MEDIA RELEASE PR39230
Crow's Weekly Market Report Estimates 5% Reduction in Canadian Duties for Softwood
Lumber Could Save BC Producers $7.5m in May
BOSTON, April 22 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ --
Crow's Weekly Market Report (Crow's), today reported that as a result of
continually rising US lumber prices, the export duty for Canadian softwood
lumber has been lowered from 15% to 10% for the month of May. Crow's,
published weekly by RISI, the leading information provider for the global
forest products industry, indicated that this reduction is due to the terms
of the Softwood Lumber Agreement (SLA), which regulates the inter-country
trade of softwood lumber between the United States and Canada. Benefits to
Canadian producers go beyond the actual reduction in duty fees, as they now
are able to justify a corresponding 5% reduction in discounts that they had
previously been offering to Canadian customers. Key questions that US
producers are asking aloud, is whether or not Canadian producers will ramp up
production and flood the US market in an effort to capitalize on lower duties
while they last -- a possibility that if realized could send lumber prices
downward, something that neither Canadian nor US producers would like to see.
Gary Zauner, Editor of Crow's Weekly Market Report, commented, "Lurking
in the weeds is a threat that has the potential to wipe out any savings from
reduced duties, the exchange rate. This is important because within a very
short time, the savings from having to pay 5% fewer taxes could be all wiped
out." Zauner continued, "All we would need to see is a simple jump of 5 cents
in Canadian dollar strength and that entire $7.5 million in duty savings
would be gone. Of course, a simple swing of 5 cents in US dollar strength
would make those savings much greater."
About Crow's Weekly Market Report
Crow's Weekly Market Report -- part of the Crow's Market & Price Service
is the longest-running source of prices in the North American softwood lumber
and panel industry. Crow's provides objective wholesale pricing and detailed
market reports designed to give a quick but accurate understanding of each
week's market.
Crow's Weekly Market Report is published weekly. Yearly subscriptions are
available now for $595 -- to order or for more information, please visit
About RISI
RISI is the leading information provider for the global forest products
industry. The company works with clients in the wood products, timber, wood
biomass, pulp and paper, tissue and nonwovens industries to help them make
better decisions.
Headquartered in Boston (Bedford), Massachusetts, RISI operates offices
in Brussels, Belgium; Atlanta, Georgia; San Francisco, California; Portland,
Oregon; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Shanghai, China; Singapore; and Charlottesville,
Contact:
Dan Blenk
Director of Marketing
Wood & Timber Information
RISI
4 Alfred Circle, Bedford MA 01730 U.S.A.
Tel: +1-781-734-8942
Email: dblenk@risi.com
SOURCE RISI
CONTACT: Dan Blenk, Director of Marketing Wood & Timber Information of
RISI, +1-781-734-8942, dblenk@risi.com
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