{"id":31799,"date":"2026-01-16T10:53:02","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T00:53:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/?p=31799"},"modified":"2026-01-16T10:53:04","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T00:53:04","slug":"canadas-sawmills-weigh-metric-switch-to-reach-global-markets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/canadas-sawmills-weigh-metric-switch-to-reach-global-markets\/","title":{"rendered":"Canada\u2019s Sawmills Weigh Metric Switch to Reach Global Markets"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Canada\u2019s lumber industry may soon be forced to retool \u2014 and potentially abandon the imperial system in favour of metric \u2014 as new tariffs and duties push exporters to seek markets far beyond the United States. That is according to a new report in Business in Vancouver, <\/a>which warns Canada’s heavy dependence on a single export market has become a structural risk for the sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For decades, the United States has absorbed almost all of Canada’s softwood lumber. In 2023 and 2024, for example, the US accounted for 90% of Canadian exports and 77% of British Columbia\u2019s shipments, according to global wood markets analyst Russ Taylor. And with duties and political tensions rising, Taylor said that reliance is no longer sustainable. \u201cThis over\u2011reliance on the U.S. lumber market could not have come at a worse time,\u201d Taylor said, pointing to the surge in trade barriers since President Trump took office in January 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, mounting pressure is forcing sawmills to consider retooling for markets that use the metric system rather than North America\u2019s imperial dimensions. And while many mills can cut both ways, the supply chain is not configured for metric\u2011driven production. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Taylor said the real bottleneck is the absence of European\u2011style log\u2011merchandising systems \u2014 advanced sorting lines that use X\u2011ray scanners and automated grading to batch logs by diameter, length, and quality before they reach the sawmill: \u201cNorth American construction sizes and grades do not fit many, if not most, end\u2011use applications in offshore markets,\u201d Taylor said. Logs would also need to be cut to metric lengths to meet European and Middle Eastern specifications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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