KUCHING: The United States of America has sharply increased its imports of sawn tropical hardwood but cut imports of hardwood plywood and flooring.
The imports of sawn tropical hardwood jumped 25 per cent to 18,135 cubic metres (cu m) in July, the highest monthly volume in 2026, and was higher by 12 per cent as compared to July 2025.
Top supplier Brazil saw its shipments to the US soared by 61 per cent to 5,747 cu m from June whereas Malaysia, the No 2 supplier, recorded a seven per cent jump in exports to US to 2,529 cu m month-on-month.
In first seven months of 2026 (7m2026), US imports of sawn tropical sawnwood still trailed 7m2025 by two per cent.
On hardwood plywood, US imports continued to stay well below 2025 levels as the volume of July’s imports fell by nine per cent to 223,974 cu m from June. However, import value hiked by two per cent and reached US$157.3 million, the highest since January this year.
Year-on-year, July imports plunged by 30 per cent as shipments from almost all the major suppliers declined: Indonesia (-6% to 63,781 cu m), Malaysia (-13% to 22,106 cu m), Vietnam (-26% to 23,664 cu m), Russia (-28% to 21,376 cu m) and Ecuador (-12% to 9,162 cu m).
But US increased imports from Cambodia (+3% to 26,351 cu m) and China (+39% to 953 cu m).
In 7m2026, US imports from the two trading partners — Indonesia and Vietnam — both remained down by more than 50 per cent from a year ago.
On tropical hardwood veneer, US imports in July were up merely by less than one per cent to US$3.55 million. In 7m2026, total imports surged by 19 per cent from 7m2025.
On assembled flooring panels, US imports in July tumbled by 22 per cent, dropping to their lowest level since February.
Shipments from Thailand, which have been strong through most of the year, plunged by 48 per cent to their slowest month in July. Imports from Canada also fell, declining 31 per cent month-on-month.
Despite the slowdown, at US$22.7 million, imports for July outpaced those a year ago by 11 per cent.
US imports of hardwood flooring leapt by five per cent in July and were worth US$3.97 million, down 45 per cent from July 2025.
“Strong imports from Malaysia and Indonesia more than offset drops of more than 50% on imports from Vietnam and China.
“Imports from Brazil, normally a top supplier, fell to 0 in July and are down 79% versus last year through July,” said the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) Tropical Timber Market Report (September 1-15, 2026).
In 7m2026, US total imports of hardwood flooring are off by 26 per cent from 7m2025.
On the other hand, US imports of hardwood mouldings rose three per cent in July, lifting activity to its highest level this year.
At just over US$14 million, imports were seven per cent below those of July 2025. Month-on-month, shipments from Brazil more than doubled, rising to their best strongest month since a year ago.
However, sharp drop in imports from China and Malaysia offset most of the gains. Through July, year-to-date imports were down 14 per cent from a year ago.
On wooden furniture, US import bill in July was US$1.33 billion, down 21 per cent from a year ago. Shipments from Malaysia fell by 11 per cent to US$56.5 million month-on-month while shipments from top supplier, Vietnam, decreased by three per cent to US$641.5 million.US also cut imports from Indonesia by 15 per cent to US$50.9 million but increased imports from India by 16 per cent to US$26.55 million.
Year-to-date, wooden furniture imports remain down 23 per cent versus 2025.
