European lumber exports have emerged as the success story of 2023 thus far

A record pace in European softwood lumber exports to the US through April spearheaded a worldwide expansion in overseas shipments from the continent that may be unprecedented. US imports from the European Union soared to 772 million board feet through the first four months of 2023, according to statistics from the US Foreign Agricultural Service. That’s up 28% from last year’s pace, when shipments for the full year climbed to a record 2.03 billion board feet, surpassing the previous high set in 2005. The record pace, however, is somewhat skewed. The chart shows that European ...