News in international markets

Metsä Wood completed statutory negotiations in Finland and Estonia, reducing 100 positions and reorganizing operations affecting 72 employees.

MEDITE SMARTPLY will invest €75 million in its Clonmel, Ireland, MDF facility, upgrading infrastructure and transitioning fully to renewable biomass.

Total UK timber and panel imports fell 1.3% in Q1, as softwood, hardwood plywood, particleboard, MDF, and LVL gained but plywood and OSB declined, TDUK reported.

Unilin Panels plans to invest more than €100 million to upgrade its Oostrozebeke particleboard facility, with operations expected by 2029.

Brazilian exports of wood-based products totaled US$312.3 million in April, down 1.8% from a year earlier, ITTO reported.

China imported 4.865 million cubic meters of timber in April, down 6.8% year-over-year, although US log shipments surged 78%, Interior Daily reported.

Forest fires linked to the war in Ukraine have destroyed 165,000 hectares and caused more than US$22.6 billion in damages, UNN reported.

Interest in Swedish pine dimensional lumber for structural applications is growing as sawmills and builders seek greater flexibility in raw materials.

Germany’s timber industry business climate indicator improved slightly in April, although companies remained pessimistic about the next six months.

Spanish cooperatives LANA and Etorki merged to expand radiata pine processing and raise annual sawn timber capacity to 300,000 cubic meters.