{"id":912301,"date":"2026-10-01T14:02:09","date_gmt":"2026-10-01T14:02:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/912301\/"},"modified":"2026-10-01T14:02:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-01T14:02:09","slug":"australia-plywood-and-panel-imports-hit-92-million","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/912301\/","title":{"rendered":"Australia Plywood and Panel Imports Hit $92 Million"},"content":{"rendered":"

More and more plywood, panels, and laminated veneer lumber (LVL) are coming into Australia, with imports reaching $92 million in August, the third-highest month since records began in 1988. That is according to new trade data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics this morning<\/a>, which shows sawn timber falling to $71 million for the month from $79 million a year earlier.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe shouldn\u2019t be afraid of those supply chains simply because they look different from the ones we have today,\u201d according to Steve Walker, who revealed to Wood Central yesterday that China\u2019s squeezed mills are chasing buyers<\/a> in markets such as Australia. China supplied almost 80 per cent of the plywood<\/a> Australia imported in the year to April, according to Forest and Wood Products Australia, with Indonesia a distant second on 6.8 per cent and Chile third on 3.4 per cent.<\/p>\n

\"ALogs queue for the saw at a veneer peeling mill in one of the Chinese LVL clusters Steve Walker toured in March. Mainland China supplied more than 69 per cent of the LVL Australia imported in the ten months to October 2025, according to Forest and Wood Products Australia. (Photo Credit: Supplied to Wood Central \/ Central PR Group by Steve Walker, Terrafolia Advisory)<\/p>\n

Robert Cairns, a director of the Australian Timber Importers Federation, said last month<\/a> that LVL is now replacing solid timber in roof and wall battens, truss chords, studs, and plates, with most LVL formwork now coming from China<\/a>. Mainland China supplied more than 69 per cent of the LVL<\/a> Australia imported in the ten months to October 2025, according to Forest and Wood Products Australia, when volumes grew 63 per cent on a year earlier.<\/p>\n

Until January 2023, the bureau had never recorded a month in which Australia spent more on imported plywood, veneers, and panels than on sawn timber, and the $21 million lead panels opened in August is the largest on record. That heading has counted LVL only since 2022, when LVL was split out of builders\u2019 joinery<\/a>, so part of the gain since then reflects LVL changing headings at the border.<\/p>\n

\"LineAustralia\u2019s 12-month imports of plywood, veneers, particleboard, and other worked wood (red) were worth less than a quarter of its sawn timber imports (silver) at the end of 1988, $108 million against $483 million, and almost tripled between 2010 and 2021. The red line includes laminated veneer lumber from January 2022, when it moved out of builders\u2019 joinery (dashed line), and pulled ahead of sawn timber over the 12 months to October 2023; in the 12 months to August 2026, it reached $981 million, up from $897 million. Each point is a 12-month total summed from the bureau\u2019s published monthly values, original terms, customs value, $ millions. Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, International Trade in Goods, August 2026, Table 13b, SITC 634 and 248; LVL reclassification per Forest and Wood Products Australia. Backdrop: veneer sorting in China. Graphic: Wood Central.<\/p>\n

The climb has been building for decades, with panel imports at $108 million in 1988, less than a quarter of the $483 million Australia spent on imported sawn timber. Over the past 15 years they have more than tripled to $981 million across 12 months, whilst sawn timber imports rose 38 per cent to $897 million.<\/p>\n

Imported LVL has grown faster still, reaching 254,065 cubic metres in 2025-26 against 95,919 cubic metres in 2022-23<\/a>, at a weighted average free-on-board price of $629 a cubic metre, the lowest in five years. Plywood imports crossed 500,000 cubic metres over 12 months<\/a> for the first time in January, before reaching a record 544,156 cubic metres in the year to April.<\/p>\n

As it stands, Australia\u2019s wood and cork imports reached $258 million in August, the most for any August since 2022. It comes as Forest and Wood Products Australia found the value of wood imports rose markedly faster than the market in 2025-26, a year of relatively flat housing starts and growing competition from lightweight steel framing.<\/p>\n

For Walker, a buyers\u2019 market for wood products is \u201cpotentially good news\u201d for Australian home buyers, with cheaper plywood, panels, and LVL able to cut what builders pay for timber framing and components. The real contest, he says, is no longer Australian timber against imported timber but \u201ctimber construction versus steel, concrete and other building systems.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"J <\/p>\n

Jason Ross, publisher, is a 15-year professional in building and construction, connecting with more than 400 specifiers. A Gottstein Fellowship recipient, he is passionate about growing the market for wood-based information. Jason is Wood Central’s in-house emcee and is available for corporate host and MC services.<\/p>\n


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