Australia’s imports of plywood lifted 39.4% in 2021, rocketing to a total 658,406 cubic meters (m3) for the year. In most respects, a big rise in imports is no shock. The rapid development of the giant housing pipeline has required supply of all materials to be supercharged. Source: IndustryEdge
However, as the first chart shows, the rise in total plywood imports has been stellar over the last year. As subscribers began examining the data late last week, IndustryEdge was asked to review the most recent import data – to check that the data was correct.
The data was, and is, accurate. The reason IndustryEdge was asked to check can be seen in the second chart: imports in November roared upwards to almost 79,000 m3 and in December were modestly lower at nearly 72,000 m3.
The chart also shows that although the average import price has suffered a little as volumes have grown rapidly, it was still at AUDFob923/m3 in December, stable with the price of a year earlier.
Though supplies of building materials, labour and other resources are very challenging right now, the current boom offers valuable insights. One of those for the plywood market is that in aggregate, Australia is highly dependent upon imported products to supplement local supply.
That is even more the case for other engineered wood products like LVL, CLT and Glulam. This data is perhaps giving the supply chain a clear indication of just how extensive that reliance can become.
More information is available at www.industryedge.com.au
