N.A. Wood Pellet Exports Reach Record Levels in 2015

North America exported record high volumes of wood pellets in 2015, according to the North American Wood Fiber Review (NAWFR), Seattle, Wash., USA. The U.S. Gulf States increased wood pellet shipments by 70%, from 2Q/15 to 4Q/15.

 

Exportation of wood pellets from North America totaled 6.1 million tons in 2015, 2% higher than in 2014 and almost four times as much as in 2010, according to NAWFR, published by Wood Resources International, Seattle. In the second half of 2015, export volumes from Southern Gulf ports were up almost 70%. North American overseas pellet exports increased for the third consecutive quarter in the 4Q/15, rising 7% from the previous quarter to just over 1.7 million tons.

In the 4 Q/15, total Canadian pellet overseas exports increased by 17% from the previous quarter, with shipments increasing to both Europe and Asia. On a regional basis, British Columbia exports continued to shift slightly towards Asia, with a slight reduction in shipments going to Europe. In the 4Q/15, shipping from Eastern Canada, although still in small volumes, rose to its highest level in almost two years.  Canadian pellet exports to Asia flow primarily to Japan, with a much smaller volume finding its way to South Korea. China remains a tantalizing but unrealized market prospect.

While South Korea is still concentrating on less expensive material from its neighbors to the south, principally Vietnam, Japan continues to show immediate and longer-term potential as a pellet and biomass consumer due to government policies that encourage growth of its renewable energy component of production. In the U.S., overseas pellet exports are all flowing to Europe, principally to the U.K., from the industrial pellet sector in the Southern States. The volume exported in the 4Q/15 climbed to a new record-high, with all of the increase coming from the exports pellet plants in the U.S. Gulf Coast region, according to NAWFR.

Newly operating pellet plants in this region made their presence felt during the second half of 2015 with their first shipments to Europe. German Pellets in Louisiana, Drab Biomass’s two new plants in Louisiana and Mississippi, and Zilch Biomass Energy in Alabama all continued their ramp up of their operations. Primarily due to these new facilities, exports from the Gulf Ports rose by almost 70% from 2Q/15 to  4Q/15. During the 1Q/16, shipments to Europe from the U.S. South have fallen (most likely a temporary pause) due to lower demand in Europe with the continent having an unusually warm winter.