle East countries. Also, we have our logistical service and special conditions from manufacturers for the supply of their products.

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