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Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training and Responsible for Labour

2006 Softwood Lumber Agreement

Surge and Export Charge Rate 2010 - 2011

Export Charge Rate

The export charge rate in a month is based on the prevailing monthly price which is the four-week average of the industry standard Random Lengths Framing Lumber Composite Price.  As shown in the following table, when the prevailing monthly price is above $US355/mbf there is no export charge, and the export charge rises as the prevailing monthly price falls.

Prevailing Monthly Price for Agreement (US$/mbf)

 BC Export Charge Rate
Over 355 No Export Charge
336-355 5%
316-335 10%
315 or under 15%

The table below shows the British Columbia export charge rate for recent months.  For a historical time series see Surge and Export Charge Rates 2006-2009.  Export charge rates for other provinces are available at the Canada Revenue Agency website.

Month

 Prevailing Monthly Price for Agreement (US$/mbf) BC Export Charge Rate
January 2010 251 15%
February 2010 250 15%
March 2010 281 15%
April 2010 311 15%
May 2010 325 10%
June 2010 361 No Export Charge
July 2010 316 10%
August 2010 251 15%
September 2010 251 15%
October 2010 247 15%
November 2010 250 15%
December 2010 260 15%
January 2011 276 15%
February 2011 291 15%
March 2011 303 15%
April 2011 296 15%
May 2011 288 15%
June 2011 267 15%
July 2011 260 15%
August 2011 264 15%
September 2011 271 15%
October 2011 259 15%
November 2011 265 15%
December 2011 257 15%

 

Export Volume Monitoring

The following link is to the Federal Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada (DFAIT) website where provincial statistics on lumber exports are updated daily.  The table also shows the surge limit for each region for the current month.

SOFTWOOD LUMBER EXPORTS REPORT

British Columbia Surge Limits

The table below shows surge limits for recent months.  For historical time series see Surge and Export Charge Rates 2006-2009.

British Columbia Monthly Surge Limits, million board feet

  Expected US Consumption BC Coast Surge Limit BC Coast Actual Exports BC Interior Surge Limit BC Interior Actual Exports
January 2010 2,509 40 22 481 386
February 2010 2,359 53 26 452 400
March 2010 2,604 48 29 499 471
April 2010 2,787 72 34 534 476
May 2010 2,781 61 34 533 381
June 2010 2,708        
July 2010 2,747 49 23 527 409
August 2010 2,833 59 23 543 354
September 2010 2,688 58 20 515 363
October 2010 2,852 52 20 547 336
November 2010 2,536 47 20 486 346
December 2010 2,402 44 21 461 353
January 2011 2,505 40 22 480 347
February 2011 2.417 54 29 463 321
March 2011 2,727 50 38 523 421
April 2011 2,949 76 33 565 316
May 2011 2,968 65 34 569 310
June 2011 2,894 67 34 555 358
July 2011 2,943 53 35 564 387
August 2011 2,919 61 30 560 362
September 2011 2,768 60 27 531 412
October 2011 2,967 54 26 569 362
November 2011 2,634 48 20 505 400
December 2011 2,508 50 27 481 384

* Export levels are based on export permit data and are subject to change.

Background on Surge Provisions and Calculations

Under the export tax option chosen by British Columbia in the 2006 Softwood Lumber Agreement (SLA2006), there is provision for a retroactive penalty amounting to 50% of the applicable tax rate if exports during a month are greater than 110% of a defined market share.

The Coast and Interior regions of British Columbia are treated separately under the agreement.  Exporters report the “Region of Origin” of the primary mill for lumber they ship so that exports are allocated to the appropriate region for surge and quota calculations (details).

The surge limit for each region is calculated based on defined market shares of Expected US Consumption.  Each region's market share is laid out in the Agreement in Annex 8.

Expected US Consumption is a 12-month rolling average of US consumption, 3 months lagged, and adjusted by monthly seasonal adjustments as laid out in Annex 8 of the Agreement.  For example, the Expected US Consumption for calculating the November 2006 surge limit is based on US consumption data for August 2005-July 2006.

The federal government's Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) has committed to publish lumber statistics daily on their website.

BC Market Share in SLA 2006

  2004-05 Share of Expected US Consumption Surge Limit Share = 110% * Share
Coast 1.86% 2.046%
Interior 17.43% 19.173%

Source: Annex 8 of SLA 2006