Southern Pine Record Production; New Export Leader
There have been two big developments in the past month I’m pretty excited to share, and both have to do with the dominance of Southern Pine lumber:
Mexico has become the largest export market (by volume) of Southern Yellow Pine and treated lumber. Exports to Mexico have nearly doubled in the past five years, exceeding shipments to the Dominican Republic long ranked as the top destination. Make sure to check out the full report below or by clicking here.
In case you missed it, shipments of Southern Pine lumber recorded an increase from the previous year in 2022 for the 13th consecutive year. The 2022 total was 22.16 (Bbf), a 5.5% increase over the volume shipped in 2021 (20.93 Bbf).
The 2022 total also marked the third straight year of shipments above the 20 billion board feet (Bbf) mark, starting with 20.8 Bbf in 2020, and represents the longest consecutive growth in shipments since recordkeeping began in 1915. Click here for the full report.
Welcome New Members!
No, we’re not just repeating ourselves for the third straight month. We are excited to welcome yet two more associate members to our community: American Wood Technology and Gulf Atlantic Packaging Corp.! And guess what?
We have at least one more new associate member to introduce in June! That’s eight new members so far in the first half of 2023 (for comparison, SFPA signed up 10 new associate members for all of 2022).
What does this tell me? There’s value in numbers, and the Southern Pine lumber community is stronger than ever and better when we’re together (and there?s never been a better time to join SFPA!)
Forest Products EXPO Update
It’s hard to believe we’re closing in on the 100-day countdown to the 2023 Forest Products Machinery & Equipment EXPO in Nashville from August 23-25, but this year is already proving to be one of our best yet!
We’ve already added another 1,600 square feet of exhibit space, which is closing to selling out, so secure your space today by clicking here. Registration and housing opened April 18 at sfpaexpo.com, and both are outpacing expectations so far! We recommend looking at the Renaissance if you need additional rooms, as they provided the largest block for our group.It’s also worth checking out the almost brand new Holiday Inn and Suites, which we’ve recently added to the EXPO housing block.
Here are a few other highlights around EXPO to keep in mind:
- There are still some great sponsorship opportunities to get your brand out there, including mini golf, axe throwing, giant-sized digital dormers, morning coffee, and program advertising). Check them out here, and make sure to check out the deadlines further down in the May issue of Lumber Shorts so you don’t miss out.
- SFPA staff is finalizing plans for a few activities that week for the board and members, including our Thursday morning breakfast and Sawmill Safety Awards reception, so keep an eye for emails with details.
Southern Pine Promotion Activities
SFPA, in partnership with American Softwoods, is always somewhere in the world promote the benefits and best use of Southern Pine. That mission continues to go strong into May.
Alaina Hanson, SFPA’s director of administration, is at Interzum in Cologne, Germany, from May 8-12 strategizing with the SFPA’s European consultants to expand Southern Pine’s presence, including our members operations, among the global supplier industry.
Our communications manager, Christian Moises, is representing SFPA during American Softwoods Monterrey Workshop in Monterrey at the same time, presenting on all things Southern Pine while helping build a Southern Pine structure for a local kindergarten.
Meanwhile, I’m honored to be a guest at Timber Products Board of Advisors meeting later this week in Peachtree City. I looking forward to hearing from TP staff and customers on their quality audit programs, laboratory services, and how their commitment to the industry is making an impact on the business of manufacturing lumber.
These are just a few more examples of your SFPA team ensuring we keep Southern Pine front and center. Make sure to log into the members only section to check out the full trip reports from these activities or check out the summaries on the SFPA blog.