Red Sea situation hampers Europe’s plywood market; Russian birch ply still present

A UK plywood importer and distributor, who also sells into Ireland and other EU markets, concurred with EU counterparts that the market has been ‘very depressed with poor sales and low margins. At the same time costs have been increasing. “We’ve seen our freight rates from Asia rising by 600% to 800% due to the Red Sea Suez situation. Our shippers are now diverting around the Cape, so deliveries are also taking longer,” they said. “Additionally, poor log supply due to the rainy season has also pushed up FOB price levels on Malaysian and Indonesian plywood. In response ...