Domestic demand strengthens US hardwood sector

China began to protect its forests in 1998 after it faced timber shortages of about 60 million cubic meters per year. The country has been heavily dependent on imported timber resources from the US, Canada, Russia and timber - producing countries in Southeast Asia and Africa for almost two decades.

Heilongjiang province, China's major timber production base in its northeast region, also announced in April that all commercial deforestation activities must be stopped for protecting its forestry resources.

"The bans implemented by timber-exporting countries in Africa and Southeast Asia will push China to seek more imports from the US," said Deng.

Scott Bowe, a professor at the University of Wisconsin, said the environmental benefits of wood are largely dependent on the wood source being sustainable and well managed.

The volume of hardwood standing in US forests more than doubled from 5.2 billion cubic meters to 11.4 billion cubic meters between 1952 and 2010, according to a study by the University of Wisconsin on the US government's forest inventory data gathered at regular intervals over the last 60 years.

Because of the low levels of hardwood forest utilization, projections of the US hardwood supply indicate that harvests could rise from current levels of less than 100 million cubic meters to in excess of 250 million cubic meters within the next 40 years, without threatening long-term sustainability.

Bowe said the analysis of hardwood growth and removal indicates "strong potential to significantly increase supply of most of the US hardwood species, with particularly strong potential in soft maple, tulipwood, red oak, white oak, ash, hickory and hard maple".

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