Sales of appearance grade sawn softwood products covered by the Softwood Timber Data Series are continuing to decline, falling to just 5,195 m3 for the year to end November 2014 from a peak of 171,295 m3 in the year ended June 2005.
Reported sales hit their lowest monthly level in March 2014, at just 194 m3. It has been almost two years since the monthly total fell below 1,000 m3 for the first time. Leaving aside possible reporting issues, it seems unlikely that volumes will recover with trends shifting firmly away from what was once a significant component of the total market.
The chart below shows the reported sales of appearance grade sawn softwood since December 2010.
Fig 7
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