找好的进口木材去哪里

北美阔叶木数字化平台愿景

North American Hardwood Digital Platform Vision

北美硬木板材近三四个月以来的走势，牵动着多少从业人员的心。自2018年6月开始，北美材进入了长期熊市，价格一路下行，直到2020年9、10月份才开始触底反弹，而代价是美国木材加工企业损失了相当于高峰期约60%的产能。与此相对应的是，需求却出现了小幅增长，究其原因，一方面是中国国内疫情得到有效控制，经济恢复速度超预期；另一方面是国外疫情持续，对自身生产制造业的影响巨大，更加大对中国加工制成品进口的依赖。过去一整年，北美板材加工业产能有限，却依然要应付出口、政府经济纾困计划刺激下的产能释放双重压力，重压之下板材价格一路高涨，且没有放缓的趋势。

In the past three to four months, North American hardwood market has pounded the hearts of many people in the industry. Since June 2018, North American hardwood has entered a long-term bear market, and prices have free-fallen all the way. It did not start to level out until September/October 2020. North American mills have lost about 60% of their peak production capacity thereafter. Meanwhile, there has been a slight increase in demand: on one hand, the COVID-19 in China has been effectively controlled, and the economic recovery has exceeded expectations; on the other hand, the endless pandemic in other parts of the world has a huge impact on global production and manufacturing, which leads to heavy dependence on China's exports. In the past year, the North American hardwood industry has limited production capacity, while it still has to deal with the dual pressure from export market and the eruption of domestic demand stimulated by the government's economic relief plan. Lumber prices have since been rising all the way and there is no sign of slowing down at all.

值得注意的是，眼前市场的“疯狂”，难掩北美木材在整个中国家居和家具材料市场份额大幅减少的事实。数据显示，中国家居市场容量自2017年到2019年持续增长了近15%，反观北美硬木板材的主要材种，对中国的进口在两年期间的跌幅却高达50%！！如果我们坐视不理，任由价格“失控”地起伏和供需的持续失衡，长此以往，“材”将不“材”！

It is worth noting that the current "craziness" in the market can hardly conceal the fact North American Hardwood market share in China’s home furnishing market has been substantially reduced. Stats show the capacity of China's home furnishing market has continued to grow by nearly 15% from 2017 to 2019. In contrast, North American hardwood lumber saw a decrease in export to China as much as 50% during the two-year period! ! If we sit aside, watching prices to fluctuate out of control and seeing continuous imbalance between supply and demand, in the long run, we might lose North American hardwoods as an option!

北美硬木，作为中国硬木进口的重要组成部分，曾经占据了非常重要的地位，其巅峰应该占据30％以上的硬木进口市场份额。北美硬木供应量大、可持续性强、供应国的政治/经济/货币汇率稳定、市场规则意识强、材料质量标准明晰、争端解决机制公平高效等因素共同组成了北美材供应充足、价格质量稳定和利润前景清晰的优势，也是过去20年美国材取得成功的关键因素。然而当前的火热行情充满诸多不确定性，参与者倍感焦虑，这和美国材固有的优势是相悖的。现在的市场不是万马奔腾，就是万马齐喑，留给市场稳定利润稳定预期的时间越来越短，这完全体现不出美国材各种稳定的优势。

North American hardwoods, as an important part of China's hardwood imports, once had a very critical role, whose peak seized 30% of the total imported hardwood. With its sustainable and abundant supply, North American hardwoods have advantages of stable pricing and consistent quality, due to combined factors including stable political and economic environment in origin countries, strong awareness of business obligation, distinct quality standards, fair and efficient mechanism of dispute settlement. And clear profit prospect is also a key element in the success of North American hardwoods in the past 20 years. However, the current insane market is full of uncertainties, and participants are in great anxiety, which is opposite to the perception of the inherent advantages of American lumber. The current market represents wild ups and downs, while the time period between peak and bottom for stable market and profit becomes shorter and shorter. This completely fails the various advantages of American lumber.

时代在发展，技术在进步，本行业现有的供应商-销售代表-贸易商-终端用户这个链条已经和现在的通信技术不匹配，信息不畅，服务缺失，运行低效，从业人员的腐败等弊端日益凸显，只有通过行业的互联网化改造才能克服。那么到底该怎么做才能让供应商直接了解生产商的真实需求和成本底线，让生产商迅速了解大洋彼岸的生产情况、成本变化、天气物流等生产条件，让供需双方知己知彼，不误判，从而使市场平稳有序的发展？

The times are evolving and technology is upgrading. The existing chain of supplier-sales rep-distributor-end user in this industry does not align with the current communication technology. Drawbacks, such as poor information flow, lack of service, inefficient operation, and potential corruption, have become increasingly prominent, and can only be overcome through transformation of the industry with internet. So what should be done to facilitate suppliers to understand the end users’ true demand and cost bottom line, and to help end users quickly understand the production across the ocean, including cost changes, weather condition, logistics etc.? Both the supply and demand can therefore know each other better and no misjudgment will happen, and eventually steady and orderly market development can be expected.

为解决这一系列难题，北美阔叶木数字化平台横空出世，它为扭转北美材在国内市场的颓势提供了可能。作为一个高效、专业、权威的数字化平台。每天有数以百万的中国企业主、采购人员查看平台、了解并认识到北美阔叶木的价值，看到真实权威的行业信息，美国的供应商就是一个手指点击的距离，就可以直接获取最新的库存和价格，得到专业和全面的服务。随着平台的发展，不断有大量新的木作工厂选择北美阔叶木，这样的事情一周七天，每天24小时发生着。对于北美阔叶木这将是多么大的宣传和推广的力度！北美阔叶木市场占有率将会在中国市场不断壮大！而这些成就绝非每年两次展会，一次年会就能推动得了的。

In order to solve these problems, here comes the North American hardwood digital platform, which provides the possibility to reverse the decline of North American lumber in domestic market. As an efficient, professional and authoritative digital platform, millions of Chinese business owners and buyers will check the platform each every day to understand and recognize the value of North American hardwoods and see the real-time and authoritative industry information. American suppliers are also just a click away to get the latest updates directly, including information on inventory and price, professional and comprehensive service. With the development of the platform, a large number of new woodworking factories will continue to choose North American hardwood. Imagine this happens 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, what a tremendous publicity and promotion effort this will be for North American Hardwoods, whose market share will therefore continue to grow in China! And these achievements can neither be accomplished by two exhibitions a year nor an annual convention.

平台的核心当然还是通过移动互联网的成熟技术：1. 用手机创建从看货（卖货）、议价到下单一站式的高效解决方案，而且交易的全程保证公平、公正和公开；2. 让平台注册用户享受进口、报关、仓储及金融等更便捷优惠的服务；3. 通过提高效率来产生效益，通过利益共享来产生共赢。

The core of the platform is of course the mature internet technology: 1. Use mobile phones to create a single-stop solution from seeing lumber (selling), bargaining to placing order, and the entire transaction is guaranteed to be fair, just and open; 2. Let registered users of the platform enjoy more convenient and preferential services such as import, customs declaration, warehousing and finance; 3. Generate benefits by improving efficiency, and generate win-win business through sharing profit.

当然，在这一年中我们以平台为中心，向外辐射做了一系列卓有成效的关于北美木材的推广：

Of course, during this past year or so, we use the platform to successfully carry out several promotion activities on North American hardwoods:

一是举办以使用北美材为宗旨的家具设计大奖赛，已成功举办了第一届（儿童家具创意设计），之后将形成系列（包括XX、XX、XX）。参赛者以学生为主体，既利用了学生天马行空的创意，又让北美材的种子播种在即将进入社会的学生头脑中。获奖作品将无偿地共享给使用北美材的木作工厂，增加他们的产品线，从而增加北美材的用量。

Firstly we start series of furniture design competition using North American lumber. The first (children's furniture creative design) has been successfully held, and more to follow later, including furniture for seniors… College students are major participants. We not only take advantage of their unconstrained creativity, but also plant the seeds of North American hardwood in the minds of students who are about to start their career soon. The prize-winning works will be shared free of charge to wood factories that use North American hardwoods, to increase their product lines, thereby using more.

二是创立阔叶木研究中心，通过各种学术交流、课题研究、信息收集发布等形式从理论上给予木作工厂更多的指导。帮助木作工厂解决各种选材、生产及工艺等各方面出现的问题，让北美木材找到相对于人造板材等替代品的竞争优势。

Secondly we establish a hardwood research center to provide woodworking factories with more guidance, through various academic exchanges, subject study, and information collection and release. We aim at helping woodworking factories solve all kinds of problems in their lumber selection, production and technology, so that North American hardwood finds competitiveness over substitutes such as artificial boards.

三是开创对话供应商栏目，通过上游供应商与下游经销商的直接对话，帮助双方了解市场供需情况、木材生产情况、价格走势预期等等，一方面利于经销商加深对北美木材的行情了解，另一方面也利于稳定市场情绪。

Last but not the least, we create a “Dialogue With Supplier” channel , through which both suppliers and distributors/end-users will understand market supply and demand, lumber production, price trend and etc. It will help distributors improve their in-depth understanding of the market, and therefore also help stabilize market sentiment.

这就是我们将要推出的北美阔叶木数字化平台的美好愿景：在史无前例的市场环境下，为广大同行提供及时资讯；借助成熟发达的电子商务技术，为广大企业和从业人员提供一个公开、公正和公平的交易环境；打造建立以互联网为基础的服务体系，全面覆盖供销两端，为尤其是终端生产企业节省成本、创造价值，从而获取更大的竞争优势；与时俱进，利用时下日趋流行的数字化手段，为传统的木材行业注入活力和新鲜血液，让“木头人”社区不再刻板无趣；这是一项利在长远的事业，一份功在千秋的使命，为北美阔叶木在中国的可持续发展砥砺前行！

We are launching the North American hardwood digital platform with the following vision: Provide timely information for the industry in an unprecedented market environment; use mature and developed e-commerce technology to provide enterprises and practitioners with an open, just and fair business environment; establish an internet-based service system covering both ends of supply and sales, saving costs and creating value for end-users in particular, so as to gain greater competitiveness; keep pace with the times and make use of the increasingly popular Digital methods, infusing vitality and new blood into the traditional lumber industry, so that the "Wood-Man" community is no longer stereotyped and boring; this is a long-term cause and mission that will contribute to the future. Let’s keep up the good work and stride forward!