Log exports from Washington, Oregon, northern California, and Alaska totalled 515 million board feet in volume in 2Q 2014, an increase of more than 10 per cent compared to 1Q 2014, the US Forest Service’s Pacific Northwest Research Station reported today. During this same period, West coast lumber exports decreased by 4 per cent to 247 million board feet.
The total value of these log exports increased by more than 5 per cent to US$390 million in the same quarter, while the total value of lumber exports decreased less than 2 per cent to US$183 million.
China remains a significant market.
“West coast log exports to China remained strong in 2Q 2014, increasing by more than 22 per cent compared to the first quarter of 2014,” said Xiaoping Zhou, a research economist with the station who conducted the analysis and compiled the data. “China’s demand for West coast lumber, however, continued to decline, dropping by nearly 20 per cent compared to 1Q 2014.”
Over 70 per cent of the West coast’s log exports was shipped to China in 2Q 2014, compared to 64 per cent in 1Q 2014, while lumber exports to China dropped to 35 per cent of the total compared to 42 per cent during 1Q 2014.
