Importation of logs to China jumped 76% in March with New Zealand and Australia increasing their shipments the most, reports the Wood Resource Quarterly.

The price discrepancy between overseas traded hardwood and softwood chips was at its greatest in February 2015 when compared to the prior twelve months, according to the FOEX Chip Price Indexes.

Pulp mills in the US South continued to have stable wood fiber prices in the 1Q/15 at levels lower than any other region in the country. The dramatic increase in chip prices in the Northwest during 2014 started to level off early in 2015, while tight fiber supply in both the Lake State region and in the Northeast resulted in upward price pressure, reports the North American Wood Fiber Review.

Prices for hardwood chips traded overseas increased 1.3% in January, 2015, but were still 5.8% lower than in early 2014, according to the FOEX PIX-HCG Index.

Sawlog prices were generally lower throughout the world in the 4Q as compared to earlier in the year.

Russian exporters of logs and lumber had a good opportunity to increase shipments given the much-depreciated Russian Ruble. But log exports declined last quarter, and softwood sawlog exports rose just 2 to 3% in the 4th quarter of 2014. But 2015 should see increases.

Softwood log imports to China slowed in the 4Q/14, but 2014 was still a record year with the import value surpassing 5.4 billion dollars, reports the Wood Resource Quarterly.

Sawlog prices were generally lower in the 3Q/14 than in the same quarter in 2013 in most of the major log-consuming regions of the US and Canada, according to the North American Wood Fiber Review (NAWFR).

Ships carrying overseas shipments of wood chips, which account for about 70 account of global wood chip trade, are being updated, with Japan and China being the major builders of the specialty vessels, as well as the wood chip's destinations.

While hardwood fiber costs have fallen substantially over the past few years, softwood prices continue to remain stable.