May 4, 2026 | Page 45

Importers & Exporters Top 100 2026

lumber operating capacity,” CEO Sean McLaren told analysts in West Fraser’ s Feb. 13 earnings call.“ We’ ve also reduced the number of shifts or hours of operations at various lumber mills as a means to manage cost.”

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US paper and forest product exports have plunged 31.7 % since 2020. Shutterstock. com said during the company’ s fourth-quarter earnings call March 6.

Lumber producer Interfor shut down two sawmills in the US last year amid what it described as“ historically weak” lumber prices.

“ Repair and remodel, largely influenced by home purchases, is expected to remain relatively flat,” Bart Bender, senior vice president of sales, said in a Feb. 13 earnings call.“ Turning to supply, we’ re seeing the impact of production curtailments across the industry. Some are formally announced, many are not.”

Like its competitors, West Fraser closed two sawmills last year and reported operating losses in the fourth quarter for North American paper, pulp and forest products.

“ Since 2022, we have removed over 1.1 billion board feet of capacity through mill closures and permanent shift reductions, representing a 16 % decrease in the company’ s

Forest product exports extend multiyear slump

Containerized US paper and forest product exports, in laden TEUs, with year-over-yea change

TEU volume

80,000	40 %
70,403 70,000	30 30 %

60,000

50,000 100,000 40,000

30,000 20,000 10,000

0 L Apr Jul Oct Jan 2025 Apr Jul Oct Feb Jan, 2026

TEU Year-over-year % change

20 % 10-40 % 0 %-10 %-20 %-30 %

Year-over-year % change

Although demand for flooring and furniture has not disappeared, a shift toward composite materials that require less wood is accelerating the decline in forest product production and, in turn, exports.

“ Composites have been eating the lumber industry’ s lunch for the last half-decade,” Stephen Zambo, CEO of the AGL Group, a freight forwarder specializing in paper and forest products, told the Journal of Commerce.“ The products are no longer fully made out of lumber; it’ s maybe 20 % of the item now instead of 100 %.”

Engineered materials, plastics and other substitutes are replacing traditional hardwood components in the US and abroad. Zambo said the shift is evident at major industry trade shows, where exhibit booths displaying hardwood have been displaced by engineered and synthetic products.

“ Hardwood is turning into a luxury product,” he said.“ A lot of companies are either getting bought or just shutting down because the margins aren’ t worth the capital.”

“ Composites have been eating the lumber industry’ s lunch for the last half-decade.”

Increasing regulatory requirements in major markets abroad are adding further pressure on exports, according to the American Forest & Paper Association( AF & PA).

For example, the European Union Deforestation Regulation( EUDR), enforcement of which is scheduled to begin at the end of 2026,“ continues to represent a technical barrier to trade for US forest products into the EU, with many compliance uncertainties unaddressed,” AF & PA said in a statement to the Journal of Commerce.

“ These evolving trade policy initiatives, alongside freight and vessel availability, and port and inland logistics constraints, shape export flows and planning decisions,” the association added.

Zambo said the imposition of 125 % reciprocal tariffs on US lumber by China, formerly the largest export destination by a wide margin, didn’ t put too big of a dent in overall volumes, but it has shifted a large portion of those shipments to Vietnam. Vietnam became the largest consumer of US paper and forest last year, accounting for 15.8 % exports, up from 6.2 % in 2024, while mainland China’ s share tumbled to 15.6 % from 29 %, according to PIERS.

“ What we’ re seeing now is logs going over to Vietnam, being sawn into lumber, and then sent into other markets like China,” Zambo explained.“ China is consuming the same amount. It’ s just not coming directly from the US anymore.”