Alaska Forest Products.

• Author: PHELPS, JACK E.
• Position: Brief Article

The Alaska timber industry in A.D. 2000 finds itself in a period of significant transition. Southeast Alaska, where most of the timber development has taken place since the 1950s, has moved from a forest products manufacturing sector tied to pulp production to one that is focusing on lumber and other sawn products. Principal markets have shifted from mainly foreign with emphasis on Japan, to primarily domestic, feeding secondary manufacturing plants in the Pacific Northwest.

Round-log production, from private and University of Alaska land, is also experiencing a period of shifting markets. While most round-log exporters are still selling most of their products into Asia, changes in the target countries...