USDA Forest Service
Pacific Northwest Research Station
Portland, OR: November 19, 2014

Contact: Xiaoping Zhou, (503) 808-2017, xzhou@fs.fed.us

Media contact: Yasmeen Sands, (503) 808-2137, ysands@fs.fed.us  

 

PORTLAND, Ore. November 19, 2014. Log exports from Washington, Oregon, northern California, and Alaska totaled 402 million board feet in volume in the third quarter of 2014, a decrease of 22 percent compared to the second quarter of 2014, the U.S. Forest Service’s Pacific Northwest Research Station reported today. During this same period, west coast lumber exports decreased 11 percent to 219 million board feet.
The total value of third quarter log and lumber exports also decreased compared to the second quarter of 2014, with log exports declining by 24 percent to $296 million and lumber exports declining by 12 percent to $161 million.
Although China’s log and lumber imports dropped in the third quarter of 2014, the country remains the leading market for west coast wood products. “Over 62 percent of west coast logs and 32 percent of west coast lumber were exported to China,” said Xiaoping Zhou, a research economist with the station who conducted the analysis and compiled the data.
Other highlights:

• Compared to the same period last year, the third quarter of 2013, exports of west coast logs and lumber both decreased by 21 percent.
• Total U.S. log exports decreased by 12 percent, while lumber exports decreased 7 percent compared to the second quarter of 2014.
• Total U.S. exports to China decreased by 31 percent for logs and by 17 percent for lumber during the third quarter of 2014.

Zhou compiled the statistics using data from the U.S. International Trade Commission and Production, Prices, Employment, and Trade in Northwest Forest Industries, an annual station publication that provides current information on the region’s lumber and plywood production as well as employment in forest industries. The latest report is available online at http://www.treesearch.fs.fed.us/pubs/45432.

 

The Pacific Northwest Research Station—headquartered in Portland, Ore.—generates and communicates scientific knowledge that helps people make informed choices about natural resources and the environment. The station has 11 laboratories and centers located in Alaska, Washington, and Oregon and about 300 employees. Learn more online at http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw.