In the last few weeks, Chinese processing and commercial companies’ demand for beech lumber has failed to some extent to fulfil the expectations of German sawmills and exporters geared to Asia export. After Chinese companies’ enquiries for beech-lumber deliveries with arrival dates after Chinese New Year, which was on 10 February this year, had risen in January 2013, producers and merchants were working from the assumption that the upswing would continue after the Chinese festivities. Talks with merchants in China before Chinese New Year had also pointed to a higher requirement by the furniture industry there. The actual receipts of orders and shipments have not yet lived up to these expectations, however. In many cases, sawmills are only registering delivery volumes on par with those in the past few months. In some places, sawmills are also reporting delivery volumes that are even slightly lower than the shipments in January or November 2012. The shipments to China being handled at the moment are frequently last-minute orders. Longer-term delivery agreements with Chinese buyers thus remain more of an exception.
