DESPITE SHIFTING LANDSCAPES IN TERMS OF IMPORT PRICES, THE IMPACT ON SALES PATTERNS HAS BEEN MINIMAL.
Following the UK’s decision to leave the European Union, there was an overwhelmingly gloomy prediction made for the immediate and long-term effects on a range of industries. But, as recent statistics have shown, this has not been the case for the UK timber industry.
Brexit has undoubtedly been the biggest domestic political story in recent memory and is going to have an effect, big or small, temporary or long lasting, on just about every trade, profession and industry.
Timber is no different, as the changing trade relations with other countries following Brexit will change how we source and sell timber around the world. However, rather than being massively disrupted, the industry has breezed past the initial shock and continued to perform well.
As you will undoubtedly have noticed, because of the impact on currency values, the drop in Sterling has made it more comparatively expensive to source some timber species, but this has not proven to be a major hurdle.
Despite shifting landscapes in terms of import prices, the impact on sales patterns has been minimal. There was no real change from the UK tradition of Sapele, European Oak and US Oak being the main three in terms of volume.
Clearly, it is impossible to accurately predict the long-term effects that Brexit will have on the timber industry, as it will all be impacted by deals, tariffs, agreements and regulations that are yet to be negotiated.
But, with continued strong activity from the UK construction sector, fears over a drastic Brexit impact seem to be settled for the moment, with optimism spreading.
