In the seven months of 2024 UK import volumes were 2.8% lower than over the same seven months of 2023, according to the Timber Development UK (TDUK).
Imports of the main timber and panel products in the month of July 2024 were 2.9% higher than in July 2023. This was the second consecutive month in 2024 that volumes have been higher than in the corresponding months of the previous year.
Growth of import volume of 0.5% in June 2024 was followed by a 2.9% uplift in July. The cycle of ‘lower/higher’ each consecutive month was broken in July.
Image: Timber Development UK
Imports in each of the months of the second half of 2023 were comparatively weak, suggesting that if the progression for the remainder of 2024 repeats the performance of the last two months, import volumes would exceed those of 2023.
The deficit in import volume between January and May 2024 of 4.3% reduced to 3.6% by June and has fallen once more to just 2.8%, as mentioned above. Improved volumes of softwood, particleboard and OSB over the last few months have been largely responsible for the reducing deficit with softwood imports by the end of July 2024 just 1% behind the volume of the seven months to July 2023.
