Log Exports from Canada, U.S. to Asia Increase

North American log exports to Asia during the past several years have boosted profitability for timberland owners while challenging the domestic solid wood sector mainly in the northwestern U.S. and Coastal British Columbia, according to Wood Resources International, Seattle, Wash., USA. In the 1Q/14, the North American export volume was 14% higher than in the 1Q/13 and 30% more than the same quarter in 2012, as reported by the North American Wood Fiber Review (NAWFR), Seattle. 

 

Almost 53% of the overseas exports have been shipped from the U.S. Northwest, while 41% was from British Columbia and the remaining share of shipments were split between Alaska, California, and the U.S. South.

 

There are nine ports that handle break-bulk log shipments along the U.S. West Coast. The Port of Longview in southwestern Washington exports more logs than all the other eight ports combined, according to Jones Stevedoring. In the past five quarters, each of the eight ports shipped an average of one vessel per month, while the Port at Longview loaded one vessel for Asia every three days. The major exporting companies at this location are Chugoku, Weyerhaeuser, Pacific Lumber & Shipping, Sojitz, and TPT. More information about U.S. West Coast log exports is available online.     

 

Coastal British Columbia is also a major supplier of logs to the Asian markets, with a majority of the timber originating from private timberlands on Vancouver Island. During the past year, shipments have been approximately 1.5 million sq. meters per quarter, which is up from an average of 1.2 million sq. meters per quarter during 2011 and 2012. 

 

Perhaps the most interesting development this past year has been the sharp increase in shipments of logs in containers from the U.S. South. These exports have been mainly to China and India. Although the total volume is still relatively small compared with the U.S. West Coast export volumes, the U.S. South share of total overseas exports from the U.S. was more than 6% during the first five months of this year compared with only 2% for the same period in 2012, as reported by NAWFR.

 

Total shipments of southern yellow pine were up 130% for the period January through May of this year compared with the same period last year, and volumes are already 70% more than they were for all of 2012. Combined with the first reported bulk shipload departing from the Port of Baton Rouge in May, the U.S. is likely to see increased exports of logs from southern states in the coming years.