Title: The Global Market
1The Global Market
2Light Framing Prices1971-2002 (2002 dollars)
Coast Hem-Fir
Source Haynes Fight 2004
3Interpreting Price Data
- Recessions and economic expansion (housing
starts) - Spotted owl litigation caused timber harvest from
National Forests to fall from 12 billion board
feet in 1989 to 18 million board feet in 2003 - Reduction of lumber exports
- Substitution of materials for framing lumber
- Increased imports (mostly from Canada)
4Between 1991 and 1996, U.S. softwood lumber
imports from Canada rose from 10.5 to 17.8
billion board feet, increasing from 27 to 36
percent of U.S. softwood lumber consumption. Much
of the increase in Canadian lumber imports has
come from the native old-growth boreal forests of
northern Quebec. The increased harvesting of the
boreal forests in Quebec has become a public
issue there.
Doug McCleery
5Softwood Lumber Imports from Canada
6Value of U.S. Wood ProductImports Exports
1991-2005
Source USDA Foreign Agricultural Service
7Harvesting on private lands in the southern
United States also increased after the reduction
of federal timber in the West. Today, the harvest
of softwood timber in the southeastern U.S.
exceeds the rate of growth for the first time in
at least 50 years. Increased harvesting of fiber
by chip mills in the southeastern U.S. has become
a public issue locally.
Doug McCleery
8Timber Harvest by Region 1986 2001
9Softwood Growth and Removals on Private Lands in
the South 1996
10Globalization
- The Globalization of the timber trade would have
happened regardless of what happened on the
National Forests of the U.S. - Floating exchange rates
- Free trade agreements
- Nonetheless, Jim L. Bowyer points to a disturbing
trend
11Most of the raw materials consumed by the
industrialized world - including the United
States - come from impoverished countries that
lack the money, technology and political will
needed to regulate their own extractive
industries.
12In the emerging global economy, nations should
be increasing, not decreasing, their dependency
on wood fiber because wood is renewable,
recyclable, biodegradable and far more energy
efficient in its manufacture and use than are
products made from steel, aluminum, plastic or
concrete.
Jim L. Bowyer, Evergreen Magazine, Sept. 1993
13World Timber Consumption
- An estimated 1.7 billion cubic meters (7.2
billion board feet) of wood is consumed annually - International trade in wood products is estimated
at 135-150 billion per year
14World Timber Consumption
- Wood products comprise approximately 3 percent of
the worlds economy - Growing population and growing economies will
cause demand for wood to grow to 2.0 - 2.5
billion cubic meters (85 - 106 billion board
feet) annually by 2020
15Ancient History
- Among the earliest records of trade in wood,
there were various reports of it being shipped
from sources in what are now Crete, Cyprus,
Lebanon, Syria, Turkey and Greece to Egypt during
the period of the great Egyptian dynasties from
around 3000 BC onwards even though there were
still quite extensive forests in Egypt at that
time.
Tim Peck, The International Timber Trade (p. 10)
16American Trade
- Naval stores, masts, and timbers from the early
17th century - Just a few decades ago, imports were largely
limited to tropical hardwoods such as mahogany
and teak. - Canada began to compete on the U.S. softwood
lumber market in the 1960s and 1970s
17Forests of the World
18Forest Cover by Continent 2005
Source Food Agricultural Organization (FAO) of
the U.N.
19Forest Cover by Country 2005
Source Food Agricultural Organization (FAO) of
the U.N.
20Leading Wood Product Exporting Countries
21Leading Wood Product Importing Countries
22Leading Softwood Lumber Exporting Countries
23Leading Softwood Lumber Importing Countries
24Leading Hardwood Lumber Exporting Countries
25Leading Hardwood Lumber Importing Countries
26The Emergence of China
- In-transit processor of wood products
- Has become the worlds 4th largest importer and
exporter of wood products - Furniture
- Preserving domestic forests
- Asian free trade agreement
27U.S. Wood Product Imports by Country in 2003
(Based on Value)
28O, Canada
- Trade war begins in 1982
- U.S. companies claim unfair trade subsidies to
Canadian producers - Public land ownership Provincial governments
- Long-term timber sales
- Locked into low prices
- Exclusion from NAFTA
29U.S. Wood Product Exports by Country in 2003
(Based on Value)
30U.S. Wood Product Imports by Commodity in 2005
(Based on Value)
31U.S. Wood Product Exports by Commodity in 2005
(Based on Value)
32World Forest Loss
- Approximately 0.2 of the worlds forests are
being lost every year over the past 15 years - The primary causes are clearing land for
agriculture and consumption of wood for fuel - In the tropics, only 17 percent of the timber
harvested goes to the international market
33World Forest Loss
- An estimated 55-60 (or more) of the timber
harvested in developing countries is used for
fuel - Poverty is the greatest cause of global forest
loss
34Forest Loss by Continent1990-2005
Source Food Agricultural Organization (FAO) of
the U.N.
35Countries With Greatest Forest Loss 1990-2005
Source Food Agricultural Organization (FAO) of
the U.N.
36Countries With Greatest Forest Loss 1990-2005
Source Food Agricultural Organization (FAO) of
the U.N.
37Countries With Greatest Forest Recovery 1990-2005
Source Food Agricultural Organization (FAO) of
the U.N.
38How to Meet the Worlds Needs
- More efficient production (underway)
- Bowyer and McCleery advocate reducing consumption
particularly in residential construction in
developed countries - Forest plantations
39Today the U.S. public consumes more resources
than at any time in its history and also consumes
more per capita than almost any other nation.
Since the first Earth Day in 1970, the average
family size in the United States has dropped by
16 percent, while the size of the average single
family house being built has increased by more
than 40 percent.
Doug McCleery
40Radiata Pine
- Pinus radiata
- Monterey pine
- Native to California
- Plantations in the Southern Hemisphere
- Ashley Forest, New Zealand
41ClearcuttingAshley Forest, New Zealand
42As we struggle with what the appropriate levels
of U.S. timber harvesting should be, we are faced
with the fundamental question of whether a U.S.
policy designed to create a pristine domestic
environment through continued and increasing
reliance on other regions of the world for heavy
industrial activity is ethically and morally
defensible.
43 With respect to forests and the harvest of
timber specifically, it is perhaps easy to
conclude, in the absence of global or
comprehensive thinking, that domestic harvest
levels should be significantly reduced.
Consideration of raw material options, and
associated environmental impacts logically leads,
however, to a much different conclusion.
44When seeking to protect the environment, the
lack of a global perspective can and does lead to
what amounts to irresponsible and unethical
regional environmentalism. As we enter what has
been called a new era of forestry, we need to
totally rethink our positions and approach to
environmental issues with a global and
comprehensive view. To do otherwise will ill
serve both the world's environment and its
people.
Jim L. BowyerRaw Materials and the Environment
45Questions?