Huge volumes of Chinese laminated veneer lumber (LVL) are now landing at Australian ports at rates far below normal pricing, sparking fears the domestic market could be swamped at a time when real estate experts warn the housing sector is experiencing a slow and patchy recovery.
That is according to new data obtained by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and curated by IndustryEdge, revealing that more than 205,343 cubic metres of LVL were traded through Australia’s port system in the ten months to October 2025 — a 63 per cent increase on the same period in 2024.
And the surge is being driven almost entirely by softwood LVL, which accounted for 85 per cent of imports, and by Mainland China exporters where trade more than doubled, now responsible for supplying more than 69 per cent of Australia’s total import volume — a rate that is more than 3.5 times the size of Australia’s next‑largest importer, Finland, more than 5.2 times more than Poland and 6.6 times greater than the United States.
As it stands, the local LVL market supplies about 300,000 cubic metres into the Australian market with Wood Central last year exclusively revealing that new players — like NZ‑based Millari’s sawmill in Gisborne — are looking to muscle their way into the market.
Imports have long been necessary due to limited domestic manufacturing capacity according to Forest and Wood Products Australia. “Some calculations indicate that at the height of the housing market (mid to late 2022), imports of LVL lifted to something close to 300,000 cubic metres per annum. Since then, the housing market has deteriorated and, most recently, has suffered only a stuttering recovery.”
“However, the data shows that over the last year, imports of LVL have exploded, growing 63 per cent in aggregate, led by 77 per cent growth in imports of softwood LVL. As the chart shows, imports in October 2025 shot to a monthly record of 33,632 cubic metres, with softwood LVL accounting for nearly 94 per cent of all imports.”
Wood Central understands that softwood LVL volumes jumped from 99,000 cubic metres in 2024 to more than 175,000 cubic metres, while hardwood and tropical LVL — a much smaller share of the market — declined over the same period.
At the same time, prices have nosedived.
Forest and Wood Products Australia reports that the average price of LVL imports has effectively halved to $404 per cubic metre, while softwood LVL has fallen even further to $373 per cubic metre — the lowest levels ever recorded. For comparison, imported sawn softwood is priced at $733 per cubic metre, almost double that of LVL.
And much of the downward pressure can be ultimately attributed to China, where LVL is landing at just $276 per cubic metre. Removing Chinese shipments from the equation and the average price jumps to around $860 per cubic metre — a 70 per cent increase with the ABS data revealing LVL dispatched from the port of Tsingtao (Qingdao) has been landing at Australian ports for just $173 per per cubic metre!
The surge comes as Senator Tim Ayres, Australia’s Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science, yestertday told ABC News Breakfast that the Albanese government would support the Anti‑Dumping Commission’s examination of claims that China is dumping products into the Australian market.
“You’re right to point to the series of other measures where the Anti‑Dumping Commission and our broader trade remedy system are doing their work in the normal way. We support that activity,” Senator Ayres said, adding that the Albanese government is committed to ensure Australia’s anti‑dumping regime is “fit for purpose.”
- For more information about LVL imports in Australia, including the import volumes and prices coming from Mainland China, Finland, Poland, the United States, Germany, and New Zealand, click here to read the full report.
