Logs bound for export in Astoria
There’s good news and bad news for logging and sawmilling jobs in the Northwest.
The bad news is new figures out Friday show construction spending dropped in February to the lowest level in more than a decade.
The good news is that timber demand from China is soaring.
Russia has traditionally been China’s main wood supplier. But an export tax by the Russians and the expanding Chinese economy have created an opening for exporters on the West Coast.
The Vancouver, B.C.-based International Wood Markets Group estimates log exports to China from the U.S. rose more than 100 percent over the past year.