In this issue:
Japan Market Update
Returning to a solid trajectory of growth, Japan’s GDP grew to US $5.477 trillion (US $39,881 per capita) as of December 2010. Real annualized GDP grew at 6.8% in Q1, 3.0% in Q2 and 4.5% in the third quarter. Recovery was buoyed by a double digit surge in exports to China and emerging markets: which, by destination, now account for 73% of Japan’s exports.... more
Japan’s New LCCM Green Building Standard: Life Cycle Carbon Minus Research on Canadian Timber Products
Under the purview of MLIT, a next generation new green building standard called Life Cycle Carbon Minus (LCCM) is being developed in Japan. In the future the standard is expected to replace the current CASBEE scheme. The standard relates to energy efficient housing and will include LCA data on domestic and international....more
Japan's Wood First Law Coming Into Effect
In the fall of 2009, Canada Wood Japan and the Canadian Embassy facilitated a meeting between Forestry Agency Director General Shimada and B.C.’s Minister of Forests and Range, the Honourable Pat Bell, to explore areas of mutual interest. The meeting resulted in follow up dialogue wherein Canada Wood Tokyo provided MLIT and the Forestry Agency additional data on B.C.’s Wood First Act as reference material for the development of Japan’s Act for the Promotion of Wood Usage in Public Buildings....more
Japan’s Real Estate and Housing Market Today
Japan has experienced a series of boom and busts in real estate over the past twenty years which has mirrored the macro economic activity of the country. Today rents and property prices are much lower compared to the highs of the 1990, just as the Nikkei stock market has reflected in recent years..... more
Calendar of upcoming events in Japan
Are you planning a trip to Japan? Before you leave, be sure to check out our calendar of upcoming events.... more
As an economy dependent on exports for growth, the synchronized global economic downturn caused by the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis had significantly affected real GDP growth of South Korea in 2008 and 2009 showing respective growth rates of 2.2% and 0.2%..... more
Successful participation in the 2010 Busan Housing Fair and 2010 Korea Architecture Fair & Festival
Every year Canada Wood Korea(CWK) participates in the annual Busan Housing Fair(BHF) held at BEXCO, Busan to vitalize wood frame construction market in southern parts of Korea including Busan and Daegu cities. BHF is one of the key building and housing products exhibitions in Korea and the biggest building materials, home interior and construction exhibition in Gyeongsang Province.... more
WFC Case Study: Duplex House (A "Peanut" House)
A “Peanut” house is a new prevailing terminology among many first time home buyers in Korea representing a duplex house (two family units in one lot) like a peanut (two nuts in one shell). This new terminology created by Mr. H.Y. Lee, a principal architect of Kwangjang Architect Group has been introduced to the public recently .... more
WFC Standard Detail Workshop with KIRA
Architects and engineers will only favour a building system - despite potential advantages - if the design process is simplified via design aids such as software and pre-approved drawings and details.... more
Advanced WFC Training for Korean Builders
Korea has a serious problem in sustainability in construction. The concrete multi-family buildings which dominate the housing market in Korea have only 22.6 year life span on average, even though the concrete structure itself can last a hundred years. Most of the concrete multi-family housings have been built with load-bearing wall system, relatively cheaper to build compared with post and beam structure but does not allow any renovations or modifications to accommodate changes in technology or .... more
Calendar of upcoming events in Korea
Are you planning a trip to Korea? Before you leave, be sure to check out our calendar of upcoming events.... more
China Market Update
The Chinese economy year-end numbers are in and GDP growth for the year was 10.3% and is projected to slow down to just over 9% in 2011. All major components of demand will slow: investment from 24% to 20%, consumption from 15% to 13% and exports from 30% to 15%. Inflation hit 5.1% in November and declined slightly to 4.6% in December.... more
Breaking WFC's 3 floor code barrier
In most countries, fire regulations are the single most important factor governing the scope of application for wood-frame buildings. China is no exception. The current Chinese fire code (GB 50016) allows light wood-frame buildings to be built up to 3 storeys.
Recent code relaxations have permitted taller wood hybrid construction. The Shanghai Local Code published in 2009 permits 4- and 5-storey hybrid buildings with the top storey of wood-frame construction (WFC). A revision to GB 50016, which will likely be approved in 2011, will permit hybrid buildings up to 7 storeys in height with up to three storeys of WFC at the top.... more
Policy Measures to Curb China Housing Prices
Since April 2010 China's government has tightened policies to curb the red hot housing market.
Since April 2010 China's government has tightened policies to curb the red hot housing market. Measures have included restricting sales and raising interest rates on second and third homes. However, prices have continued to climb in second and third-tier cities. Second and third-tier city residents will only be allowed to buy one home in an effort to rein in soaring prices.... more
Continued Progress in China for BC
British Columbia's shipments of softwood lumber, and specifically SPF to China, have benefitted from China's large infrastructure stimulus, the growth in the home decoration market, and a favourable competitive market in large part due to Russia's fibre export restrictions and taxes. Not surprisingly, Chinese firms have taken a much more active part in investigating investment into the source and supply chain of one of their fastest growing suppliers, BC.... more
Super E® taking hold in China
China has quickly become the most active Super E® market in the world. The CMHC-backed energy-efficient housing export program was launched in Japan in 1999, and, up until now, met with its greatest success in the UK in the early 2000s. With developments completed or underway in Xian, Shanghai and Kunming, there is currently more Super E® activity in China than any other country.... more
Hebei Demonstration Project - Ground Breaking Ceremony
Hebei Vice Governor Song & Canada Wood Managing Director Spoke
The ground-breaking ceremony took place on December 6th, 2010
On December 6, 2010, Canada Wood participated in a major Ground Breaking Ceremony to launch the beginning of the Hebei Demonstration Project in Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province, China .... more
Calendar of upcoming events in China
Are you planning a trip to China? Before you leave, be sure to check out our calendar of upcoming events.... more
Shawn Lawlor
Director, Canada Wood Japan
Email: lawlor@canadawood.jp
Shawn graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Ottawa in 1990 and later from the Asia Pacific Management Program at Capilano College in 1995. His career has spanned 15 years in international forest and building products marketing and sales with leading primary producers. Shawn joined the Canada Wood group in April 2007 to take on the role of Director, Japan Operations. He resides in Tokyo with his wife Christine and son Cole.
- Japan’s companies are cash rich, with an estimated US $2.5 trillion in cash holdings outside the financial sector.
Japan Market Update
by Shawn Lawlor
Economy
Returning to a solid trajectory of growth, Japan’s GDP grew to US $5.477 trillion (US $39,881 per capita) as of December 2010. Real annualized GDP grew at 6.8% in Q1, 3.0% in Q2 and 4.5% in the third quarter. Recovery was buoyed by a double digit surge in exports to China and emerging markets: which, by destination, now account for 73% of Japan’s exports. Government stimulus spending on the “eco-points” program encouraged sales of energy efficient autos, electronics and appliances also helped sustain consumer spending in the first three quarters. Recovery was also boosted by tourism which surged 27% to an all time high of 8.61 million visitors in 2010. The increase was largely attributable to the relaxation of tourist visa requirements for Chinese travelers.
Moderate and steady growth is forecast for 2011. In late January, the Bank of Japan policy board confirmed that moderate recovery was continuing, abating fears of a double dip recession. The BOJ forecasts Japan’s industrial production index to return to within 95% of the pre-recession level. Economists forecast Japan’s GDP in 2011 to grow between 1.3% and 2.0%.
Key economic themes emerging in 2011 include the Democratic Party of Japan’s (DPJ) attempt to table pension, social welfare and consumption tax reform in order to shore up the growing waniguchi or “crocodile’s mouth” gap between declining tax receipts and growing healthcare spending. Concrete proposals on raising Japan’s consumption tax from 5% to 10% are expected by June. The DPJ administration has also indicated a favourable stance towards Japan pursuing a Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade agreement with other Asia Pacific countries. Prompted by South Korea’s recent free trade agreements with the U.S. and the E.U., Japan’s leading business advocacy group Keidanren has been calling for Japan to boost competitiveness through free trade. However, the DPJ’s agenda of consumption tax reform and TPP are expected to face difficulty in passing the LDP dominated Upper House Diet. Political analysts currently speculate that the DPJ Kan administration may fall on these legislative initiatives.
Housing and Lumber Market
Japan’s wood frame housing market posted solid gains in 2010. Total housing starts edged up 3.0% to 813,126 units. Platform frame starts increased 4.9% from 91,394 units in 2009 to 95,880 units in 2010. Market share for 2x4 homes grew from 11.6% to 11.8%. Over the last quarter, 2x4 multi-family apartments have declined modestly year over year. Single family 2x4 starts however have demonstrated robust results with custom built homes and spec homes increasing 12.2% and 5.5% respectively in December 2010.
Japan SPF Exports
SPF shipments to Japan between January and November 2010 totaled 717,993mfbm, an 18.8% increase over year prior results. By comparison, between January and September European and Russian imports were up by only 3.7% and 0.3% respectively. The relative strength of Canadian sawn wood imports led to an increased market share of North American imports from 39% in the first nine months of 2009 to 43% in the same period in 2010. Conversely, European market share fell from 36% to 33%. The increase in Canadian sawn wood imports also outpaced a 4.3% increase in domestic Japanese production from January to October.
Pull through demand at the Japanese ports has been brisk in December and January, with Tokyo Lumber Terminal outbound shipments posting the strongest performance in 5 years. Unusually heavy snowfall over Western Japan is now leading to supply concerns over the availability of Japanese domestic timber products. With lean inventories and continued housing sector strength, the near term demand look for SPF producers remains positive.
- Japan’s companies are cash rich, with an estimated US $2.5 trillion in cash holdings outside the financial sector.
- Single family 2x4 starts were up 8.8% in 2010 compared with 7.9% for Post and Beam. (Overall 2x4 starts increased 4.8% in 2010).
- Japan is consistently ranked #1 as the most innovative country in the world according to the Economist Intelligence Unit.
- New single family homes built to the Long Life Quality Housing Standard now account for an estimated 25 to 30% of all new single family homes.
- Japan’s direct foreign investment into Canada totaled $13.1 billion in 2009.
Japan’s New LCCM Green Building Standard: Life Cycle Carbon Minus Research on Canadian Timber Products
by Shawn Lawlor
In the fall of 2010, COFI collaborated with Dr. Ikaga
and his team on a research mission to Canada
Under the purview of Japan`s MLIT (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism), a next generation new green building standard called Life Cycle Carbon Minus (LCCM) is being developed in Japan. In the future the standard is expected to replace the current CASBEE scheme. The standard relates to energy efficient housing and will include Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) data on domestic and international forest products.
Unlike conventional energy efficiency or green building schemes, the standard will cover LCA impacts plus it will consider impacts of technologies such as solar panels which combined can result in carbon net zero or even carbon minus homes: for example, in cases where surplus energy from the home’s solar panels are transferred back to the power grid.
The project secretariat responsible for developing this standard is the Housing Energy Conservation Organization. The Architectural Institute of Japan (AIJ) Biomass Committee has been engaged in developing the LCA research data which feeds into this standard. COFI Japan in collaboration with the Athena Institute has been actively providing the AIJ Committee LCA carbon footprint data on softwood products to achieve favourable recognition within this standard.
The key researcher leading the development of the LCCM standard is Dr. Ikaga from Japan’s renowned Keio University. In 2009, Dr. Ikaga conducted LCA research on Japanese forest products by visiting a number of domestic sawmills. Unlike other woodmiles research which is mathematically biased against imported wood, Dr. Ikaga’s research has been more rigorous and impartial.
In the fall of 2010, COFI collaborated with Dr. Ikaga and his team on a research mission to Canada. Thanks to host company Canfor, Dr. Ikaga’s team visited a sawmill and nursery in Prince George as well as reload facilities in Vancouver to confirm LCA data on Canadian SPF products shipped to Japan. While the LCCM standard will only be finalized by the end of 2011, COFI Japan met with Dr. Ikaga in January to review preliminary carbon footprint results of SPF delivered to Japan. Preliminary evaluations suggest that thanks to higher species density and significant use of biomass for cogeneration in the milling process, CO2 emissions for Canadian forest products delivered to Japan are comparable with Japanese domestic products despite longer transport distances involved. Dr. Ikaga’s research will also cover log imports from the U.S. as well as solid and engineered imports from Europe.
What implications does this LCCM standard have for Canadian industry? Although the new LCCM standard will replace the current building standard, in point of fact CASBEE has had only marginal success in Japan. However, as we know through the Long Life Quality Housing Act and Energy Conservation Act revisions, MLIT’s focus is to achieve CO2 emission reductions in the housing and building sectors. And MLIT has indicated to the influential housing federation Judanren that energy conservation targets for housing are forthcoming. It is expected that MLIT will adopt the new LCCM standard as part of a revised Energy Conservation Act. Given that the Energy Conservation Act will mandate specific CO2 reduction targets for housing along with likely subsidy and mortgage finance incentives, it will be vital for Canadian forest products to remain competitively positioned vis-à-vis domestic timber to ensure continued market access. In contrast to CASBEE, the LCCM standard is expected to serve as a key policy driver for MLIT to reduce the carbon footprint of Japan’s housing industry. Although implementation may be one to two years away, widespread adoption of LCCM is expected in Japan’s housing industry.
Hidehiko Fumoto
Deputy Director and Manager Technical Services,
Canada Wood Japan
Email:fumoto@canadawood.jp
Japan's Wood First Law Coming Into Effect
by - Hidehiko Fumoto
In the fall of 2009, Canada Wood Japan and the Canadian Embassy facilitated a meeting between Forestry Agency Director General Shimada and B.C.’s Minister of Forests and Range, the Honourable Pat Bell, to explore areas of mutual interest. The meeting resulted in follow up dialogue wherein Canada Wood Tokyo provided MLIT and the Forestry Agency additional data on B.C.’s Wood First Act as reference material for the development of Japan’s Act for the Promotion of Wood Usage in Public Buildings. Inspired to an extent by B.C.’s Wood First Act, Japan’s Forestry Agency collaborated with MLIT to develop the “Act for the Promotion of Wood Usage in Public Buildings”.
The Act is designed to expand the market for wood products in public buildings such as schools and hospitals. Wooden structures constitute only 7.5% of public structures at present, compared with 36% as a ratio in for all structures. The Forestry Agency’s aim is to generate 100,000’s of cubic meters of additional annual demand for wood products.
The law will be implemented in April of this year, after detailed regulations and guidelines are announced. Japan’s wood frame building sector expects that this law will stimulate new growth. However, implementation also carries with it unique challenges. Construction of public buildings requires a tender process wherein government officials lack knowledge and experience about wooden structures.
Government officials possess an understanding and comfort level in ordering concrete and steel structure buildings and compared with wooden P&B construction, familiarity with 2x4 platform frame construction is even less. COFI, along with Japanese partner associations, is now being asked to deliver accurate technical information on 2x4 construction for government specifiers. In collaboration with the Japan 2x4 Home Builders Association, work has started to consider the necessity of developing nation-wide 2x4 promotional activities that are similar to the COFI 2x4 caravan that took place about 35 years ago.
While a key objective of this Act is designed to promote the use of domestic wood products, the Forestry Agency, mindful of WTO obligations, worded the law to read “timber that are domestically produced and other timber products”. Although the wording of the law does encourage the use of domestic timber, it should recognize imported wood products as eligible. When the Forestry Agency solicited public comments on this law, COFI Tokyo advised that the wording allow for the non-biased use of Canadian forest products.
The Forestry Agency responded, "This Law would never preferentially treat domestically produced wood only and there is no clause that excludes wood produced in foreign nations." This official announcement will serve as helpful insurance in the event that the building industry misperceives the law to require the use of domestic wood. The feedback was uploaded to a portal site "e-Gov" administrated by Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications
Kevin Bews
SPF Manager, Canada Wood Japan
Email: bews@canadawood.jp
Kevin Bews, joined COFI/Canada Wood in 1998. He is a graduate of the University of Guelph, with a Bachelor of Commerce degree. He recently spent time in China attending the Canada Wood Asia staff meeting. He enjoys sports, traveling, and barbequing.
- Increasing Affordability 2: New single family homes (including land) are currently being marketed at between 50 to 60 million yen (US $610-730k) in metropolitan Tokyo and 30 to 40 million yen (US $365-490k) elsewhere.
- New single family homes built to the Long Life Quality Housing Standard now account for an estimated 25 to 30% of all new single family homes.
Japan’s Real Estate and Housing Market Today
by Kevin Bews
Japan has experienced a series of booms and busts in real estate over the past twenty years which has mirrored the macro economic activity of the country. Today, rents and property prices are much lower compared to the highs of the 1990, just as the Nikkei stock market has reflected in recent years.
Over the last ten years, new participants have emerged as both direct and indirect property investors in Japan and recent declines in land values and rents appear to be slowing. This coupled with changes in Japan’s real estate laws and advancement in non-disclosure lending in Commercial Mortgage Backed Securities (CMBS) and valuation methodology, all these positive developments have contributed to a more transparent and liquid market, one could arguably agree that is more stable and above average, compared to other real estate markets in Asia.
Against this backdrop and the historically low interest rates, major homebuilders are striving to boost sales of houses on property they have purchased in large metropolitan areas taking advantage of falling land prices. In the past, for Japanese housing companies, most of their orders came from their customers who already own land on which new houses were to be built. For this reason, mainly wealthy and people in their 40s or older have long been their main customers and main source of sales revenue.
But now that land prices in big cities are declining and stabilizing, homebuilders are working faster to tap new demand from people buying a house for the first time, by marketing houses including land. A few leading companies such as Misawa Homes, Sumitomo Forestry Co. and Sekisui Chemical Co. are aiming to expand their housing sales, by supplying ready-built houses or contracts that supply the land and require the buyer to employ it as the homebuilder.
Moving forward, this new trend in Japan’s housing market, is a positive step and will no doubt bode well for wooden single family housing for now and future years to come.
References:
- Japanese Real Estate Today by James Fink, Senior Managing Director Colliers International Japan(Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Japan – Winter 2010 Volume 10, Issue 3 publication)
- Articles: Homebuilders Boost Sales of Houses Plus Land (The Nikkei Jan. 28 evening edition)
- Japanese Real Estate Institute (Website - http://www.reinet.or.jp)
Tai Jeong
Technical Director,
Canada Wood Korea
Email: jeong@canadawood.or.kr
Tai Jeong joined Canada Wood in 2006. Tai brings over 20 years of technical expertise in wood design and construction to the Canada Wood team. Tai is an accomplished building professional, having worked as an architect for 15 years, and is a registered contractor. In his time away from the office, he enjoys singing and sports.
WFC Seminars
- Feb 26
CWK-Kwangjang Architect WFC Technical Seminar at KINTEX - Mar 10-11
Seismic Design Workshop with KSEA (Korean Structural Engineers Association) and Chungnam National University - Mar 25
Acoustical Design with Korea Forest Research Institute and Hanyang University
Tradeshows
- Feb 23-27
6th Kyung Hyang Housing Fair & Housing Brand Fair: KINTEX, Ilsan - Mar 24-28
11th Daegu Housing Expo(DAHOS): EXCO, Daegu - Mar 24-28
17the Seoul Living Design Fair
Did You Know
- Korea is the 4th largest economy in Asia and 15th in the world.
- Korea has posted 6.1% growth rate, the highest in eight years.
- Korea’s purchasing power parity (PPP) GDP per capita has reached USD $29,790 according to the IMF.
- The $30,000 PPP per capita puts Korea 22nd in the world following France ($34.092) and Japan ($33,828).
- Korea was the 6th largest exporter and 19th largest importer in the world.
- A “Peanut” house is a new prevailing terminology among many first time home buyers in Korea representing a duplex house (two family units in one lot) like a peanut (two nuts in one shell). This new terminology created by Mr. H.Y. Lee, a principal architect of Kwangjang Architect Group has been introduced to the public recently.
- It is estimated that Korean forests absorb 46 million tons of CO2 per year, equivalent to 7.5% of total greenhouse gas emissions.
- South Korea has the world's highest estimated national IQ, with leading rankings in mathematics, science, problem solving and reading, as declared by the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development).
Korea Market Update
by Tai Jeong
Economy
GDP Growth:
As an economy dependent on exports for growth, the synchronized global economic downturn caused by the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis had significantly affected real GDP growth of South Korea in 2008 and 2009 showing respective growth rates of 2.2% and 0.2%. However, citing the positive impact of government-led stimulus measures and improving global trade conditions, South Korean economy outperformed expectations in 2010 by posting an estimated growth rate of 6.1%. This robust growth has helped the economy recover most of the losses it suffered during the global financial crisis. The Ministry of Strategy and Finance forecasts South Korea’s economy will grow about 5%, while the Bank of Korea predicts 4.5% in 2011.
Trade Surplus:
In 2009, South Korea was the 9th biggest exporter in the world, up from the 12th in 2008, showing US$ 40.4 billion trade surplus. The 2010 annual tally showed exports surging 28.6% on-year to US$ 467.4 billion, with imports moving up 31.8% to US$ 425.7 billion. South Korea’s trade surplus reached a record US$ 41.7 billion in 2010 as locally made products made solid inroads into overseas markets. South Korea became the 9th largest trading nation, while becoming the 7th biggest exporter in the world in 2010. The South Korean government forecasts that exports may grow 9.8% year-on-year in 2011 to US$ 513.0 billion, with imports gaining 14.6% to US$ 488.0 billion for a two-way trade volume of over US$ 1 trillion for the first time ever.
Private Consumption and Corporate Investment:
Two key indicators of a nation's economic health, private consumption and corporate investment will remain on a recovery track in 2011, helping bolster domestic demand, a key driver of the nation's economic growth. The private consumption increased 4.2% in 2010 and will increase 4.3% in 2011 from 2010, while facility and construction investment will grow 7% and 2.1% respectively in 2011.
Unemployment Rate:
For the whole of 2010, the jobless rate edged up to 3.7% from the previous year’s 3.6%. However, a total of 323,000 new jobs were created in 2010 - the largest number for six years. The Korean ministry forecast that the number of jobs to be created will increase by 280,000 in 2011.
Won-Dollar Exchange Rate:
The Korean currency traded at an average of 1,157 won to the US dollar in 2010, up from 1,276 won in 2009. The average exchange rate of the Korean won is expected to hover at 1,093 won to the dollar this year.
Housing
Korean Housing Starts Summary:
Korea’s housing starts for the first eleven months in 2010 considerably increased 15.8% to 67,294 buildings from a year earlier at 58,119 buildings, reflecting government strong priming measures in residential construction industry.
Korean Wood Building Starts Summary:
The number of wood building permits and starts for the first eleven months in 2010 slightly increased 1.2% and 2.1% to 10,026 buildings and 8,800 buildings respectively compared with the same period in 2009. Year 2010 was marked as a third consecutive year that reaches up to 10,000 (more precisely Nov. YTD of 10,026). The Korean wood industry has been foreseeing that multi-family housing and big scaled WFC projects can be generated when the market size of wood framed buildings reaches to 10,000 buildings per year.
Wood Building |
2008 |
2009 |
(%) |
Jan.-Nov. |
Jan.-Nov. |
(%) |
2010 YTD |
2009 YTD |
|||||
Number of Permits |
10,184 |
11,022 |
8.2 |
10,026 |
9,907 |
1.2 |
Number of Starts |
8,191 |
9,503 |
16.0 |
8,800 |
8,623 |
2.1 |
Source: Ministry of Land, Transportation and Maritime Affairs (as a percent compared to previous year same month and period)
Wood Market Update
Korean Log Imports:
Korean log imports of November YTD 2010 decreased 15.5% to 3,824,940 m³ compared with the same period in 2009.
Logs from New Zealand and the USA are still predominant in Korea log import market. New Zealand continued to be ranked as the number one log export country to Korea in volume basis with a 58.7% market share followed by the USA (a 15.3% share) and Australia (a 7.5% share) for the first 11 months of 2010. Canada used to be ranked as the 5th largest log exporting country to Korea after NZ, the USA, Russia and Australia. But owing to the Russian log export tax, Canada became the 4th biggest log export country to Korea in volume basis with a 6.8% market share for the first 11 months of 2010, showing a 7.7% increase to 261,520 m³, while Russia showing 51.5% decline compared with the same period in 2009.
Korean Softwood Lumber Imports:
Korean softwood lumber imports of November YTD 2010 considerably increased 42.4% to 933,170 m³ from a year earlier to 655,360 m³. Of this total, Canadian softwood lumber imports also increased 13.3% in volume to 181,980 m³ accounting for a 19.5% market share after Russia (a 27% share) and Chile (a 22.6% share). In dollar value, Canada remains as the number one softwood lumber export country to Korea showing a 45.6% increase to USD $53.4 million.
Table: Softwood lumber Imported Volume by country
Source Korea Forest Service – Statistics of Forest Project’s Trade (HS Code: 4407-10)
Country |
Jan-Nov,10 |
Jan-Nov,09 |
(%) |
Jan-Nov,10 |
Jan-Nov,09 |
(%) |
1,000 USD |
1,000 USD |
1000 m³ |
1000 m³ |
|||
New Zealand |
20,825 |
12,654 |
64.6 |
124.45 |
100.20 |
24.2 |
Germany |
4,716 |
2,292 |
105.8 |
14.07 |
5.70 |
146.8 |
Russia |
44,390 |
20,627 |
115.2 |
252.14 |
130.25 |
93.6 |
Brazil |
12,447 |
8,135 |
53.0 |
28.79 |
13.40 |
114.9 |
Sweden |
574 |
1,664 |
-65.5 |
1.65 |
7.00 |
-76.4 |
Estonia |
558 |
180 |
210.0 |
0.99 |
0.33 |
200.0 |
Austria |
1,523 |
816 |
86.6 |
3.54 |
1.97 |
79.7 |
China |
18,772 |
13,502 |
39.0 |
25.58 |
19.25 |
32.9 |
Chile |
39,150 |
22,531 |
73.8 |
211.05 |
146.94 |
43.6 |
Canada |
53,400 |
36,668 |
45.6 |
181.98 |
160.61 |
13.3 |
Turkey |
1,623 |
1,436 |
13.0 |
1.62 |
1.48 |
9.5 |
Finland |
3,105 |
1,859 |
67.0 |
6.96 |
4.40 |
58.2 |
Others |
24,624 |
18,294 |
34.6 |
80.35 |
63.83 |
25.9 |
Total |
225,707 |
140,658 |
60.5 |
933.17 |
655.36 |
42.4 |
SPF Shipments to Korea (MFBM)
SPF shipments to Korea totalled 87,837 MFBM to November YTD 2010, a 9.6% increase from November YTD 2009. The 2010 year-end export volume of SPF is expected to record the highest in Korean history. SPF from B.C. has been primarily destined for the growing wood frame construction sector and treated wood industry as feedstock.
Year |
Jan. |
Feb. |
Mar. |
Apr. |
May. |
Jun. |
Jul. |
Aug. |
Sep. |
Oct. |
Nov. |
Dec. |
Yr-to-Date |
2010 |
7,158 |
6,388 |
9,818 |
9,290 |
12,381 |
7,125 |
10,248 |
8,803 |
5,964 |
5,613 |
5,048 |
- |
87,837 |
2009 |
5,178 |
4,348 |
5,483 |
4,073 |
8,278 |
6,255 |
10,689 |
9,371 |
11,900 |
8,056 |
6,495 |
9,579 |
80,126 |
Jae Chol Choi
QA Consultant, Canada Wood Korea
Email: choi@canadawood.or.kr
Jae has extensive wood frame construction experience as a Wood Building Designer, having worked on a wide range of projects such as hotels, schools and multi-storey buildings in the UK. Jae is now able to share his wood knowledge with fellow Koreans by recently joining the Canada Wood Korea team in April 2009.
A total of 1,319 spectators visited Canada Wood booth this year, which increased in numbers by almost 40% compared with a year earlier.
- A recent research conducted by Seoul City revealed that 9 out of 10 commercial and residential buildings in Seoul were built without any consideration for earthquakes. A 3.0 magnitude earthquake occurred on the outskirt of Seoul on Feb. 9, 2010, reminding Korea that it is not entirely safe from this risk.
Successful participation in the 2010 Busan Housing Fair and 2010 Korea Architecture Fair & Festival
by Jae Choi
CWK information booth at the 2010 BHF.
Students building wood playhouses at BEXCO outdoor exhibition booths. The playhouses attracted children and the public.
Over 300 architects from all over the country participated in the CWK seminar during the 2010 KAFF.
Every year Canada Wood Korea(CWK) participates in the annual Busan Housing Fair(BHF) held at BEXCO, Busan to vitalize the wood frame construction market in southern parts of Korea including Busan and Daegu cities. BHF is one of the key building and housing products exhibitions in Korea and the biggest building materials, home interior and construction exhibition in Gyeongsang Province.
A total of 1,319 spectators visited the Canada Wood booth this year, which increased in numbers by almost 40% compared with a year earlier. During the trade show period, CWK held a series of events to promote Canadian wood products and wood frame construction such as a WFC technical seminar jointly with Korea Wood Construction Association, a round table discussion (RTD) meeting with local wood industry and University-Based Training with Pusan National University.
More than 150 consumers, local builders and architects participated in the seminar and intensive agenda to boost up the local WFC market at the RTD meeting with local University professors and representatives of the local wood construction/product industry.
e-Sang Networks, the BHF organizer, sponsored the outdoor exhibition booths (9m x 15 m) at BEXCO to be used as the venue for the University-Based training. The architectural students of Pusan National University gained the basic knowledge of the wood frame building technology by constructing three playhouses during the 5 days.
At the closing ceremony, e-Sang Networks promised to sponsor the outdoor exhibition booth for CWK’s future training programs. The three demo playhouses were donated to the local charity organization receiving great media attention.
CWK also participated in the Korea Architecture Fair & Festival(KAFF) organized by the Korea Institute of Registered Architects(KIRA) and successfully promoted WFC and Canadian wood products to thousands of architects.
In addition, CWK provided a special seminar for registered architects who are mostly members of KIRA during the trade show. Over 300 architects from country-wide participated in the seminar and showed keen interest in wood frame construction.
CWK plans to participate in two more trade fairs jointly with FPAC to promote Canadian wood products before the end of this fiscal year.
- In April 2010, the Presidential Decree on “Low Carbon, Green Growth” was promulgated and the “Framework Act on Low Carbon, Green Growth” came into force. In the Act, “Green Products” are defined as those which minimize consumption of energy and resources and reduce emission of greenhouse gases and pollutants; thus benefiting wood and wood based products.
- The percentage of building permits issued for detached and low-rise multi-family housing to May 2010 YTD is 48.6% of the total, the highest since 1984, explaining why the wood construction market is expanding in the midst of recession.
WFC Case Study: Duplex House (A "Peanut" House)
by Jae Choi
Prefabricated wall panels being erected by crane in
downtown area filled with high-rise concrete apartments.
Completed Peanut house
Since it was introduced by a local daily newspaper last August, it has greatly impacted young couples living in a high-rise apartment downtown. Mr. Lee said, “Since then this new conceptual housing-type is gaining the sympathy from many people all over the country".
As a result, lots of design orders have been made and several of them are currently being constructed.” He set three practical goals for his first “Peanut” house project, which are 1) cost competitiveness over the same size concrete apartment unit; 2) reduction in construction time; and 3) low maintenance. “There was nothing other than the wood frame construction method to meet those three requirements. The data gained through the first Peanut house project showed that choosing wood frame construction was the key to resolve the problems we faced in the past.” He said with satisfaction.
Still many young Korean people live in a high-rise concrete apartment because it is expensive to own a house with a garden, especially in the downtown area with well-furnished infrastructure. But the Peanut house provides an affordable option for them to own their dream house with a garden in the downtown area. Mr. Lee took his first step into the wood frame industry by designing the first 4-storey wood frame multi-family homes in Korea (NRCan’s Korean demo project), and takes the lead in the popularization of wood frame housing by introducing the Peanut house.
Receiving two prizes at the Korea Wood Design Awards 2010 with the above two projects, Mr. Lee made an additional remark; “I am planning to design and build 100 Peanut houses, total building area is about 300 m², all over the country this year and the demand of Peanut houses expects to be increased gradually.”
Sunny Kim
Program Manager, Canada Wood Korea
Email:kim@canadawood.or.kr Sunny has over 15 years industry experience having designed numerous 2x4 wood framed homes and structures. She also worked to design high-end luxury Marvin Window and Doors for elite projects in Korea. In addition to publishing the CW Korean newsletter, Sunny organizes activities such as seminars, trade fairs and training programs.
WFC Standard Detail Workshop with KIRA
by Sunny Kim
Tai Jeong, Country Director of CWK providing lecture
on WFC building codes.
This is a universal reality and has recently been addressed in Korea with the publication of a WFC Standard Design Drawings booklet. Upon successful publication of the booklet, Canada Wood Korea(CWK) together with the Korea Institute of Registered Architects(KIRA) successfully held a workshop for over 120 architects who are KIRA members by utilizing this booklet as a teaching tool.
Mr. Namho Jo, CEO of Solto Architect Group, who won the Presidential Award of the Korean Architecture Awards in 2004, participated in the workshop and said, "What a remarkable effort of Canada Wood to produce this book, a book that has over 400 pages of design details! "This book will be used as a ‘Bible’ for Korean architects, of course for my fellow architects in my company. This gives a great solution for architects who have not enough knowledge on wood frame construction."
CWK plans to enhance this booklet with more standard details related to townhouse design and, encouraged by the success of this workshop in Seoul, hold series of local workshops with regional branches of KIRA.
Tae Ik Hwang
Program Director, Canada Wood Korea
Email: hwang@canadawood.or.kr
Tae Ik Hwang began to work as the Technical Consultant for Canada Wood Korea from March this year. Before joining Canada Wood Korea, he used to work for Korea Wood Construction Association (KWCA) as a technical director. Lately, he has been assisting Tai Jeong for the fire resistance tests of wood wall assemblies with Korea Technical Group.
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Advanced WFC Training for Korean Builders
by Tae Ik Hwang
Korea has a serious problem in sustainability in construction. The concrete multi-family buildings, which dominate the housing market in Korea, only have a 22.6 year life span on average, even though the concrete structure itself can last a hundred years. Most of the concrete multi-family buildings have been built with a load-bearing wall system, relatively cheaper to build compared with post and beam structures but does not allow any renovations or modifications to accommodate changes in technology or life cycle of occupants.
However, the recent implementation of the “Low Carbon Green Growth” Act and its Enforcement Decree and strengthening of energy saving standard, coupled with the urgent need to change the unsustainable construction practice and expansion of market for long life multi-family housing with post and beam structure are opening an opportunity for exterior and interior infill wall applications in Korea.
Also, application of infill walls has a great potential in traditional wood post and beam structures as seen in the photo below. Traditional infill walls made of mud mixed with sand and straw cannot meet the new energy code in spite of their reputation as natural and healthy materials.
CWK has completed development of 3 volumes of Wood Wall booklets and conducted 3 B-to-B seminars to date. Additionally, CWK will conduct a series of B-to-B seminars for big builders to promote the use of wood in non-load-bearing wall applications based on the many advantages the wood frame exterior and interior infill wall system has over other systems in being a sustainable and renewable resource, high insulation value, carbon emission reduction and carbon storage and many other aspects.
 The cover of Exterior Wood Wall booklet developed in cooperation with CW and FPInnovations |
 Diagram showing wood frame infill wall application |
 Diagram showing details of Exterior Wood Wall assemblies |
 Application of wood frame non-load-bearing in tradition style post and beam structure. |
