PORT ANGELES — The number of logs shipped from Port Angeles to Asia has sharply increased.
Timber shipments this year jumped by 20 percent over the first five months of 2010, according to the Port of Port Angeles.
By the end of May in 2010, the port had put 3,564 loads of bark-stripped logs on five ships.
This year that number has increased to 4,393 loads on 12 ships as of June 1, port Executive Director Jeff Robb said in an interview.
“It’s a direct result of export opportunities,” he said.
“The export market is extremely hot right now.”
The mountains of logs piled near the waterfront are from private timber lands on the Peninsula via Port Angeles’ Peninsula Plywood and from Merrill & Ring.
Most of those logs are going to China or Korea, Robb said.
Many private timber owners are taking advantage of the market
“They want to move the timber now, to seize the opportunity,” Robb said.
According to federal law, timber from national forests and other federal lands must be sold domestically.
All timber purchased from state DNR lands cannot be exported outside of the United States until the timber has been processed.
Logs shipped to China must be either stripped of their bark or fumigated to prevent the spread of insects that infect lumber, Robb said.
He said Japan has not been a part of the log market in recent years.
However, Peninsula Plywood will be ramping up production to cover a wave of orders for Japan’s tsunami and earthquake recovery, Robb said.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.
