The latest Timber Development UK stats show that falls in softwood, hardwood and plywood imports accounted for a 6% drop in volumes during January 2024, compared to a year earlier. Timber import volumes were down by around 45,000m3 in January. Particleboard, engineered wood, OSB and MDF products all saw imports increase slightly at the start of this year. For softwoods, a 9% reduction in volumes from Sweden was the largest contributor to the 9.6% drop. …Hardwood imports experienced a 13.8% fall, largely due to tropical hardwood imports being down by around 3,000m3. In contrast, volumes of temperate hardwoods increased by 2%, with imports from the USA, Croatia and Romania accounting for most of this growth. Overall plywood imports were also down 6%, though hardwood plywood volumes rose 36%, mostly due to a near 18,000m3 increase from China. …Finally, a 12.8% growth in engineered wood product import volumes rounds out the varied January 2024 results.