Log and lumber exports from Washington, Oregon, northern California and Alaska increased 42% in 2011 compared to 2010, totaling 1,992 and 1,015 million board feet according to the U.S. Forest Service’s Pacific Northwest Research Station. Oregon and Washington are again the largest log exporters in the U.S. since 2000.
“The total value of exported logs from west coast in 2011 increased by 54%, from $844 million to $1,297 million,” said Xiaoping Zhou, a research economist with the station who compiled the data. “The total value of exported lumber increased by 35%: from $509 million in 2010, to $687 million in 2011.”
Zhou compiled the statistics from the U.S. International Trade Commission and from Production, Prices, Employment, and Trade in Northwest Forest Industries, a station publication that provides current information on the region’s lumber and plywood production prices as well as employment in forest industries. The report is available online at http://www.treesearch.fs.fed.us/pubs/38431.
About 83% of the west coast’s log exports and 87% of its lumber exports came through ports in Oregon and Washington. Ninety-nine percent of the total log export was softwood, and 86% of the total lumber export was softwood lumber.