According to the Association of the German Kitchen Furniture Industry, in February 2016 the turnover of the German furniture industry grew by 16.6% in comparison with January 2016, amounting to 406.6 million EUR.
The rise of futures’ prices for May delivery of lumber at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange is caused by the definition of terms of preparation of the agreement on softwood lumber trade between the US and Canada. The US President Barack Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau agreed the terms during their last meeting.
Due to the devaluation of the ruble Russian exporters of lumber are able to increase the profitability of their enterprises. During 2013-2015 the export volume of lumber from Russia grew by 10.7% despite the fact that prices for softwood lumber in China, which is a major importer of Russian lumber, decreased by almost 30%.
Lumber prices directly depend on the cost of its transportation. Since mid-1990s, Russia has been gradually increasing the volumes of lumber import from Europe. Accordingly, empty freight transport on the way back used to go to the Baltic countries in order to load wood products and deliver them to other European countries.