2022: a challenging year

The timber industry experienced an interesting start to 2022 following the invasion of Ukraine and supply chain issues will continue as Timber Development UK’s latest market statement shows. CEO David Hopkins explains more.

TThe supply of raw materials has become more challenging, while the rising price of energy and its resulting impact on consumer confidence and spending is beginning to be reflected in industry forecasts for the year ahead. An immediate consequence of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in early 2022 was the widespread call to reduce and end Russian timber imports, and the industry responded quickly with most contracts now ended or approaching the end. We expect indirect Russian imports to be close to zero in mid- to end-Q3 as the remaining material is flushed out of the European supply chain.

Timber supplies

The volume of timber imported by the UK during Q1 2022 was 2.5 million m3, nearly half a million m3 behind the record imports of Q1 2021. However, this was still a higher volume than that seen in either 2018 or 2019. In fact, January, February and March 2022 all saw volumes increase over the previous month, reflecting the strong construction demand we still enjoyed in Q1. By April, import figures began to decline as demand slowed again. The invasion of Ukraine by Russia, inflation, downgrades to consumer confidence, and political instability in the UK are all beginning to have an impact on the market – which will likely begin to be strongly reflected in the overall supply picture in Q3 and Q4 2022.

Softwoods

Import volumes decreased by 24.8%, when comparing Q1 2022 to Q1 2021. Imports came primarily from Sweden, Latvia, Finland, Germany, and Ireland. The dominance of the softwood sector on the overall import picture is clear as, despite volume increases for both hardwoods and plywood, the loss of softwood volume remains the headline news.

Hardwoods

Import volumes increased by 29.9% in Q1 2022 compared to Q1 2021 to reach 162,000m3. Latvia has overtaken the US as the largest single supplying country of hardwoods, accounting for 24.6% of imports. This was largely due to their use in the pallet supply chain, where it has substituted for more expensive softwoods. France also overtook the USA in volume to account for 13.8% of the market, with USA falling to 8% by volume. However, the USA continues to lead all other countries by value – at £15m for 13,000m3 – with the lack of available supply imposing upwards price pressure on the smaller volume of available material.

Plywoods

Imports increased by 11.9% in Q1 2022 compared to the previous year, reaching 477,000m3. Hardwood ply volumes were driven mostly by China, which continues to be the dominant source of hardwood ply products. Russia’s prominence as a source of hardwood plywood has quickly fallen away since trade sanctions were introduced. Brazil, China and Finland continued to be the main sources of softwood plywood,

THE KING OF COMPOSITE

Don’t be fooled by a lesser product; since 1996, Trex has invented, defined, and perfected composite decking with a lineup of low-maintenance, high-performance products that fundamentally change the way we live outdoors.

Only The World’s Number One decking brand can claim all that.

Tiki Torch

One of 11 contemporary colours available.

Find out more. Call 01469 535 415, email trex@arborforestproducts.co.uk or visit www.arbordeck.co.uk

Claim your free sample pack: www.arbordeck.co.uk/samples

by

while supplies of particle board, OSB, and MDF remained relatively stable in Q1 2022.

Construction output reached a record high in Q1 2022, but this is unlikely to continue through the rest of the year due to several pressures, the most significant of which is inflation, which at 9.1% is at its highest rate for 40 years. This, the cost-of-living crisis and a drop in consumer and business confidence is all likely to reduce demand for construction projects and, therefore, materials. The Spring 2022 Construction Products Association (CPA) Forecast, released in May 2022, revised its construction output growth predictions down to 2.8% from the 4.3% predicted just a few months ago.

Roofing battens

These strips of wood that you find in-between the rafters on a roofing structure are a structural product that builders and tradespeople will often walk, sit or lean on while working on a roof – with obvious and potentially deadly consequences should the battens fail while in use. That’s why roof battens are subject to strict building standards and legislative requirements, both to deliver a quality finish to the final roof, and most importantly, to ensure the safety of construction workers while on site.

‘British Standard 5534:2014+A2:2018 Slating and Tiling for pitched roofs and vertical cladding. Code of practice’ sets out the requirements for roofing battens and specifies that only battens graded to BS 5534 can be called roofing battens or used as such. That’s why it is so important for merchants to check the quality and compliance of any roofing battens they stock.

While many manufacturers have added coloured dyes to the preservative treatment process, they use on their battens to distinguish them in the market (you may have seen gold, red or blue examples in your own stocks), these colours on their own are not enough to guarantee that the battens meet BS 5534 requirements. Instead, every batten must be indelibly marked showing that it is BS 5534 graded, its size, the supplier’s name, the timber species, and that it has been checked by a third-party certification scheme. All TDUK members who sell roofing/tiling battens and slatings participate in these independently audited quality assurance schemes so that you know you are buying a quality, fit-for-purpose product.

The full requirements for a batten to be graded can be found in Annex D of the standard. It sets out various factors ranging from knot size, frequency and position, to distortion, slope of grain, and other details. Size also matters here: battens must be a minimum size of 38mm x 25mm with very strict tolerances (50mm x 25mm when using slates) and yet we’ve seen examples of low-quality battens entering the market that are undersize, or that have the BS5534 stamp when they aren’t compliant with the standard.

Anything other than a fully graded BS5534 batten is simply a piece of sawn, treated timber and is not fit for purpose. If a merchant has any doubts about the grade of any roofing battens, they should check with the supplier and do their own due diligence, and not accept inferior products that do not meet the required standards.

More at  www.ttf.co.uk

Timco is regularly expanding its operations to cope with growing customer demand

 Supply chain issues to drive warehouse construction growth

New warehouses and infrastructure growth are expected to fuel a rise in construction output by 2.5% for 2022, according to the Construction Product Association’s latest forecast. The trade body predicts the industrial sector, covering warehouses and factories, to rise by 15% for 2022 and nearly 10% for 2023.

Construction Products Association, CPA, economics director Noble Francis said: “Activity continues to be boosted by the strength of online retailing as well as manufacturers’ need for increased stocks given the persistence of supply chain issues over the last two years.”

In Dublin, IPUT Real Estate recently pre-let the entirely of Quantum Logistics Park to a number of global logistics and retail businesses. The four unit 550,000sq ft park at Kilshane Cross has been let to global logistics integrator A.P. Moller-Maersk. Unit 4 at the business park will be the first net zero carbon logistics building in Ireland and will support Maersk with its aim of achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040. Simon Smith, country manager, Maersk Ireland said: “This is a really important next step for Maersk in the Irish market which allows us to add significant capabilities for our customers, as we continue to offer integrated end to end solutions for their supply chains. It is also with great pride that sustainability will sit out at the forefront of these facilities. For Maersk to be partnering on the first ever glulam timber framed facility to be built in this part of Europe, gives a strong signal of our commitment to our carbon zero goal.”

RACKINGSYSTEMS

DESIGN|MANUFACTURE|INSTALLATION

• Increasingstoragecapacityonsite. • Allowingaccesstoselectivestockandenablingstock rotation. • Reducingproductdamagefromstorageonthefloor. • Decreasingmaterialhandlingtimeandimprovingsite efficiency.

WWW.WICKENS.CO.UK

sales@wickens.co.uk|01905456780