LOS ANGELES
,
January 26, 2022
(Industry Intelligence Inc.)
–
North American structural panel production in Q4 2021 was 8.356 billion sq. ft. (bsf), down 0.2% from 8.376 bsf a year earlier, according to the latest quarterly Engineered Wood Statistics report from APA-The Engineered Wood Assn. Total structural panel production in 2021 was 34.075 bsf, up from 33.201 bsf in 2020. OSB output in Q4 was up 1.9% year-over-year to 5.903 bsf, while Q4 plywood production was down 5.1% year-over-year to 2.453 bsf. OSB production for 2021 in total was 23.819 bsf, up from 22.986 bsf in 2020. Plywood production for 2021 was 10.256 bsf, compared with 10.215 bsf a year earlier. Total U.S. structural panel production in 2021 was 23.974 bsf, up from 23,820 bsf in 2020. In Q4, 2021, structural panel manufacturers in the U.S. produced 5.863 bsf, down from 5.902 bsf in Q4 2020, and down from Q3’s 5.920 bsf. U.S. OSB production in Q4 totaled 3.847 bsf, up from 3.827 bsf in Q4 2020 and down from Q3’s 3.930 bsf. U.S. plywood production in Q4 totaled 2.016 bsf, compared with 2.075 bsf a year earlier and 1.990 bsf in Q3. For 2021 as a while, Canadian structural panel production was 10.101 bsf, up from 9.381 bsf in 2020. In Q4, 2021, Canadian structural panel manufacturers iproduced 2.493 bsf, compared with 2.474 bsf a year ago and 2.506 bsf in Q3. Canadian OSB production in Q4 was 2.056 bsf, up from 1.965 bsf a year earlier and down from 2.083 bsf in Q3. Canadian plywood mills in Q4 contributed 437 million sq. ft. (mmsf) to total North American plywood production, down from 509 mmsf in Q4, 2020 and up from 423 mmsf in Q3. Consumption Apparent consumption of North American structural panels for 2021 as a whole was 36.397 bsf, up from 34.715 bsf in 2020. Total U.S. consumption in 2021 was 32.644 bsf, up from 31.207 bsf a year ago, and total Canadian consumption in 2021 was 3.753 bsf, up from 3.508 bsf. Total North American plywood consumption in 2021 was 12.216 bsf, up from 12.025 bsf in 2020, and total OSB consumption in 2021 was 24.181 bsf, down from 22.690 bsf in 2020. Apparent consumption of North American structural panels in Q4 was 8.920 bsf, up from 8.889 bsf a year earlier, and down from Q3’s 9.154 bsf. Apparent North American plywood consumption in Q4 at 2.835 bsf was down from 3.147 bsf a year ago and down from 2.991 bsf in Q3. Apparent North American OSB consumption in Q4 was 6.085 bsf, up from 5.742 bsf a year ago and down from 6.163 bsf in Q3. Of total Q4 North American structural panel consumption, the U.S. accounted for 8.035 bsf of consumption, up from 7.866 bsf in Q4 2020 and down from 8.269 bsf in Q3. Canadian panel consumption in Q4 accounted for 885 mmsf, down from 1.023 bsf a year earlier and flat compared with Q3. Apparent Q4 consumption of plywood in the U.S. was 2.408 bsf, compared with 2.638 bsf in Q4 2020 and 2.559 bsf in Q3. Apparent U.S. OSB consumption in Q4 was 5.627 bsf, up from 5.228 bsf a year earlier and down from 5.710 bsf in Q3. Apparent Q4 consumption of plywood in Canada was 427 mmsf, down from 509 mmsf a year ago and down from 432 mmsf in Q3. Apparent Q4 consumption of OSB in Canada was 458 mmsf, compared with 514 mmsf a year ago and 453 mmsf in Q3. North American offshore imports of structural panels in 2021 as a whole totalled 2.943 bsf, up from 2.112 bsf in 2020. Of the 2021 total, plywood imports accounted for 2.254 bsf, up from 1.989 bsf in 2020, and OSB imports accounted for 689 mmsf, up from 123 mmsf in 2020. North American offshore imports of structural panels in Q4 totaled 742 mmsf, up from 655 mmsf in Q4 2020 and down from 898 mmsf in Q3. Of the Q4 total, plywood imports accounted for 479 mmsf, down from 616 mmsf a year ago and down from 669 mmsf in Q3. OSB imports in Q4 accounted for 263 mmsf, up from 39 mmsf in Q4 2020 and up from Q3’s 229 mmsf. U.S. structural panel imports in Q4 from countries including Canada totaled 2.333 bsf, up from 2.111 bsf in Q4 2020 and down from 2.524 bsf in Q3. Canadian structural panel imports in Q4 from countries including the U.S. accounted for 95 mmsf, from 99 mmsf a year ago and down from 120 mmsf in Q3. U.S. plywood exports in 2021 as a whole totalled 524 mmsf, up from 343 mmsf in 2020, with Q4 plywood exports at 126 mmsf, up from 94 mmsf a year ago. Canadian plywood exports in 2021 totalled 320 mmsf, up from 284 mmsf in 2020, with Q4 Canadian plywood exports at 84 mmsf, up from 67 mmsf in 2020. U.S. OSB exports in 2021 totalled 174 mmsf, down from 215 mmsf a year ago, and Q4 U.S. OSB exports were 35 mmsf, down from Q4 2020’s 56 mmsf. Canadian OSB exports in 2021 totalled 6.563 bsf, up from 5.955 bsf in 2020, with Q4 Canadian OSB exports at 1.6189 bsf, up from 1.482 bsf in Q4 2020. North American glulam production in 2021 totalled 314.9 million board ft. (mmbf), up from 286.7 mmbf in 2020. North American glulam production in Q4 totaled 77.0 mmbf, up from 68.8 mmbf in Q4 2020 and down from 78.3 mmbf in Q3. I-joist production in 2021 totalled 857.3 million linear ft., up from 752.2 million linear ft. in 2020. North American LVL output in 2021 was 81.1 million cubic feet, up from 75.4 million cubic feet in 2020. LVL production in Q4 was 19.4 million cubic ft., down from 21.2 million cubic ft. a year earlier and down from 20.4 million cubic ft. in Q3. In the introduction to its latest statistical report, APA noted that U.S. housing starts in Q4 are estimated to have run at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 1.59 million units, up 1.9% from Q3, while housing starts in Canada ran at an SAAR of 270,000 units in Q4, up 3.1% from Q3.
US production
Canadian production
Imports and exports
Engineered wood production
Q4 2021 production of I-joists was 205.3 million linear ft., up from 202.9 million linear ft. a year ago and down from 218.8 million linear ft. in Q3.
Housing starts
The primary source of this article is the Third Quarter Engineered Wood Statistics report released by APA - The Engineered Wood Assn., Tacoma, Washington, in January 2022.
* All content is copyrighted by Industry Intelligence, or the original respective author or source. You may not recirculate, redistrubte or publish the analysis and presentation included in the service without Industry Intelligence's prior written consent. Please review our terms of use.
