(Published by Inland Forest Management, Inc.)

Lumber Imports

It is common knowledge that the United States imports a tremendous volume of lumber from Canada. However, what may not be so well known is which other countries also rank high in U.S. lumber imports.

For example, it seems surprising that Germany ranks number two in U.S. lumber imports. Their success in the U.S. is related to low production costs, high quality wood and a good reputation in lumber markets. The next countries in the ranking are Brazil, Chile, and Austria.

Globalization of our lumber market has had a significant impact on Inland Northwest log markets. This effect has been most pronounced in the ponderosa pine and grand fir/western hemlock log markets, where competing lumber from foreign countries has suppressed log prices.

Because of globalization, the influence of such factors as interest rates and the strength of the U.S. dollar are having an increasing impact on the value of our local logs.

U. S. Imports of Softwood Lumber

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