Okume Wood

[foxtrot]

I heard that Okume wood is cheaper than plywood and generally has same strengths. 12MM equals the 3/8 plywood. I also heard is was lighter for shipping. Do you know anything about it?

[The Cratinator]

I think the foreign plants that make the plywood give them their own trade names. I like the cost of foreign woods but are they rated the same as north american? I'm not sure you can get a consistent product.

[Lumber King]

Okume is a great looking product that has, at times, been a less expensive than domestic cdx plywood. As of right now, this is not the case... Domestic plywood is generally less expensive than imports due to the decreased buying power of the US dollar. OSB (oriented strand board) is a bargain right now, with prices dropping to what a sheet cost in 1991.

I sell quite a bit of Plywood for crating and 98% of my sales are domestic product for year 2007/2008.

[Admin]

Hi Lumber King and welcome to WCO!

I think you make a good point about OSB. The big challenge that I've heard from manufacturers is that many crate/box consumers are concerned that their customers (crate recipients) will see OSB as 'cheap' because of a lack of knowledge between it and particle board. For that reason, they don't use it.

Do you have any ideas that you can share with people on how to get them over this hump?

[Paul W. Vieira]

Okoume Plywood for crating has become a major import on the west coast over the last few years, and is a product from China. But currently, because of the devaluation of the dollar, and the desire of the mills in China to increase profits, combined with the increased cost of transportation, the cost of Okoume has increased and is now closer to the cost of domestic plywood. It has been our experience that Okoume is not as strong as domestic plywood as it tends to warp while in storage, when stored indoors and even when converted into a finished product. It is our understanding that Okoume does not meet the requirements of the US Product Standards PS-1 and PS-2. Additional problems have occurred with Okoume when used in higher quality containers that require painting. Becasue the face veneer is so thin, the plywood develops bubbles over a 24 hour period when primed and painted with
water based paints. Even the Birch Face - Poplar Core imported plywoods have the same problem.
For reference, here are the plywood thickness designations of Okoume vs. domestic:
6 MM used for 1/4", 8 MM used for 3/8", 12 MM used for 1/2" and 18 MM used for 3/4" plywood. There are other thicknesses available for you to persue if you are interested.