Pacific Northwest Research Station

West Coast’s log, lumber exports increase
in second quarter of 2009

USDA Forest Service
Pacific Northwest Research Station

Portland, OR September 4, 2009

Contacts

Debra Warren, (503) 808-2001, dwarren@fs.fed.us

Yasmeen Sands, (360) 753-7716, ysands@fs.fed.us

Sherri Richardson Dodge, (503) 808-2137, srichardsondodge@fs.fed.us

PORTLAND, Ore. September 4, 2009. A total of 239.5 million board feet of softwood logs and 80.2 million board feet of softwood lumber was exported from Washington, Oregon, northern California, and Alaska in April, May, and June of this year, according to the U.S. Forest Service’s Pacific Northwest Research Station.

“ The volume of softwood log exports was up 65.2 percent from the first-quarter volume of 145 million board feet, while the volume of softwood lumber exports was up 17.9 percent from 68 million board feet,” said Debra Warren, an economist with the station.

Warren compiled the statistics from the U.S. International Trade Commission and authors Production, Prices, Employment, and Trade in Northwest Forest Industries, an annual publication that provides current information on the region’s lumber and plywood production and prices and employment in the forest industries. The 2009 edition of the report, which will include data from all quarters of this year, will be published in 2010.

Other highlights of the second quarter include:
(Softwood log exports)

• Some 109.5 million board feet (45.7 percent) of the second quarter 2009 west coast log exports went to Japan, 86.6 million board feet (36.2 percent) went to South Korea, 37.0 million board feet (15.4 percent) went to China, 4.4 million board feet (1.8 percent) went to Taiwan, and 0.7 million board feet (0.03 percent) went to Canada.
• Log exports for the second quarter of 2009 from Oregon and Washington totaled 189.5 million board feet, up 38.6 percent from the first quarter volume of 136.7 million board feet. A total of 2.6 million board feet of logs was exported from northern California, up from 0.9 million board feet in the first quarter of 2009. Alaska exported a total of 47.4 million board feet in the second quarter of 2009, compared with 7.4 in the first quarter.
• Douglas-fir accounted for 51.6 percent of these log exports; western hemlock, 23.4 percent; spruce, 17.3 percent; and other softwoods made up the remaining 7.7 percent.
• The total value of log shipments for the second quarter of 2009 was $139.2 million at the port of exportation, and the average value was $581.01 per thousand board feet. Douglas-fir averaged $653.60 per thousand board feet; hemlock, $564.98; spruce, $381.08 (in Alaska); and other softwoods, $469.28 (in Oregon and Washington).

(Softwood lumber exports)

• Some 28.3 million board feet (35.3 percent) of the west coast second quarter softwood lumber exports in 2009 went to Canada, 23.1 million board feet (28.8 percent) went to Japan, 9.1 million board feet (11.3 percent) went to the Philippines, 3.7 million board feet (4.6 percent) went to Indonesia (mostly cedar from San Francisco), 5.7 million board feet (7.1 percent) went to China, and 1.3 million board feet (1.6 percent) went to South Korea.
• Lumber exports for the second quarter of 2009 from Oregon and Washington totaled 75.8 million board feet, up 21.9 percent from the 2009 first quarter volume of 62.2 million board feet. A total of 4.5 million board feet was exported from northern California, compared with 5.6 million board feet in the first 3 months of 2009. Alaska exported no lumber during the second quarter of 2009, compared with 0.1 million board feet in the first quarter of 2009.
• Douglas-fir accounted for 48.5 percent of the second quarter 2009 softwood lumber exports; western hemlock and cedars, each 13.1 percent; and other softwoods made up the remaining 25.3 percent.
• The total value of second quarter 2009 lumber shipments from the west coast was $53.7 million at the ports of exportation, and the average value was $666.45 per thousand board feet. Douglas-fir averaged $768.30 per thousand board feet; western hemlock, $450.83; cedars, $821.02; and other softwoods, $512.99.

To view the 2008 edition of Production, Prices, Employment, and Trade in Northwest Forest Industries, visit http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/pnw_rb258.pdf.

The PNW Research Station is headquartered in Portland, Oregon. It has 11 laboratories and centers located in Alaska, Oregon, and Washington and about 425 employees.