22 | Opinion: 2022 Predictions


So there’s a danger of over-exploiting certain species to the exclusion of a fantastic selection of other timbers. By limiting our offer and, because we’re not able to put all our stock in the shop window, it’s also limiting our growth prospects. While the oak ‘brand’ is strong, not all consumers go shopping for furniture in a specific wood. We believe they are open to persuasion on species.


Empowering the market with hardwood choice


DAVID VENABLES AMERICAN HARDWOOD EXPORT COUNCIL EUROPEAN DIRECTOR


It’s been another year of extraordinary challenges for the timber sector – soaring prices, extreme freight rates and constrained supply. But to paraphrase Churchill, while the pessimist sees a challenge in every opportunity, an optimist sees an opportunity in every challenge. And at AHEC we see opportunities for US hardwoods in these exceptional times. Notably we believe there’s never been a better chance to grow the business and increase its resilience, while simultaneously increasing the sustainability of the resource and strengthening its environmental credentials, by diversifying the range of species on the market. Demand for American hardwood in the


first 10 months of 2021 was exceptional and especially in the UK. In fact, it accounted for a record 37% of European imports. Its total was up 81% on the same period in 2020 to 135,000m3


. That’s already higher than


any full year in the last three decades. UK white oak volumes doubled, while tulipwood imports rose 78%. At the same time, although the US hardwood resource is vast and mills have the ability to ramp up output in response to circumstance, availability was an issue and prices surged. Rising global demand, of course, contributed to supply issues. But another factor, which has been accentuated and spotlighted during the pandemic, is the trend in our sector over recent years to focus on an ever narrower range of timbers. We’ve got this wide portfolio of hardwood species, yet it’s been whittled down to only a few. Small surprise in the boom of last year that availability of white oak and walnut were an issue and costs increased significantly.


TTJ | January/February 2022 | www.ttjonline.com


Architects and designers, the people who ultimately lead fashion and shape demand, are also keen to broaden their species horizons. We’ve been working with specifiers on this for a number of years, recently focusing on red oak, cherry and maple. The creatives we are working with are really excited to try something that’s new to them and explore and develop the aesthetic and technical potential of different timbers. Critically, of course, there’s also never been a better time to put the environmental case, indeed the environmental imperative, for using a wider selection of US hardwoods, and indeed of all timbers, before specifiers, buyers and consumers. There’s an increasing understanding that using a wider spread of species, proportionate to what’s growing in the forest, makes most sustainable use of the resource and that focusing on a limited number must ultimately result in supply stress.


There is plenty of evidence that today’s consumers are increasingly concerned about the climate crisis and want to do the right thing by the environment. By offering them this option and the variety of wood the forest naturally produces, we empower them to do that.


Overall, we see a very positive outlook for hardwood, particularly in solid form, as environmental concerns lead us increasingly away from the throw-away culture and consumers increasingly choose quality products that last, for which hardwood is the ideal material. And the fastest way we’ll see growth as a sector in this evolving market is to expand the variety of species we offer. ■


There’s never been a better time


to put the environmental case, indeed, the environmental imperative. There’s an increasing understanding that using a wider spread of species, proportionate to what’s growing in the forest, makes most sustainable use of the resource and that focusing on a limited number must ultimately result in supply stress


Wood warehouses store potential


GARETH MASON STORA ENSO WESTERN EUROPE BUILDING SOLUTIONS SALES DIRECTOR


In regards to mass timber only, we saw a delayed, but minor impact from Covid-19. When the first lockdown started, construction sites that were already, or close to starting continued as planned. We saw little effect on import volume and did not stop any supply into the UK. However, once in lockdown we saw a slowdown in activity from developers and investors in particular and there was a short period where construction and mass timber requirement slowed.


But once restrictions began to ease, working from home became the new normal and the financial markets were more confident, construction began to quickly rise again. In fact, it saw a surge in demand as delayed projects looked to get back onto their original timelines.


While this led to some short-term issues of capacity, this is now under control and supply and demand are more balanced. We continued to supply mass timber to the UK throughout the lockdown, and this is testament to the hard work of the UK construction teams and our UK partners. Looking forward we see timber-based UK industrial buildings as a growth sector. While some countries have used timber for these for a long time, it’s a relatively new approach in this country. But we see increasing interest in sustainable industrial construction for projects such as logistics halls, data centres and delivery warehouses. We know the pandemic has driven a shift to more ecommerce, which ultimately increases demand on warehouse space – and with net zero targets as a backdrop, we expect more sustainable building materials to


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