Lumber stocks react to Japan’s earthquake

There has been a lot of analysis in the last few days concerning the impact the massive earthquake, and tsunami in Japan will have on North American timber markets.

On Friday, shares of North American timber companies jumped with the thought that an increase in lumber demand will occur to rebuild Japan’s damage.

Weyerhaeuser is one of North America’s largest exporters of logs to Japan. Shares of Weyerhaeuser climbed as much as 6% during trading on Friday. Last year, more than $1 billion of Weyerhaeuser’s revenue came from sales to Japan.

In Canada, just 2.4% of our exports went to Japan over the last year. British Columbia’s share was 14%. Back in 1995, after Kobe, Japan was flattened by an earthquake, Canada’s exports to Japan surged by 24%.

Shares of International Forest Products Ltd. surged up 12% on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Friday. West Fraser Timber Co Ltd., and Canfor Corp. each went up 6%.

Read more analysis:
Shares of North American timber companies jump as Japan shakes (Reuters)
Forecaster weighs risks of economic aftershocks Rebuilding in Japan likely to mean costs, benefits for Canada (Edmonton Journal)
Timber companies shares spike after Japan quake (KTVB)
Weyerhaeuser, West Fraser, Canfor May Gain if Japanese Rebuild With Wood (Bloomberg)
CANADA STOCKS-TSX breaks 4-day slide as materials rebound (Reuters)