Donald Trump’s turbulent trade relationship with China is having far-reaching consequences for Alaska’s forest products industry, once valued at over US$115 million annually. The fallout from China’s ban on U.S. log imports, announced in March this year, has disrupted operations across the state, leaving companies scrambling to find alternative markets.
Chinese customs officials cited concerns over pests—specifically bark beetles and longhorn beetles—as the reason for halting log imports. The announcement coincided with China’s imposition of retaliatory tariffs on American agricultural goods, escalating tensions in Trump’s trade war.
Among the hardest hit is Alcan Timber, a Ketchikan-based company that typically exports half its volume to China. Vice President Eric Nichols, who also serves with the Alaska Forest Association, told Alaskan public media that the company has already shut down one operation and is rerouting shipments to Washington, South Korea, and Vancouver, British Columbia.
“We’re severely impacted by it. There’s no doubt about that,” Nichols said. “We’re at pretty big losses on going to other markets, just because of the transportation differential from what we’re used to.”
Alcan has also shifted its harvesting strategy away from areas tailored to Chinese buyers, but Nichols warned that the company may soon face tough decisions: “We have to make decisions, you know, a little bit like Afognak—whether we’re going to stay in business or not. The question is how long we can hold these logs before we have to sell them and generate the losses they’re going to generate here.”
In Haines, the long-anticipated Baby Brown timber sale—the region’s first major sale since the 1970s—has stalled. The project, under contract since 2021, was set to launch in May but was delayed due to the loss of the Chinese market.
“The company could not move forward with the sale this spring,” said Greg Palmieri, Haines State Forester. “They are continuing the processes to obtain the required permits from State and Federal agencies to move the logs to markets as originally planned.”
Palmieri confirmed that NWFP Inc., the Oregon-based firm behind the sale, is actively seeking buyers both domestically and overseas.
The disruption isn’t just limited to Alaska. Transpac Group, a lumber company based in British Columbia, shut down its site on Afognak Island, north of Kodiak, in March. CEO Charles Kim said the company’s efforts to redirect products to other markets have failed. “We’ve been trying very hard since the announcement,” Kim said. “And it has all failed.” A company spokesperson confirmed this week that the situation remains unchanged.
Why China matters for US log exports
As it stands, China is the United States’ most important export market for softwood and hardwood logs, with trade in China ($2.23 billion in 2023) dwarfing the UK ($1.61 billion) and Canada ($1.62 billion). Earlier this year, Wood Central reported that more than 173,000 cubic metres of logs were traded from the United States to China in December last year, making the trade hugely crucial for both countries. To learn more about the impact of a potential trade war on Chinese and United States forest products, click here for Wood Central’s special feature.
