KUCHING: The United States of America (US) has reported sharply lower imports of various tropical wood hardwood products in June this year as the Trump administration continued to roll out an ever-evolving policy of trade tariffs.
While neither the biggest fears nor promises about the tariffs materialised, larger month-on-month swings in import volume of such products occurred in the first six months of the year, according to International Tropical Timber Organisation (ITTO) Tropical Timber Market Report (August 1-15, 2025).
“In June, the swing was definitely downward. Imports of sawn tropical hardwood plunged 21 per cent, imports of hardwood plywood decreased by 13 per cent, imports of tropical hardwood veneer fell 20 per cent, imports of hardwood moulding were off by 7 per cent, imports of hardwood flooring dropped 15 per cent and imports of assembled flooring fell for the third consecutive month in June, shedding 13 per cent,” added the report.
On the other hand, US increased the imports of wooden furniture by one per cent in June but that was preceded by a sharp drop in the previous month of May. Despite the poor June numbers, US imports for tropical hardwood and most related products are ahead of last year through the first half of 2025 (1H2025) which reflect an overall early year spike in imports in anticipation of the tariffs.
In June, US imported 15,277 cubic metres (cu m) of sawn tropical hardwood, down 21 per cent from May, and were off three per cent a year ago. Imports from Indonesia plunged by 40 per cent (to 1,432 cu m), and from Malaysia fell eight per cent (to 2,577 cu m) while shipments from the top-trader Brazil, dropped by three per cent (to 4,187 cu m). Malaysia was the second largest supplier of the product to the US, followed by Cameroon (2,074 cu m).
Sharp decreases in imports of Mahogany (-74%), Balsa (-45%), Ipe (-28%) and Sapelli (-18%) accounted for most the loss in volume. Despite the downturn, US total imports of sawn tropical hardwood remain ahead of last year’s pace, up one per cent from 2024 through the first half of the year.
“Imports of hardwood plywood also cooled off after a strong May, falling 13 per cent in June from the previous month.
Despite the pullback, at 281,988 cu m, June imports were 40 per cent higher than June 2024.
“While imports from most major trading partners fell in June, year-to-date figures for the top traders are well ahead of last year. Imports from Indonesia, the leading supplier, were up 60 per cent from last year through June while imports from the number two supplier, Vietnam, were 36 per cent ahead of last year’s pace. Through the first half of the year, the total import volumes of hardwood plywood are up 20 per cent over 2024,” said ITTO report.
In June 2025, Malaysia shipped 7,076 cu m of plywood to US (-17% from May) as compared to Vietnam (93,489 cu m) and Indonesia (80,059 cu m).
Tariffs are a hot topic in the hardwood market, especially for plywood and panelling. While prices are relatively stable, customers are worried about an increase which is having an impact on order volume and purchase timelines, according to suppliers interviewed by Woodshop News.
“We are seeing a lot of anxiety because every vendor right now is throwing a tariff notice on the products stating tariff prices could spike at any point of a tariff charge could be charged at any time during the buying process. Everybody is on edge.
They are expecting at least a 10 per cent across the board increase on everything, even if it is domestic,” said a trader.
The other thing noticed by trader is that products are getting tied up in containers and people need to buy something local to keep things rolling.
On tropical hardwood veneer, US imports from most trading countries fell sharply in June — Ghana (-50%), Cote d’Ivoire (-49%), India (-38%) and China (zero imports) — but the losses were mitigated by a 46 per cent hike in shipment from the No one supplier, Cameroon.
Even with the declines, total June 2025 imports were up three per cent over June 2024. Year-to-date imports grew five per cent through first half of the year due almost exclusively to shipments from Italy, which more than tripled.
US imports of hardwood moulding slipped seven per cent, cooling from a three-year high in May. At US$15.5 million, June imports were one per cent lower year-on-year. Shipments from trade leader, Canada, jumped 15 per cent and accounted for more than one-third of all monthly imports while imports from Malaysia soared 73 per cent in June.
Through the first half of the year, imports of hardwood moulding were up 21 per cent while imports from Canada, Malaysia, China and Brazil had all grown by more than 40 per cent over the same period in 2024.
On assembled flooring panels, US imports in June 2025 fell for the third consecutive month, shedding 13 per cent from May.
At US$19.5 million, imports were 31 per cent below that of the previous June and were at the lowest level since April 2023.
“While steep drops in imports from Thailand and Brazil highlighted a nearly across-the-board slump, a 37 per cent gain in imports from Indonesia stemmed some of the losses. While imports are trending downwards, year-to-date imports remain ahead of 2024 by 13 per cent through June.
“US imports of hardwood flooring had similar results in June, falling 15 per cent from June 2024 totals. Hardwood flooring imports have lagged all year with the sole bright spot being imports from Malaysia which gained 75 per cent in June and are up 40 per cent for the year so far.
“Imports from Indonesia, the top trading partner, were up 42 per cent in June but are down 11 per cent for the year-to-date while imports from Brazil also collapsed (-86% in June and down 56% for the year-to-date). Over the first half of the year, total imports of hardwood flooring are down 16 per cent versus last year,” according to ITTO report.
On wooden furniture, US imports in June rose by one per cent, stablising after a 6 per cent plunge in May. At US$1.62 billion, imports for the month were six per cent below that of June 2024 but moved upward in June, gaining 15 per cent over the previous month.
For the month under review, US paid about US$777.7 million for imports of wooden furniture from Vietnam,US$126.2 million from Canada, US$112.7 million from Mexico, US$90.7 million from China, US$87.6 million from Malaysia and US$63.1 million from Indonesia, according to data from US Department of Agriculture, Foreign Trade Statistics.
As for the overall furniture market, US new furniture orders were up 11 per cent in May versus April but down one per cent versus the previous May, according to the latest Furniture Insights published by Smith Leonard. The report states that new orders were down three per cent in the first five months of the year versus 2024 figures.
