As supply for hardwood lumber supplies grows, prices are expected to drop. However, China, poised to purchase record volumes of lumber, could absorb the additional hardwood supply.

Antidumping and countervailing duty orders have been finalized for multilayered wood flooring from China. The International Trade Administration published the final determination Dec. 8 in the Federal Register.

China increased its importation of wood chips in 2011, mainly from countries in Southeast Asia, in an effort to meet its growing need for wood fiber.

Many timber yards have reduced the number of thicknesses, grades and species of lumber that they inventory. Flooring plants were operating at modest production levels. China is stimulating domestic markets.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said 440 drop-side cribs made in China are being voluntarily recalled by Quebec furniture firm Dutalier Group.

The United States International Trade Commission (USITC) today determined that a U.S. industry is materially injured by reason of imports of multilayered wood flooring from China that the U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) has determined are subsidized and sold in the United States at less than fair value.

The U.S. International Trade Commission determined that the U.S. wood flooring market had been injured by the import of Chinese engineered wood flooring.

New Zealand timber exports are on schedule to hit a record high level, with almost one-third of the logs being processed at Chinese sawmills, according to a recent report by Wood Resource Quarterly.

By almost a 2:1 margin, the Senate last week passed the Currency Exchange Rate Oversight Reform Act of 2011, which should crack down on China’s artificial under-valuation of its currency and level the playing field for U.S. companies. The measure now goes before the House, where support is mixed.

A bipartisan group of senators has introduced legislation that it says will crack down on China’s artificial under-valuation of its currency and attempt to level the playing field for U.S. importers and exporters.