The ongoing lawsuit regarding dumping of Chinese plywood products into the US market and the proposed tariffs thereof evolved further in recent days. While the final decision and announcement from the ITC (International Trade Commission) are not due until December 19th, the DOC (Department of Commerce) weighed in with their decision. They propose a 22.98% countervailing duty and a staggering 183% antidumping duty.
Obviously, Chinese plywood importers reacted swiftly with reactions ranging from taking themselves temporarily off the market to raising prices dramatically. Mason’s Mill and Lumber has positioned itself accordingly and while we had some existing inventories on hand, due to the huge spike in usage in recent months as a result of Hurricane Harvey, we have been making multiple purchases weekly in order to keep product available. This has resulted in our costs being affected rapidly and forcing us to reflect current market pricing, as volatile as it may be.
We are doing our best to keep costs down and have increased the stocking volumes of both imported and domestic plywood in recent months. Mason’s will continue to strive to minimize the impact of current market volatility, but buyers should be prepared for substantial fluctuations in pricing. As such, prices quoted for Chinese plywood are for prompt shipment only, and volumes may be limited.
We appreciate your patronage and will continue to keep our customers updated as this situation evolves and a final announcement is made in December.
