Supply Chain Research

The WTO has formally launched a dispute panel regarding U.S. duties on Canadian exports of softwood lumber. That’s hardly a surprise, and comes against the backdrop of struggling attempts to secure a new NAFTA deal. While Canadian forestry exports have climbed 2% in the past three months on a year earlier, that’s been largely due to a 38% rise in world lumber prices – i.e. volumes may have fallen as much as 40%. Furthermore exports to the U.S. fell to their lowest since August 2013 in the month of February in volume terms after a 22% decline in the three months to February 28 on a year e...