After a moderate slip in 2012, log exports are heating up again on Lower Columbia docks in response to demand from growing Asian economies.
In February, Port of Longview dock workers are expected to load about 90,000 metric tons of logs on vessels bound for Asia, more than a fivefold increase from all of February 2012, according to the port. January’s log exports also outpaced the numbers from the same month the previous year.
The uptick in activity at the docks is good news for longshoremen, timberland owners and loggers throughout the Lower Columbia region, although increased foreign demand for logs could put the pinch on the area’s lumber producers, since the price of logs tends to rise during periods of high demand. Weyerhaeuser Co. officials say they expect more activity at their Longview dock, the company’s largest on the West Coast.