Mexico is America’s largest timber buyer, with US lumber companies exporting more than 132,500 cubic metres across their southern border in June (which is up more than 13.5% over 2023).
That is according to data from the US Department of Agriculture, reporting that Mexican traders imported more than 726,000 cubic metres of lumber from the United States (25% of its total export market) for the first six months alone.
Strong sales continue the United States’ pivot to North America – now leading a campaign to stamp out illegal logging, timber trafficking and conflict timber, with Canada firmly entrenched as the world’s largest timber producer’s second largest export market (18.3% or 286,700 cubic metres)—ahead of China (16.6%) and Vietnam (8%).
Part of USMCA, or NAFTA 2.0, the United States, Mexico and Canadian trade block accounts for 30% of global GDP, with the US and Canada, the largest and fourth largest timber and pulp producers, and Mexico, one of the international hot spots for illegal logging, trading 5 to 15 million cubic metres of illegal timber every year.
Wood Central can reveal that the 24-month project, which kicked off in January, is being administered by the CEC – a joint initiative of the US, Canadian and Mexican governments – and aims to “increase understanding and awareness of wood products; helping consumers support SFM (or Sustainable Forest Management) and contribute to the fight against illegal logging through their purchase power.”
According to CEC, “Public perception is at the core of the project,” and “the project’s goal is to raise consumer awareness of the importance of SFM and how consumers can contribute to supporting SFM practices.”
Focusing on consumers and their purchasing power, “the public awareness campaigns will seek to empower consumers at various levels of the supply chain who purchase wood products” by “helping them to become actors of the chain by promoting citizen participation in monitoring compliance with environmental legislation and by informing them about the negative impacts of illegal logging.”
More than 50% of lumber imported into Mexico comes from the United States (53.6%), according to Russian-based Lesprom, ahead of Brazil, Chile and Canada.
Lumber surge comes as Mexico’s economy continues to defy expectations
After the global crisis unleashed by the Covid-19 pandemic, Mexico has sustained an annual economic growth of between 3% and 4% – that is according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, which reports that the Mexican economy has outpaced market analysts’ early-year forecasts for three successive years.
The growth largely stems from a set of supply-side public policies launched at the onset of President López Obrador’s administration. “These policies, including comprehensive labour reforms and strategic financial management, have cultivated an environment conducive to investment, resulting in a robust labour market and a marked increase in both public and private investments,” according to Latin American think tank La Pais.
“The current administration’s fiscal strategy has successfully kept the country’s debt-to-GDP ratio at a low level by international standards, enhancing Mexico’s appeal to global investors. Simultaneously, this administration has broken with the economic dogma that social spending and public investment are inversely related, boosting both while keeping debt levels stable.”
Whether it can continue to grow, and remain the United States top market for lumber remains to be seen.
