International Marketing Practices

relatively short time, Vietnam has become a major importer of hardwood lumber, moving ahead of both Italy and the U.S.

Table 5. Top five hardwood lumber importing and exporting countries, 2007-2017 in thousand m 3 [32].

Imports

Exports

2007 (27,905)

2017 (38,402)

2007 (23,188)

2017 (25,875)

China Italy

4,366 China 1,593 Vietnam

12,647 United States 2,746 United States 4,505

1,618 Malaysia 914 Brazil 723 Germany 713 Thailand

2,481 Thailand 1,699 Malaysia 1,041 Russia 973 Croatia

4,381 2,163 1,678 1,022

United States 1,227 Thailand

Canada Germany

1,103 United States

979 Italy

In 2017, the United States exported 4.5 million m 3 of hardwood lumber [8], a 14% increase from the previous year and 62% more than 2007 (Table 6). China was the chief market for U.S. hardwood lumber, absorbing 54% of all U.S. exports by volume and 57% by value, followed by Canada and Vietnam [8]. Red oak, yellow- poplar, white oak, and ash made up 70% of all hardwood exports [8]. Imports of hardwood lumber fell by one-third from 2007 to 2017. A majority of hardwood lumber imports to the U.S. (46%) originated in Canada. Ecuador, Brazil, and Cameroon were the most important sources of tropical lumber for the U.S. in 2017, largely importing balsa, sapelle, and ipe [8].

Table 6. Top five U.S. hardwood lumber trade partners, 2007 and 2017 [8]. All quantities in thousand m 3 .

Imports

Exports

2007 (1,229)

2017 (836)

2007 (2,746)

2017 (4,458*)

Canada

481 Canada 138 Brazil 84 Germany 72 Ecuador

382 Canada 88 China 73 Mexico

834 China 499 Canada 237 Vietnam 209 Mexico

2,416

Brazil

549 444 309 104

Uruguay Ecuador Germany

63 Italy

63 China

40 Vietnam

160 U.K.

*Difference with total U.S. exports as shown in in Table 5 due to differences in data sources.

In 1963, 68% of hardwood lumber in the U.S. was consumed domestically for furniture and construction [33]. However, beginning in the 1990s, the United States has exported a growing percentage of output, increasing from 10% in 2000 to 20% in 2017 [32]. This is, in part, due to decreased domestic demand for “grade” lumber, as manufacturing of furniture, millwork, flooring, and other products moved from the U.S. to countries with lower costs and as substitute materials took market share away from solid wood (Figure 2).

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