United States Department of Agriculture

Forest 

Service

Pacific Northwest 

Research Station

General Technical Report

PNW-GTR-903

November 

2014

Alaska’s Timber Harvest and 

Forest Products Industry, 2011

Erik C. Berg, Charles B. Gale, Todd A. Morgan, Allen M. Brackley, 

Charles E. Keegan, Susan J. Alexander, Glenn A. Christensen, 

Chelsea P. McIver, and Micah G. Scudder
Pacific Northwest Research Station

Web site http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw

Telephone (503) 808-2592

Publication requests (503) 808-2138

FAX (503) 808-2130

E-mail pnw_pnwpubs@fs.fed.us

Mailing address Publications Distribution 

Pacific Northwest Research Station

P.O. Box 3890 

	 	 Portland, OR 97208-3890

Authors

Erik C. Berg is a research forester, Todd A. Morgan is director of Forest Industry 

Research, Charles E. Keegan is an emeritus research professor, Chelsea P. McIver

is a research assistant, and Micah G. Scudder is a research assistant, Bureau of 

Business and Economic Research, The University of Montana, 32 Campus Drive, 

Missoula, MT 59812; Charles B. Gale is a manufacturing business analyst, 

Stimson Lumber Company, 520 SW Yamhill, Suite 700, Portland, OR. 97402; 

Allen M. Brackley is a research forester, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest 

Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station, Alaska Wood Utilization Research 

and Development Center, 204 Siginaka Way, Sitka, AK 99835; Susan J. Alexander

is a program manager, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific 

Northwest Research Station, Forestry Sciences Laboratory, 11175 Auke Lake Way, 

Juneau, AK 99801; and Glenn A. Christensen is a forester, U.S. Department of 

Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station, Forestry Sciences 

Laboratory, 620 SW Main, Suite 400, Portland, OR 97205.
Alaska’s Timber Harvest and 

Forest Products Industry, 2011

Erik C. Berg, Charles B. Gale, Todd A. Morgan, 

Allen M. Brackley, Charles E. Keegan, Susan J. 

Alexander, Glenn A. Christensen, Chelsea P. McIver, 

and Micah G. Scudder

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service

Pacific Northwest Research Station

Portland, Oregon

General Technical Report PNW-GTR-903

November 2014

Published in cooperation with:

Bureau of Business and Economic Research

University of Montana

Missoula, Montana
ii

Abstract 

Berg, Erik C.; Gale, Charles B.; Morgan, Todd A.; Brackley, Allen M.; 

Keegan, Charles E.; Alexander, Susan J.; Christensen, Glenn A.; McIver, 

Chelsea P.; Scudder, Micah G. 2014. Alaska’s timber harvest and forest 

products industry, 2011. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-903. Portland, OR: U.S. 

Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 

39 p. 

This report traces the flow of timber harvested in Alaska during calendar year 2011, 

describes the composition and operations of the state’s primary forest products 

industry, and quantifies volumes and uses of wood fiber. Historical wood products 

industry changes are discussed, as well as trends in timber harvest, production, 

export, sales of primary wood products, employment, and emerging issues important to Alaska’s forest industry.

Keywords: Alaska, forest economics, lumber production, mill residue, primary 

forest products, timber products.
iii

Highlights

• Alaska’s total timber harvest in 2011 was 175.3 million board feet (MMBF) 

Scribner, approximately 35 percent less than the 2005 timber harvest. 

• Sawlogs made up nearly 97 percent of the total harvest. Southeast Alaska 

boroughs/census areas contributed more than 80 percent of this volume.

• Alaskan log exports increased more than 27 percent between 2005

and 2011. 

• A total of 77 Alaska primary wood products facilities were identified as 

active in 2011:

• 50 sawmills 

• 18 log home plants

• 9 other facilities that produced fuelwood products, cedar products, log 

furniture, tonewood (wood used to make musical instruments), and 

novelty items.

• Alaska sawmills recovered an average of 1.19 board feet lumber tally per 

board foot Scribner of log input, a 6-percent decrease from 2005. This 

reduction in overrun parallels findings in other Western States.

• Although the number of active Alaska sawmills remained unchanged from 

2005, 13 of the sawmills active in 2005 became inactive, and 5 sawmills 

had closed permanently by 2011. 

• Alaska’s 50 sawmills produced just over 21.2 MMBF of lumber, 38 percent 

less than in 2005. House log production fell by more than 55 percent from 

2005 to 2011. 

• Timber-processing capacity of active facilities in the sawmill sector fell by 

more than 40 percent since 2005 to 108.8 MMBF Scribner annually. 

• Capacity utilization in Alaska’s sawmill and house log sectors fell to less 

than 16 percent in 2011, the lowest of any Western State.

• Alaska’s primary forest products industry shipped products valued at $17.4 

million (freight on board [f.o.b.] the producing mill) in 2011. Sawlog and 

pulpwood exports contributed an additional $115.8 million to sales. 

• Fuelwood products (firewood and wood pellets) generated more than $3 

million in sales. The majority of these 2011 products were sold in interior 

Alaska. Alaskans are progressively turning to wood as a primary heating 

fuel.
iv

Contents

1 Introduction

1 Methods

1 Forest Industries Data Collection System

2 Historical Overview

4 Recent History

5 Alaska Timberlands

5 Alaska’s Timber Harvest and Flow

6 Harvest by Ownership

7 Harvest by Species

8 Harvest by Product Type

8 Harvest by Geographic Source

10 Timber Use

13 Timber Received at Alaska Wood Products Facilities

13 Volume Received by Ownership and Product Type

14 Volume Received by Species and Product type

15 Volume Received by Geographic Source

16 Alaska’s Forest Products Industry

18 Forest Industry Sectors

18 Sawmill Sector

19 Log Home Sector

20 Fuelwood Sector

20 Other Products Sector

20 Export Sector—Including Sort Yards

22 Capacity

25 Mill Residue: Quantity, Types, and Use

27 Forest Products Sales

27 Employment

29 Emerging Issues

30 Common and Scientific Names of Tree Species

30 Metric Equivalents

31 Acknowledgments

31 Literature Cited

37 Glossary
1

Alaska’s Timber Harvest and Forest Products Industry, 2011

Introduction 

This report details timber harvest and describes the composition and operations 

of the primary forest products industry in Alaska during calendar year 2011, and 

compares these results to 2005 findings (Halbrook et al. 2009). It presents a brief 

history of Alaska’s forest industry and timber harvest and summarizes emerging 

forest issues. Alaska’s 2011 timber harvest is characterized by ownership, species 

composition, types of timber products harvested and processed, and geographic 

sources. Alaska’s forest products industry and timber uses are reviewed by major 

sector. Timber-processing and production capacities, utilization of mill residue, 

forest product exports, and sales and employment are also discussed. 

The focus of this report is timber used in the direct manufacture of wood 

products. Products directly manufactured from timber are referred to as “primary 

products” and include lumber, boards, timbers, house logs, log furniture, cedar 

products (mostly shingles), and tonewood. Material chipped from timber, as well 

as the disposition of mill residue (i.e., bark, sawdust, slabs, edging, trim, chips, and 

planer shavings) generated in the production of primary products, are also included. 

Derivative, or “secondary” products (e.g., window frames, doors, and trusses) are 

not reported.

Methods

The foremost source of data for this report was a statewide census of Alaska’s 

primary timber processors operating during 2011. Firms were identified through 

Internet searches, telephone directories, directories of the forest products industries, 

expert knowledge, and with assistance from the Juneau Economic Development 

Council (JEDC). The JEDC surveyed both logging and primary timber processing facilities in 2011, and this census built on JEDC survey results to characterize 

Alaska’s 2011 forest industry. Technical terms are defined in the glossary.

Forest Industries Data Collection System

This census of Alaska timber processors is a cooperative effort between The University of Montana’s Bureau of Business and Economic Research (BBER) and the 

Pacific Northwest (PNW) Research Station Forest Inventory and Analysis program. 

The BBER, in cooperation with the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) programs 

in the Rocky Mountain and PNW Research Stations, developed the Forest Industries Data Collection System (FIDACS) to collect, compile, and make available 

state- and county-level information on the operations of the forest products industry. The FIDACS is based on a census of primary forest product manufacturers. 
2

general technical report pnw-gtr-903

Through a written questionnaire or telephone interview, manufacturers 

provided the following information for each of their facilities for 2011: 

• Plant production, capacity, and employment

• Log lengths and small- and large-end diameters 

• Volume of raw material received, by borough/census area and ownership 

• Species of timber received and live vs. dead proportions 

• Finished product volumes, types, sales value, and market locations 

• Utilization and marketing of manufacturing residue 

This effort is the second application of FIDACS in Alaska; the first census of 

the Alaskan industry was based on calendar year 2005 operations (Halbrook et al. 

2009). The BBER and the Forest Service research stations have been reporting on 

the forest industries in all Rocky Mountain and Pacific Coast States except Washington for more than 30 years. The Washington Department of Natural Resources 

reports on periodic surveys of that state’s industry (WDNR 2014). Information 

collected through FIDACS is stored at the BBER in Missoula, Montana. Additional 

information is available by request; however, individual firm-level data are confidential and will not be released.

Historical Overview

This section builds on BBER’s previous summary of Alaskan timber industry 

history (Halbrook et al. 2009) and highlights industry developments since 2005. 

Prior to World War I, Alaska’s timber industry supported local mining and fishing 

industries by providing wood for constructing fish traps, fish packing cases, harbor 

pilings, wharf material, mine timbers, and railroad ties (Hoffman 1913). Annual 

Alaska timber harvest summed to less than 30 million board feet (MMBF) Scribner 

until World Wars I and II increased demand for aircraft-quality spruce, and led 

to construction projects that spurred additional timber harvest and new sawmill 

construction. Timber harvest in southeast Alaska reached approximately 90 MMBF 

by the end of World War II (Halbrook et al. 2009). 

After World War II, timber harvest volumes ramped up to meet the increasing demands of the rayon industry in Japan and postwar Asian rebuilding needs. 

The Tongass National Forest provided the vast majority of this harvest through 

the 1960s and 1970s; total Forest Service timber harvest peaked at 591.6 MMBF 

in 1973 (fig. 1) (Brackley et al. 2009). This steady upward trend was halted by the 

passage of The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971, (ANCSA), which 

authorized the transfer of 550,000 acres of the Tongass National Forest to native 

corporations (Knapp 1992).
3

Alaska’s Timber Harvest and Forest Products Industry, 2011

National forest timber offerings began a precipitous year-by-year decline starting in 1991 in response to forest policy changes stemming from the Tongass Timber 

Reform Act of 1990, national forest litigation, and reductions in Japanese demand 

for wood products (Brackley et al. 2009). Native corporations harvested over 500 

MMBF annually through most of the 1990s; Native harvest peaked at 620 MMBF 

in 1998. 

Starting in 1921 with the construction of Alaska’s first pulp mill, Alaska’s forest 

products industry and timber harvest policies have largely been framed by pulp and 

paper ventures (Mackovjak 2010). Long-term timber supply contracts authorized by 

the Tongass Timber Act of 1947 set the stage for an exponential increase in Alaska’s 

forest industry. Most of this expansion was built around two southeast Alaska pulp 

mills, Ketchikan Pulp and Paper and Alaska Pulp Company in Sitka. Both mills 

negotiated and signed 50-year timber supply contracts with the Forest Service in 

the 1950s (Harris and Farr 1974, Smith 1975). Weakening pulp markets, costly 

upgrades of pollution abatement equipment, and declining availability of affordable 

timber were cited as reasons for shuttering all pulp facilities in Sitka in 1993 and in 

Ketchikan in 1997 (Crone 2005, Donovan et al. 2005, Eastin and Braden 2000). 

Figure 1—Alaska’s timber harvest by ownership, 1951–2011. Sources: Alexander 2012, Brackley 

et al. 2009, Zhou and Warren 2012.
4

general technical report pnw-gtr-903

Recent History

The 2005 census of the Alaskan industry (Halbrook et al. 2009) occurred during 

a period of strong wood product markets and easily obtained mortgage credit that 

fueled speculative housing construction throughout the United States (Woodall 

et al. 2012). After recognizing that new residential construction had substantially 

overreached sustainable levels, inventories of unsold homes spiked, construction 

slowed, and housing prices plummeted (Woodall et al. 2012). Housing starts in 

the United States fell from more than 2 million units in 2005 to 554,000 in 2009. 

Alaska housing starts fell from 3,133 units in 2005 to 916 units in 2009 with a rate 

of decline similar to that of the entire Nation (USDC CB 2013). 

The negative financial impacts of “The Great Recession” of 2007 persisted 

through 2011 and triggered further reductions in Alaskan forest industry outputs 

(Keegan et al. 2012). Alaska wood products revenues dropped during this downturn, but reductions in wood products sales prices per thousand board feet (MBF) 

lumber tally were less severe than experienced by facilities in the lower 48 states. 

Alaska wood products markets are relatively insulated—most mill outputs are sold 

in-state.1

 To invigorate the Alaskan forest products industry in light of depressed 

wood products markets, the Tongass National Forest approved interstate export of 

up to 50 percent of individual timber sale log volumes, including high-value western redcedar and Alaska yellow-cedar in 2007. This policy was expanded to include 

exports to foreign markets in 2008 (USDA FS 2010). Slow recovery defined most 

of Alaska’s 2012 forest industry with a small rebound in Alaskan production in 

response to increased residential construction activity in 2012 (994 units) and 2013 

(1,081 units). 

United States lumber prices rebounded in late summer and fall of 2013, climbing about 20 percent from early 2013 levels. Both new construction and repairs 

and remodeling supported the resurgence (Random Lengths 2013). Most observers 

predict continuing improvement in wood products markets through 2014, with the 

understanding that fundamental economic drivers of the forest industry remain 

volatile (APA 2012). 

Robust timber exports, mostly destined for China, have served as the “good 

news” for the Alaskan forest industry (Portman 2012). However, although this 

export activity has fueled timber harvest on native corporation and private lands, 

low federal timber harvests and lack of demand for wood products within Alaska 

chilled mill outputs and sales for much of 2005–2011 (Keegan et al. 2012, Portman 

2012). 

1

 Brackley, A.M. 2013. Lumber sales values in Alaska. Personal communication. 

abrackley@fs.fed.us (December 19).

The negative financial 

impacts of “The Great 

Recession” of 2007 

persisted through 

2011 and triggered 

further reductions in 

Alaskan forest industry 

outputs.

Robust timber exports, 

mostly destined for 

China, have served 

as the “good news” 

for the Alaskan forest 

industry.
5

Alaska’s Timber Harvest and Forest Products Industry, 2011

Alaska Timberlands

Timberland information for this report is based on coastal Alaska permanent-plotderived forest statistics. There is currently no permanent-plot-based forest inventory 

program for interior Alaska, and managers lack comprehensive and scalable interior 

forest data. However, in 2014, FIA will pilot a reduced-scale inventory of interior 

Alaska through a novel combination of widely spaced permanent forest inventory 

plots and remote sensing (USDA FS 2013a). 

The Coastal Alaska forest inventory unit stretches from Kodiak Island to 

Ketchikan and covers about 6.0 million ac of timberland. Most coastal timberland 

is publicly owned, with 3.6 million ac in the Tongass National Forest, 0.3 million ac 

in the Chugach National Forest, 0.1 million ac in other federal land, and 0.8 million 

ac in other public (state and local) ownership. Some 24 percent of coastal Alaska’s 

timberland (1.5 million ac) is owned by Alaska Native corporations. Coastal Alaska 

timberlands support approximately 29 billion cubic feet in growing stock trees, and 

157 billion board feet of mostly conifer sawtimber (Barrett and Christensen 2011). 

Western hemlock dominates growing stock in the coastal inventory unit with 45 

percent of all cubic foot stocking, followed by Sitka spruce at 35 percent, 7 percent 

mountain hemlock, 6 percent Alaska yellow-cedar, and 5 percent western redcedar. 

The vast majority of coastal forest lands lack feasible access for timber harvest 

operations. More than 90 percent of federally owned coastal lands are classified as 

roadless area or other management designations that essentially prohibit logging.2

Unlike much of the forested land in other Western States covered with vast 

acreages of second- or third-growth timber ready to harvest but with little older 

timber, coastal Alaska’s timberland age class distribution is decidedly skewed 

towards trees aged 200+ years (39 percent of timberland acreage). In comparison, 

only 2 percent of all U.S. timberlands are populated with 200+-year-old timber 

(Barrett and Christensen 2011). 

Alaska’s Timber Harvest and Flow

Timber harvest statistics in Alaska are problematic, especially with respect to log 

exports. In most Western States, log exports represent a small fraction of harvested 

volume, and in-state or neighboring state’s mills receive the majority of harvested 

timber (Gale et al. 2012, Morgan et al. 2012, Zhou and Warren 2012). Starting in 

2006, reported annual Alaska sawlog export volumes exceeded published total 

2

 Spores, S. 2012. Young growth on the Tongass. Unpublished presentation. On file with: 

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Alaska Region, 709 W. 9th Street, Room 

559A, Juneau, AK 99801-1807.

Forest Inventory and 

Analysis is piloting a 

reduced-scale forest 

inventory of interior 

Alaska.
6

general technical report pnw-gtr-903

timber harvest volumes by more than 80 MMBF (Alexander 2012, Zhou 2013). This 

trend continued through 2011, when published sawlog exports equaled 275.1 MMBF 

and statewide harvest totaled only 175.3 MMBF (Zhou and Warren 2012). Brackley3

and Alexander4 have suggested that this disparity largely stemmed from methods 

used to measure and report exports. Specifically, export log scaling practices 

and the factors used to convert International Trade Commission reported metric 

volumes to MBF Scribner have resulted in published sawlog export volumes that 

exceed reported total timber harvest volumes. Reconciling this discrepancy was one 

of the most challenging aspects of producing this report.

To remedy these accounting problems, the authors combined information 

provided by mills responding to the FIDACS census with published data to estimate 

Alaska’s total timber harvest volume, timber volumes processed by Alaska mills, 

and export timber harvest volume: 

• Total timber harvest: Zhou and Warren’s (2012) reported total 2011 

Alaska timber harvest of 175.3 MMBF was used in this report. 

• Timber processed by mills: Timber volume received and processed by 

Alaskan mills during 2011 was estimated to be 23.3 MMBF Scribner 

based on BBER’s FIDACS census of Alaska timber processors.

• Export timber harvest: Total export timber harvest volume was calculated as a residual value equal to the difference between the state 

harvest volume and volume processed by Alaskan mills, which equals 

approximately 152 MMBF. 

Land managers lack sound timber harvest and export volume information, 

which complicates the framing of rational timber harvest policy in Alaska. The 

authors suggest that research is needed to clearly identify timber harvest and log 

export volume reporting problems and potential remedies. 

Harvest by Ownership

Recent timber harvest levels are on par with the mid 1950s but considerably below 

harvest levels seen from 1960 through 1999 (fig. 1). Timber harvest in Alaska fell 

from 1,033 MMBF in 1990 to 268.3 MMBF in 2001 (Halbrook et al. 2009) and then 

to 175.3 MMBF in 2011. During this period, national forest harvest levels dropped 

by 90 percent and Native/private harvest by about 80 percent. However, strong 

3

 Brackley, A.M. 2011. Causes of timber harvest versus export discrepancies. Personal 

communications. abrackley@fs.fed.us. (December 21). 

4

 Alexander, S.J. 2011. Problems calculating Alaska timber harvest volumes. Personal 

communications. salexander@fs.fed.us. (December 14). 

Alaskan land managers 

lack sound timber 

harvest and export 

volume information.
7

Alaska’s Timber Harvest and Forest Products Industry, 2011

Asian demand for logs drove Native timber corporation and other private lands 

harvest up from just over 50 MMBF in 2008 to 128 MMBF in 2011 (Alexander 

2012). Although most timber harvested during 2011 came from Native corporations 

and other private lands, 16.4 percent came from national forests, while state and 

other public lands supplied the remaining 10.6 percent (table 1). Since the 1950s, 

the State of Alaska Division of Forestry has been a significant provider of timber, 

particularly to western, south-central, and interior mills (State of Alaska 2010, 

2011). Bureau of Business and Economic Research researchers found that 23 of 44 

total mills located in these areas each received more than 75 percent of their raw 

material inputs from state timber sales. 

Harvest by Species

Sitka spruce was the leading species harvested in Alaska during 2011, accounting 

for 111.4 MMBF or 63.5 percent of total harvest (table 2), compared to 47 percent in 

2005 (Halbrook et al. 2009), and 19 percent in 1995 (Hill and Hull 1997). Western 

hemlock followed the opposite trend: 20 percent of harvest in 2011, 29 percent in 

2005, and 58 percent in 1995 (Hill and Hull 1997). Hemlock harvest levels in the 

1990s were mostly related to Tongass National Forest pulp mill long-term timber 

sale contracts (Brackley et al. 2009); hemlock is an excellent pulping species. Rising Sitka spruce harvest levels reflects rising demand in foreign markets (Alexander 

2012). White spruce was the major species harvested in interior, south-central, and 

western Alaska in 1995 (Hill and Hull 1997), 2005, and 2011.

Table 1—Alaska timber harvest by ownership class and product type, 2011

Ownership class Sawlogs

House 

logs Fuelwood

Other 

productsa

All 

products

Thousand board feet, Scribner

Private—including Native corporations 126,076 191 1,423 300 127,990

National forest 28,381 73 143 91 28,688

State and other public 14,856 1,046 2,689 — 18,590

All owners 169,313 1,309 4,255 391 175,267

Percentage of harvest

Private—including Native corporations 74.5 14.6 33.4 76.7 73.0

National forest 16.8 5.5 3.4 23.3 16.4

State and other public 8.8 79.9 63.2 — 10.6

All owners 96.6 0.8 2.4 0.2 100

a Other timber products include cedar product logs, logs for furniture, tonewood, and novelty items.

Sitka spruce accounted 

for nearly 64 percent 

of Alaska’s 2011 timber 

harvest of 175.3 million 

board feet Scribner.
8

general technical report pnw-gtr-903

Table 2—Alaska timber harvest by species and product type, 2011

Species Sawlogs Other productsa b All products

Thousand board feet, Scribner

Sitka spruce 111,166 198 111,364

Western hemlock 35,011 148 35,159

Western redcedar 18,042 321 18,362

Alaska yellow-cedar 1,644 142 1,786

White spruce 2,920 3,253 6,173

Birch species 335 1,326 1,660

Otherc 196 566 762

All species 169,312 5,954 175,267

Percentage of harvest

Sitka spruce 65.7 3.3 63.5

Western hemlock 20.7 2.5 20.1

Western redcedar 10.7 5.4 10.5

Alaska yellow-cedar 1.0 2.4 1.0

White spruce 1.7 54.6 3.5

Birch species 0.2 22.3 0.9

Otherc 0.1 9.5 0.4

All species 96.6 3.4 100

a Other products include houselogs, fuelwood logs, cedar products logs, logs for furniture, 

tonewood, and novelty items.

b

 Products by species were combined to prevent disclosure.

c Other species include cottonwood, quaking aspen, black spruce, lodgepole pine, mountain ash, 

red alder, sugar maple, and Douglas-fir. 

Harvest by Product Type

Sawlogs made up 169.3 MMBF, nearly 97 percent of Alaska’s 2011 harvest, up from 

88 percent in 2005 (table 2). This trend reflects the increase in sawlog exports from 

2005 to 2011; 90 percent of all sawlogs were exported in 2011 (Alexander 2012). 

Native corporations and other private lands contributed almost 58 percent of all 

sawlogs. State and other public lands supplied approximately 80 percent of house 

log volume (table 1). 

Harvest by Geographic Source

This report uses borough or census area boundaries to define five geographic 

regions in Alaska—southeast, south-central, interior, western, and far north (fig. 2 

and tabulation below). Timber resources can be found in all but the far north; the 

southeast region historically dominated Alaska’s timber harvest. South-central and 
9

Alaska’s Timber Harvest and Forest Products Industry, 2011

western region data are reported together to prevent the possible release of confidential information.

Alaska timber resource and borough/census areas:

Resource area

Interior:

Fairbanks North Star Borough

Denali Borough

Yukon-Koyukuk

Southeast Fairbanks Census Area

South-central:

Anchorage Borough

Kenai Peninsula Borough

Matanuska-Susitna Borough

Valdez-Cordova Census Area

Southeast:

Haines Borough

Juneau Borough

Ketchikan Gateway Borough

Prince of Wales–Outer Ketchikan Census Area

Sitka Borough

Skagway-Hoonah-Angoon Census Area

Wrangell-Petersburg Census Area

Yakutat Borough

Western:

Bethel Census Area

Kodiak Island Borough
10

general technical report pnw-gtr-903

Figure 2—Alaska’s resource areas and active primary forest product manufacturers, 2011.

Timber harvest by resource area shifted dramatically between 2005 and 2011: 

nearly 37 percent of 2011’s timber was harvested in south-central and western 

Alaska, compared to less than 25 percent in 2005 (table 3). Southeast Alaska’s 

contribution declined from nearly 74 percent in 2005 to 60 percent in 2011. Much of 

this 2005 to 2011 expansion in the south-central and western resource areas harvest 

stemmed from an approximately 30 MMBF increase in Native corporation timber 

harvest on and around Kodiak Island (Alexander 2012). Interior Alaska’s contribution may be relatively small (3.7 percent) compared to the state total, but the 2011 

interior harvest was 67 percent greater than that of 2005.

Timber Use 

Timber use volumes are specified in cubic feet rather than board feet Scribner to 

allow reporting of mill residues and primary wood products in the same units. 

Alaska’s 2011 timber harvest of approximately 30,612 thousand cubic feet (MCF) 

Timber harvest on and 

around Kodiak Island 

increased by more than 

30 million board feet 

Scribner from 2005 to 

2011.
11

Alaska’s Timber Harvest and Forest Products Industry, 2011

Table 3—Alaska timber harvest by resource area, 2011

Resource area Harvest volume

Percentage 

of total

Thousand board feet,

Scribner

Interior 6,427 3.7

South-central and westerna 64,448 36.8

Southeast 104,393 59.6

 State total 175,267 100

a Resource areas combined to avoid disclosure.

was used by five primary manufacturing sectors: sawlog and chip exports, sawmills, log home manufacturers, energy firms, and manufacturers of other products, 

including tonewood used for musical instruments, novelty items, cedar products, 

and furniture (fig. 3). Bark is not included in these figures. The following factors 

were used to convert Scribner board foot volume to cubic feet:

• 5.78 board feet per cubic foot for sawlogs, including exports

• 5.05 board feet per cubic foot for house logs

• 5.00 board feet per cubic foot for fuelwood products

• 4.53 board feet per cubic foot for all other products

These board-foot-to-cubic-foot (bf/cf) ratios were derived using methods 

outlined by Keegan et al. (2011a). Ratios have changed through time as a result 

of changes in product recovery and residue production. For example, the Alaskan 

2005 sawlog bf/cf ratio was 5.09—substantially less than the 2011 ratio of 5.78. This 

difference may reflect an increasing use of residues for fuelwood products. When 

residue production increases relative to product (e.g. lumber) output, bf/cf ratios can 

increase (Blatner et al. 2012, Keegan et al. 2011a). Changes in log size (i.e., diameter) also influence bf/cf ratios. However, mill census data show that log diameter 

in timber harvested in Alaska did not change significantly between 2005 and 2011. 

In 2011, 28 percent of milled timber was less than 10 inches in small-end diameter 

compared to 24 percent in 2005. Further, 34 percent of 2011 milled timber was 

greater than 24 inches in diameter compared to 39 percent in 2005. 

Figure 3 traces the flow of wood fiber inputs and outputs of Alaska’s primary 

timber industry by sector. For example, of the 2,995 MCF of timber received by 

sawmills, 1,191 MCF (40 percent) was milled into finished lumber or other sawn 

products; finished products are located at the end of the solid line “stem” at the 

bottom of figure 3. Ancillary products, such as residues destined for use by another 

sector, branch off the stem and are portrayed as dashed lines. Approximately 716 
12

general technical report pnw-gtr-903

Figure 3—Use of Alaska’s 2011 timber harvest.
13

Alaska’s Timber Harvest and Forest Products Industry, 2011

MCF of chipped roundwood was exported. About 742 MCF of sawmill residue was 

utilized for energy (firewood, wood pellet production, boilers, etc.). Two remaining 

categories of residue, unutilized (164 MCF), and residue for miscellaneous uses, 

such as animal bedding and landscaping (137 MCF), complete the array of Alaska 

sawmill products. Shrinkage of lumber volume due to moisture lost during drying 

is also accounted for (45 MCF). 

The vast majority (26,299 MCF) of Alaska’s 2011 timber harvest was exported 

(fig. 3). Only 10 percent of total harvest was processed by Alaskan sawmills, 

compared to 19 percent in 2005. House log volumes received by Alaska facilities 

declined only 6 percent from 2005 to 2011. Cedar product manufacturing (shakes 

and shingles) accounted for most of the 264 percent increase in the other product 

sector between 2005 and 2011. This contrasts sharply with the decline of the cedar 

products industry noted in Oregon between 2003 and 2008 (Gale et al. 2012).

Reflecting the increasing demand for wood as a heating fuel in Alaska, 

increased manufacturing of firewood and wood pellets was identified in 2011. 

Although sawmill residue volume used for fuelwood products in 2011 (742 MCF) 

is virtually identical to that of 2005 (736 MCF), the percentage of all residues 

(not including chip exports) used for fuelwood products was 72 percent in 2011, 

compared to 45 percent in 2005. During periods when fuelwood products such 

as firewood logs and slabs command high selling prices relative to lumber, mills 

have little incentive to produce lumber. Instead, mill operators capture added value 

through the manufacture and marketing of mill residue for fuel. 

Timber Received at Alaska Wood Products Facilities

Alaska’s proportion of timber harvested for export versus milled in local facilities is 

radically different from other West Coast states. In 2011, only 13.2 percent (23,259 

MBF Scribner) of total harvest was received by Alaskan mills for processing, 

compared to nearly 80 percent in Oregon (Zhou and Warren 2012). 

Volume Received by Ownership and Product Type

Because much of the private/Native corporation lands timber harvest in Alaska 

is exported, mills in Alaska are highly dependent on federal and state lands for 

timber. National forests supplied 12.1 MMBF or 52 percent of all timber received 

by mills in Alaska (table 4), followed by state and other public lands (33.5 percent), 

and private and Native corporation lands (14.5 percent). Sawlogs accounted for the 
14

general technical report pnw-gtr-903

Table 4—Timber volume received by Alaska facilities by ownership class and product type, 2011

Ownership class Sawlogs

House 

logs Fuelwooda

Other 

productsb

2011— 

All products

2005— 

All productsc

Thousand board feet, Scribner

Private—including Native corporations 1,450 191 1,423 300 3,364 3,743

National forest 11,792 73 143 91 12,099 23,866

State and other public 4,062 1,046 2,689 0 7,796 17,252

All owners 17,305 1,309 4,255 391 23,259 44,861

Percentage of volume received

Private—including Native corporations 8.4 14.6 33.4 76.7 14.5 8.3

National forest 68.1 5.5 3.4 23.3 52.0 53.2

State and other public 23.5 79.9 63.2 0 33.5 38.5

All owners 74.4 5.6 18.3 1.7 100 100

a Includes residential firewood and industrial fuelwood received and processed by Alaskan facilities.

b Other timber products include logs for furniture, tonewood, novelty items, and cedar products.

c

From Halbrook et al. (2009).

majority (74 percent) of timber received by Alaskan mills and national forests were 

the predominant source of these sawlogs. State and other public lands provided the 

majority of timber used for house logs and fuelwood, corresponding to 5.6 percent 

and 18.3 percent of the volume received by Alaska timber processing facilities, 

respectively.

Volume Received by Species and Product Type

Overall, white spruce was the leading species received by Alaska mills in 2011 

(table 5), accounting for more than 26 percent of volume received. Western hemlock 

comprised only 13 percent of volume received by mills, which is a dramatic change 

from the 2005 census. In 2005, Halbrook et al. (2009) noted that western hemlock 

made up more than 52 percent of mill receipts, and Bones (1963) reported that 53 

percent of all 1961 mill receipts were western hemlock. This major change is due to 

reductions in southeast Alaska mill outputs and the shuttering and idling of several 

mills that had processed mostly western hemlock and Sitka spruce while operating 

in 2005. 

White spruce was 

the leading timber 

species received by 

Alaska facilities in 

2011, eclipsing the 

2005 leader, western 

hemlock.
15

Alaska’s Timber Harvest and Forest Products Industry, 2011

Table 5—Timber volume received by Alaska facilities by species and product type, 2011

Species Sawlogs

House 

logs Fuelwooda

Other 

productsb

2011— 

all products

2005— 

all products

Thousand board feet, Scribner

Sitka spruce 4,928 128 58 c 5,114 10,877

Western hemlock 2,966 83 65 c 3,114 23,539

Western redcedar 5,639 21 11 c 5,671 1,857

Alaska yellow-cedar 320 29 23 c 373 1,099

White spruce 2,920 932 2,321 c 6,174 6,154

Birches 335 87 1,239 c 1,660 230

Otherd 196 28 538 391c 762 1,105

All species 17,305 1,309 4,255 391 23,259 44,861

Percentage of volume received

Sitka spruce 28.5 9.7 1.4 c 22.0 24.2

Western hemlock 17.1 6.3 1.5 c 13.4 52.5

Western redcedar 32.6 1.6 0.3 c 24.4 4.1

Alaska yellow-cedar 1.9 2.2 0.5 c 1.6 2.4

White spruce 16.9 71.2 54.6 c 26.5 13.7

Birches 1.9 6.6 29.1 c 7.1 0.5

Otherd 1.1 2.1 12.6 391c 3.3 2.5

All species 74.4 5.6 18.3 1.7 100 100

a

 Includes residential firewood and industrial fuelwood received and processed by Alaskan facilities.

b

 Other timber products include logs for furniture, tonewood, novelty items, and cedar products.

c

 Species combined to avoid disclosure.

d

 Other species include black cottonwood, quaking aspen, Douglas-fir, sugar maple, lodgepole pine, red alder, willow, mountain 

ash, and black spruce. 

Volume Received by Geographic Source

Approximately 13.8 MMBF or 59 percent of the timber processed by Alaska facilities during 2011 originated in southeast Alaska (table 6) compared to 85 percent 

in 2005. Interior Alaska timber contributed 28 percent (8 percent in 2005), and 

south-central and western resource areas provided 13 percent (6 percent in 2005). 

Changes in receipts among resource areas between 2005 and 2011 can again be 

attributed to production cutbacks and mill closures in southeast Alaska.
16

general technical report pnw-gtr-903

Table 6—Timber volume received by Alaska facilities by resource area and 

product type, 2011

Resource area Sawlogs

House 

logs Fuelwooda

Other 

productsb

All 

products

Thousand board feet, Scribner

Southeast 13,136 165 120 391 13,812

South-central and westernc 1,532 642 848 d 3,022

Interior 2,637 502 3,287 — 6,425

All areas 17,305 1,309 4,255 391 23,259

Percentage of volume received

Southeast 76 13 3 100 59

South-central and westernc 9 49 20 d 13

Interior 15 38 77 — 28

All areas 74.4 5.6 18.3 1.7 100

a Includes residential firewood and industrial fuelwood received and processed by Alaskan facilities.

b Other timber products include logs for furniture, tonewood, novelty items, and cedar products.

c

Resource areas combined to avoid disclosure.

d Less than 0.5 MBF Scribner.

Alaska’s Forest Products Industry

Primary timber processors in Alaska produced an array of products, including 

dimension lumber, board and shop lumber, timbers, finished house logs, log homes, 

energy wood products (wood pellets and firewood), log furniture, pulp chips 

from roundwood, cedar products (mostly shingles and shakes), tonewood used for 

musical instruments, and novelty items such as bowls, spoons, and mugs. Southeast 

Alaska facilities led with 16.1 MMBF lumber tally or 76 percent of all lumber and 

sawn product outputs; south-central and western mills led house log production, 

and interior mills dominated fuelwood outputs (table 7).

The 2011 census tallied 77 active facilities located in 13 of Alaska’s 27 borough/

census areas (fig. 2; table 8). Total active mill count has changed little over the past 

50 years. Bones (1963) identified 72 active Alaska facilities in 1961 (67 sawmills, 2 

house log plants, 2 pulp mills, and 1 preservative plant). The 2005 FIDACS census 

tallied 78 facilities with virtually the same number of mills by sector as found 

in 2011. However, many facilities changed operating status over the 6 years: 12 

facilities active in 2005 were dismantled and permanently closed, 17 facilities active 

in 2005 were inactive by 2011, and 8 facilities inactive in 2005 were permanently 

closed by 2011. Mill managers cited lack of available timber and unfavorable market 

conditions as the primary reasons for idling or closing facilities. Fourteen startup 

mills were surveyed in 2011; most of these ventures were small facilities with low 
17

Alaska’s Timber Harvest and Forest Products Industry, 2011

Table 7—Alaska lumber, house log, and fuelwood production by resource area,

2011

Resource area

Lumber and other 

sawn products House logs

Fuelwood 

productsa

Thousand board feet, 

lumber tally

Thousand 

lineal feet

Bone-dry 

unitsb

Southeast 16,084 68 391

South-central and westernc 2,490 184 1,819

Interior 2,648 127 11,112

All areas 21,222 378 13,322

a Includes firewood and wood pellets.

b Bone-dry unit = 2,400 pounds of oven-dry wood.

c

Resource areas combined to avoid disclosure.

Table 8—Number of active timber-processing facilities by borough/census area and 

product produced, 2011 

Borough/census area Lumber House logs Othera Total

Anchorage Borough 1 3 1 5

Bethel Census Area 1 — — 1

Fairbanks North Star Borough 5 3 2 10

Haines Borough 1 1 — 2

Juneau Borough — — — 0

Kenai Peninsula Borough 7 4 1 12

Ketchikan Gateway Borough 4 — — 4

Kodiak Island Borough 2 — — 2

Matanuska-Susitna Borough 8 4 — 12

Prince of Wales–Outer Ketchikan Census Area 8 — 4 12

Skagway-Hoonah-Angoon Census Area 3 — — 3

Southeast Fairbanks Census Area 3 3 1 7

Valdez-Cordova Census Area 1 — — 1

Wrangell-Petersburg Census Area 6 — — 6

2011 state total 50 18 9 77

2005 state totalb 50 20 8 78 a Other facilities include producers of fuelwood products, cedar products, log furniture, tonewood, and novelty 

items.

b From Halbrook et al. (2009).
18

general technical report pnw-gtr-903

timber processing capacity. Three larger fuelwood processing facilities opened 

for business since 2005. Small multiproduct mills often shift their product mix to 

maximize revenues. Multiproduct mills are the norm in Alaska, not the exception, 

which creates challenges for reporting mills by product type over time.

Forest Industry Sectors 

Sawmill Sector 

South-central, western, and interior Alaskan facilities are typified by small, portable circle or band sawmills; a few larger mills capable of producing more than 

2 MMBF lumber tally per year are located in these regions. Southeast Alaska 

has historically supported several mills with annual timber processing capacities 

greater than 20 MMBF (Alexander and Parrent 2012). 

The 2011 census identified 50 sawmills operating in Alaska during 2011 that 

produced nearly 21 MMBF of lumber (f.o.b. the producing mill) (table 9). The seven 

largest mills produced 85 percent of all lumber produced in the state. About 40 

percent of Alaska’s sawmill lumber production was dimension and studs, 33 percent 

board and shop lumber, and 24 percent timbers, while the remaining 3 percent 

included specialty items such as flooring, siding, and molding.

Alaska sawmills produced approximately 1.19 board feet of lumber for every 

board foot Scribner of timber processed. This average overrun of 19 percent is 

the smallest sawmill overrun of any Western State (Keegan et al. 2011b). Overrun 

declined about 6 percent from the 2005 statewide average of 1.27 mostly as a function of two factors:

• Smaller proportion of timber processed by large mills in 2011 compared to 2005. The 2011 census identified fewer active large mills capable 

of producing more than 1 MMBF lumber tally per year than were found 

in 2005. Keegan et al. (2011b) noted that large mills typically yield higher 

overruns than small mills because they often incorporate advanced technologies such as thin-kerf saw blades that enhance lumber recovery.

• Increased sawmill production of roundwood firewood and fuelwood 

residues with commensurate reductions in lumber output. Many sawmill managers testified of high fuelwood selling prices during the 2011 

census. They shifted production from lumber to fuelwood to maximize 

revenues. Bureau of Business and Economic Research researchers observed 

sawlog sections with minor defects (even less than 10 percent defect by volume) being merchandised into firewood at several Alaskan sawmills. 

Most Alaskan wood 

products facilities 

are equipped with 

small, portable circle 

or bandsaws capable 

of milling multiple 

products, including 

lumber, house logs, 

and fuelwood. 

Many Alaska mill 

managers shifted 

production from 

lumber to fuelwood 

to maximize 2011 

revenues.
19

Alaska’s Timber Harvest and Forest Products Industry, 2011

Table 9—Alaska annual lumber production and average overrun by mill size, 2011

Annual lumber 

production size class

Number 

of mills

2011 lumber 

productiona

Percentage 

of total

Average 

overrun

Thousand board feet, 

lumber tally

< 150 MBF lumber tally 34 1,189 6 1.17

150 to 500 MBF lumber tally 9 1,813 9 1.03

> 500 MBF lumber tally 7 17,556 85 1.21

Total 50 20,558 100 1.19

2005 state totalb 50 54,861 1.27 a Does not include sawn products from the house log sector.

b From Halbrook et al. (2009)

Overrun for 2011 mirrored Kilborn’s (2002) findings. He examined overrun for 

22 mills between 1997 and 1999 that produced over 90 percent of Alaska’s lumber 

production and found that average overrun equaled 1.18. Brooks and Haynes (1994) 

reported average Alaska sawmill overruns of 1.20 in 1970, 1.225 in 1980, and 1.265 

in 1990.

Most Alaskan lumber is not planed or kiln-dried, and lumber grading is sporadic. Federally funded dry kiln and grading incentive programs have experienced 

limited success; only 12 percent of Alaska’s kiln capacity was used to dry lumber in 

2004 (Nicholls et al. 2006). Log scaling at most Alaska mills was often not overseen by independent scaling bureaus. However, the quality of Alaskan dimension 

and board lumber is generally excellent; Alaskan spruce and cedar species lumber 

is particularly praised for superb structural quality (Petersen and Bruns 2005). 

Log Home Sector 

Multi-product log home and sawmill facilities produced most of Alaska’s house 

log outputs during 2011. Most products were sawn double round logs and “D” logs 

(logs sawn on one side only, which creates a “D” shape when viewed from the log 

end) used in cabin kits; only 13 percent were either hand-peeled or milled by lathe. 

Facilities (including sawmills) that manufactured house logs utilized approximately 

1,300 MBF Scribner of timber and produced slightly over 378 thousand lineal feet 

(MLF) of house logs (tables 6 and 7), less than half of 2005 production. This reduction is likely in response to poor local residential construction markets in 2011 vs. 

2005. 
20

general technical report pnw-gtr-903

Fuelwood Sector

Interior Alaska facilities produced 11,112 bone dry units (BDU) or 83 percent of all 

statewide fuelwood outputs (i.e., firewood and wood pellets) (table 7). Pellets were 

produced from mill residue (e.g., sawdust and shavings) and chipped roundwood. 

Most sawmills and house log plants sold firewood either in roundwood form or in 

slabs. Bureau of Business and Economic Research researchers found that interior 

Alaska residents purchased the vast majority of fuelwood products.

Small rural Alaska communities generally do not have access to electricity 

generated by natural gas or hydropower. Residents of isolated villages can pay very 

high prices for diesel-generated electric power. For example, residents of Healy 

Lake paid $0.65 per kilowatt hour for electricity in 2010, more than three times the 

price paid by residents of Fairbanks (Melendez and Fay 2012). In response to the 

need for affordable rural power, several sawmills are exploring the possibility of 

building wood-fueled cogeneration plants (ADECD 2012, Brehmer 2012). Also, the 

high cost of commercial electricity inhibits production of wood products throughout 

much of Alaska (Alexander et al. 2010).

Other Products Sector 

Alaska’s “other products” facilities manufacture tonewood, cedar products (shingles 

and shakes), furniture, and novelty items such as cups and bowls. Most of these 

manufacturers are located in southeast Alaska (table 8). The southeast’s highly 

productive growing sites support large-diameter Sitka spruce and redcedar needed 

to produce tonewood and cedar products. Cedar product firms salvage much of 

the timber needed for their mill inputs from logs that have washed-up on ocean 

beaches (State of Alaska 2011). The sales value of these products was approximately 

$800,000 in 2011. 

Export Sector—Including Sort Yards

During the last decade, strengthening Pacific Rim demand has driven significant 

increases in Asian log and wood product imports (Alexander 2012, Roos et al. 

2010). This expansion has been spurred by growing Asian populations, increased 

ease of international trade through new legislation, and greater personal and corporate wealth (Wisertrade 2013).

Virtually all of Alaska’s 2011 forest industry export revenues were derived from 

sawlogs ($115.8 million) (Alexander 2012). Finished lumber, woodchip, and other 

product export sales were less than $3 million (Alexander 2012). A striking change 

spanning 2005 to 2011 is the rapid growth in Alaska exports to China, coupled 

with substantial reductions in exports to Japan and South Korea. Sales to China 

A striking change 

spanning 2005 to 2011 

is the rapid growth in 

Alaska sawlog exports 

to China.
21

Alaska’s Timber Harvest and Forest Products Industry, 2011

Figure 4—Values of Alaska’s wood product exports: 2002–2011. Source: 

Alexander 2012.

increased from $8.1 million in 2005 (in 2011 dollars) to $57.2 million in 2011, but 

sales to Japan dropped from $65.9 million to $28.3 million and sales to South Korea 

shrank from $58.2 million to $25.1 million over the same 6-year period (fig. 4) 

(Alexander 2012). 

Mirroring declining timber values seen across the United States, sales values 

of exported Alaska logs averaged $639 per MBF in 2005 (in 2011 dollars), then 

plummeted to $419 per MBF in 2011. Average values rose to $506 per MBF in 2012 

(Zhou 2013). The volume of exported logs increased 35 percent during this same 

7-year period (fig. 5) (Alexander 2012). Reduced values are partly a response to 

Chinese demands for lower quality logs to produce concrete forms, which are not as 

valuable as the high-quality logs typically sent to Japan. Alaska’s 2011 share of log 

exports from primary Western log export states (which include California, Oregon, 

Washington, Idaho, and Montana) was 292.1 MMBF (18 percent) (WWPA 2012, 

Zhou 2013).

Timber slated for export is trucked from harvest units to approximately 10 

privately owned sort yards located throughout southeast and south-central Alaska, 

where it is bucked to meet customer length and quality specifications.5

 These newly 

5

 Brackley, A.M. 2013. Export sort yards in Alaska. Personal communication. 

abrackley@fs.fed.us. (December 22).
22

general technical report pnw-gtr-903

Figure 5—Alaska’s log export volume and average value of all timber species: 2002–2012. 

Sources: Alexander 2012, Zhou 2013.

bucked short logs are then transported to waterfront landings for export. At least 

152 MMBF Scribner of the timber harvested in Alaska during 2011 was converted 

into export-ready logs at these sort yards. The vast majority of this timber was 

harvested on Native corporation lands. Minor amounts of timber transported to 

these sort yards were merchandised into short logs and sold to local mills. Sort 

yard bucking of long logs yields 130 to 150 bone-dry tons per year of residue such 

as long butts, cull sections, and log ends per processed MMBF Scribner; these 

residues are a potential source of woody biomass for electric cogeneration (TSS 

Consultants 2000).

Capacity

The authors characterized Alaska wood products facilities capacities by two different measures: production capacity and timber-processing capacity.

Production capacity: This is the potential ability of a facility to produce outputs per shift or per work year. Production capacity was reported by mill owners or 

managers during the 2011 FIDACS census, assuming firm market demand for mill 

outputs and sufficient supply of timber inputs. For sawmills, production capacity 

was expressed as MBF lumber tally output per work year. House log plants reported 

production capacity as MLF of house log output per work year. The authors used 

production capacity to characterize potential lumber and house log production by 

resource area and at the state level. Southeast resource area mills dominated lumber 

production capacity with 105.7 MMBF lumber tally, down from 218.3 MMBF 
23

Alaska’s Timber Harvest and Forest Products Industry, 2011

Table 10—Alaska production capacitya by resource area and 

sector, 2011

Resource areab

Lumber 

production capacity

House log 

production capacity

Thousand board feet, 

lumber tally Thousand lineal feet

Southeast 105,695 30

South-central and westernc 8,906 836

Interior 22,730 874

All resource areas 137,331 1,740

2005—all resource areas 240,159 2,603

a

 Includes mills active during 2011.

b

 See table 8 for a list of borough/census areas located within resource areas.

c

 Resource areas combined to avoid disclosure.

lumber tally in 2005. House log production capacity also declined significantly 

from 2005 to 2011 (table 10). 

Timber-processing capacity: This measure gauges the volume of timber

mills could use if they operated at stated production capacity and is expressed as 

MBF Scribner log scale of timber per shift or per work year. The BBER computes 

a facility’s timber-processing capacity by dividing its production capacity by its 

product recovery ratio. For example, assume that a house log plant’s owner-reported 

production capacity is 100 MLF per work year and its recovery ratio is 0.3 MLF of 

house log output per 1 MBF Scribner of timber input. The mill’s timber-processing 

capacity would then be 100 MLF/0.3 MLF per MBF Scribner = 333 MBF Scribner. 

Timber-processing capacity is generally expressed in MBF Scribner log scale, 

regardless of wood products manufacturing sector, and is therefore useful in 

characterizing the timber consumption potential of an entire state’s forest products 

industry (table 11). Natural resource policymakers find timber-processing capacity useful when setting timber harvest volume targets because timber-processing 

capacity relates directly to the quantity of timber needed to manufacture lumber or 

other products (Alexander 2012, Alexander and Parrent 2012). 

Timber-processing capacity of active facilities in Alaska during 2011 was 

approximately 133 MMBF Scribner (table 11). Alaska followed the same downward 

trend in timber-processing capacity and capacity utilization through time as other 

Western States (Keegan et al. 2006, 2012) (fig. 6). 

Of particular concern is the rate of Alaska’s timber-processing capacity reduction between 2005 and 2011—a statewide drop of only 2 percent (3.9 MMBF) from 

1998 to 2005 (Halbrook et al. 2009, Hill 2000) is dwarfed by the 2005 to 2011 
24

general technical report pnw-gtr-903

Table 11—Alaska annual timber-processing capacitya and use by size class and sector, 2011

Annual capacity 2011 timber use

Annual timber-processing 

capacity size class

Number of

active facilities

Timber-processing 

capacity

Sector 

capacity

Volume 

processed

Capacity 

utilization 

within size class

Thousand board 

feet, Scribner

Thousand board 

feet, Scribner Percent

Thousand board 

feet, Scribner Percent

Sawmill sector:

< 250 MBF 20 2,883 2.6 837 29.0

251–500 MBF 6 2,272 2.1 255 11.2

501–1,000 MBF 11 7,865 7.2 2,392 30.4

>1,000 MBF 13 95,809 88.0 13,831 14.4

Sawmill sector total 50 108,829 100 17,315 15.9

House log and otherb

 sectors:

<500 MBF 23 2,916 12.2 1,119 38.4

>501 MBF 4 21,049 87.8 2,307 11.0

House log sector total 27 23,965 100 3,426 14.3

2011 combined sector totals 77 132,794 20,741 15.6

2005 combined sector totalsc 77 202,156 46,131 21.4

a

 Includes mills active during 2011 only.

b

 Other sectors include cedar products, log furniture, tonewood, and novelty item manufacturers.

c

 From Halbrook et al. (2009).

Figure 6—Alaska timber processing capacity and use: 1986, 1996, 2005, and 2011. Sources: 

Halbrook et al. 2009, Keegan et al. 2006.
25

Alaska’s Timber Harvest and Forest Products Industry, 2011

plunge of 34 percent (nearly 70 MMBF) (table 11). Other Western States have also 

seen substantial reductions in annual timber-processing capacity (Gale et al. 2012, 

Keegan et al. 2012). Most of the 2005 to 2011 loss stemmed from reductions in 

southeast Alaska large mill (capable of processing more than 1 MMBF annually) 

capacity. 

Only 15.6 percent of the timber-processing capacity in Alaska was utilized 

in 2011 (table 11), the lowest of any Western State (Keegan et al. 2006, Gale et al. 

2012). Extremely low utilization carries the risk that additional mills may close in 

the near future but also suggests the potential for rapid increases in production if 

market conditions or timber supply improve (Keegan et al. 2012). 

Alaskan analysts (Alexander and Parrent 2012, Kilborn et al. 2004, Parrent 

2012) have historically reported timber-processing capacity differently than have 

BBER analysts. They have reported design or installed capacity as the maximum 

timber volume that a mill can process in a 250-day work year based on machinery 

capabilities and two 8-hour shifts per day. Although BBER’s and the Alaskan 

analysts capacity methodologies differ, trends over time and the implications for 

timber demands by Alaska’s industry are similar for both methods.

Mill Residue: Quantity, Types, and Use 

Residue volumes and uses were reported by facilities that sold all or most of their 

residues in 2011. For facilities that did not track residue production, residue volume 

factors (residue volume generated per unit of finished product) were derived from 

reporting facilities data and used to estimate missing residue volumes. 

Residue factors, bone-dry-units (BDUs) of residue per MBF lumber tally, were 

computed for “sole-purpose” sawmills that produced only lumber as a primary 

product (table 12). Trends in residue factors in Alaska are quite different from those 

observed in other Western States (Blatner et al. 2012). Brooks and Haynes (1994) 

reported that Alaska sawmill residue factors had increased through time: 0.58 in 

1975, 0.61 in 1980, and 0.82 in 1990. The total sawmill residue factor for 2011 was 

1.05, only 5 percent less than in 2005. Rogers (1991) summarized the percentage of 

cubic foot solid wood equivalent (SWE) of primary lumber product versus residue. 

He found that small Alaska sawmills in the 1980s produced 43 percent residues by 

SWE. The BBER’s census found that 2011 sawmill residues, excluding exported 

chipped roundwood, amounted to 35 percent (summed residues of 1,043 MCF 

divided by 2,995 MCF sawmill inputs—fig. 3). The 2011 coarse residue factor 

increased 18 percent from 2005 likely in response to increased markets for slabs 

used for firewood.

Only 15.6 percent of 

the timber-processing 

capacity in Alaska was 

utilized in 2011, the 

lowest of any Western 

State.
26

general technical report pnw-gtr-903

Table 12—Alaska sawmilla residue factors, 2011

Type of residue

BDUb per 

MBF lumber tally

Coarse 0.71

Sawdust 0.17

Planer shavings 0.14c

Bark 0.17

Total 1.05

a Includes sawmills producing only lumber and no other products.

b Bone-dry unit (BDU = 2,400 lbs of oven-dry wood) of residue 

generated for every 1,000 board feet of lumber manufactured.

c

This factor represents only the few Alaska mills that planed 

lumber. The combined planer shavings factor was 0.01 for all 

sawmills, whether or not the mills planed lumber.

Table 13—Production and disposition of mill residue from Alaska’s forest 

products industry, 2011

Residue disposition

Type of residue Pulp chips Fuelwooda Other usesb Unused Total

Bone-dry unitsc

Coarsed 10,090 4,267 103 1,004 15,464

Sawdust — 2,802 803 593 4,198

Shavings/peelings — 148 621 167 936

Bark — 3,232 418 556 4,206

All residues 10,090 10,449 1,945 2,320 24,804

a

 Fuel wood uses include fuel for heating and wood pellet production.

b

 Other uses primarily include animal bedding, mulch, and landscape material.

c

 Bone-dry unit = 2,400 pounds of oven dry wood.

d

 Coarse residue includes chips, edgings, and slabs.

Alaska timber processors produced 24,804 BDU of mill residue during 2011, of 

which 94 percent came from sawmills (table 13). About 9 percent of mill residues 

were unused, down from 21 percent unused in 2005. This drop likely stemmed 

from increased demand for fuelwood. Pulp chip production dropped from 26,854 

BDUs in 2005 to 10,090 BDUs in 2011 in response to reductions in primary lumber 

and ancillary chip production, and closure of a chipping operation in south-central 

Alaska. Unused residue in Alaska frequently is burned, piled, or graded into lowlying areas. 

The proportation of 

unused mill residue 

dropped from 21 

percent to 9 percent 

between 2005 and 2011, 

largely in response to 

increasing demand for 

fuelwood residues.
27

Alaska’s Timber Harvest and Forest Products Industry, 2011

Table 14—Destination and sales value of Alaska’s primary wood products and mill 

residue, 2011

Product Alaska

West 

Coasta

Other 

states

Pacific

Rim

Other 

countriesb Total

Thousands of 2011 dollars

Lumber 5,312 2,448 673 945 62 9,440

Otherc 7,304 141 60 120 338 7,963

Total primary product 12,616 2,589 733 1,065 400 17,403

Residuesd 1,186e

Sawlog and pulpwood exportsf 115,823e

2011 total sales value 134,412

2005 total sales valueg 149,537

a West Coast states include California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington.

b Other countries include Canada and countries located in Europe and the Middle East.

c Other products include house logs, firewood, wood pellets, cedar products, furniture, tonewood, and novelty items.

d Residue products include firewood, garden mulch, animal bedding, and pulp-quality wood chips.

e Data pooled across destinations to prevent disclosure of confidential information.

f

Derived from Alexander (2012).

g From Halbrook et al. (2009).

Forest Products Sales 

Alaska primary wood product sales (f.o.b. the producing mill or free alongside 

ship), including log exports and mill residue, totaled more than $134 million during 

2011 (table 14), down from $170.1 million (2011 dollars) reported in 2005. Fuelwood 

sales exceeded $3 million in 2011. Exports of sawlogs and chipped roundwood 

eclipsed all other revenue sources, with sales totaling $115.8 million and accounting 

for 86 percent of Alaska’s total primary wood product sales. The vast majority of 

log exports were shipped to Pacific Rim countries, especially China (Alexander 

2012, Zhou and Warren 2012). Of $17.4 million in domestic product sales, 72 

percent (over $12.6 million) was sold within Alaska.

Employment 

United States Department of Commerce Bureau of Economic Analysis (USDC 

BEA 2013) and Alaska Department of Labor (2013) data were combined to report 

Alaska primary and secondary forest industries employment (fig. 7). Alaskan forest 

industry employment has generally paralleled changes in timber harvest volume 

through time. Of particular note is the complete loss of pulp and paper employment 

in the late 1990s after all pulp mills had closed. Also, logging and milling employment dropped steeply after the U.S. Forest Service’s southeast Alaska 50-year 

timber sale contracts terminated in the early 2000s (fig. 7) (Alexander 2012).

Sales of exported 

sawlogs and chipped 

roundwood accounted 

for 86 percent of Alaska 

primary wood products 

sales.
28

general technical report pnw-gtr-903

Figure 7—Alaska’s forest products industry employment, 1969–2011 (based on analysis of NAICS 113—forestry and logging; 

NAICS 321—wood products manufacturing; and NAICS 322—pulp and paper manufacturing). Sources: Alaska Department of 

Labor 2013, USDC BEA 2013.

Alaskan forest industry employment enjoyed a minor rally during the housing 

boom of 2004 and 2005 when forest industry jobs (full-time equivalents or FTEs) 

increased from 1,370 in 2003 to 1,417 in 2005 (fig. 7). Primary and secondary forest 

products industry employment then declined 29 percent from 2005 to 2011 (Keegan 

et al. 2012). Data from the USDC BEA (2013) and Alaska Department of Labor 

(2013) suggest that the rate of decline in primary and secondary statewide forest 

industry employment has slowed over the past several years owing in part to industry stabilization after Forest Service long-term timber contracts ended (Alexander 

2012). Reductions in primary wood product manufacturing employment (based on 

BBER’s 2005 and 2011 surveys) were more acute; primary facility FTEs plummeted 

48 percent between 2005 and 2011, with more than 126 jobs lost. 

After a precipitous drop starting in 2005, southeast Alaska forest industry 

employment increased from 216 FTEs in 2009 to 262 in 2011 (Alexander 2012). 

Much of this change was in response to increased logging employment; many 

southeast Alaska jobs were tied to flourishing Native corporation logging and 

timber export businesses. Employment recovery has been slower in south-central, 

western, and interior Alaska (Alaska Department of Labor 2013). 
29

Alaska’s Timber Harvest and Forest Products Industry, 2011

Emerging Issues 

The foremost concern shaping Alaskan forest industries is the lack of available 

timber for log export and processing in Alaska’s mills (Portman 2012). The following emerging issues—management of Alaska’s young-growth timber, proposed 

state forest expansion, increased western Alaska native corporation harvesting, and 

settlement of Sealaska’s claims to additional forest lands—are timber availability 

issues that were frequently mentioned by land and mill managers during BBER’s 

2011 survey.

• Young-growth vs. older timber. Disagreement about uses of southeast 

Alaska’s young-growth timber resource has become a major issue among 

federal land managers, environmental advocacy groups, and mill owners. Environmental advocates and U.S. Department of Agriculture leaders 

have touted the ecological benefits of steering timber management away 

from older timber to younger age classes resulting from timber harvest and 

natural disturbances such as wind damage (see footnote 2) (Alexander et 

al. 2010, USDA 2013, USDA FS 2013b). However, southeast Alaska mills 

have mostly been designed to process large-diameter timber harvested in 

older stands. Mill managers see little return for investments in machinery 

capable of efficiently milling smaller diameter timber when young growth 

will likely not grow to commercial size for at least another 15 to 20 years. 

They worry that young-growth trees will yield low-grade, low-value lumber. Further, managers predict that abundant small-diameter timber found 

throughout the lower 48 states will be more efficiently processed by local 

mills that enjoy low-cost shipping to major lumber markets in the Midwest 

and Eastern United States (RDCA 2013). 

• State forest expansion. Largely to meet industrial needs for timber, the 

state of Alaska has sought to expand its state forest holdings by approximately 2.5 million ac (ADECD 2012). About 80 percent of these lands are 

currently part of the Tongass National Forest, and the remaining 20 percent 

are state-owned and located in south-central and interior Alaska.

• ANCSA settlement. If made into law, H.R. 740 and S. 340, U.S. House 

and Senate versions of “The Southeast Alaska Native Land Entitlement 

Finalization and Jobs Protection Act” would convey about 70,000 ac of 

the Tongass National Forest (mostly timberlands) to Sealaska Corporation 

(CBO 2013, Govtrack 2013). This additional land is needed to continue 

significant Native corporation harvest and export of timber from southeast 

Alaska over the next several years. 

The foremost concern 

shaping Alaskan forest 

industry is lack of 

available timber for log 

export and processing 

in Alaska’s mills.
30

general technical report pnw-gtr-903

These issues are related to one another and are working in concert to change 

both the quantities and sizes of timber available for Alaska’s domestic mills and 

the export market. For example, if enacted, ANCSA settlement legislation would 

change ownership patterns, sustain Sealaska’s log export production for at least 3 to 

5 years, and change the proportions of managed young-growth and older timber in 

southeast Alaska. 

Common and Scientific Names of Tree Species 

Alaska yellow-cedar Cupressus nootkatensis D. Don 

Black cottonwood Populus balsamifera L. 

Black spruce Picea mariana (Mill.) Britton, Sterns &

Poggenb. 

Douglas-fir Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco

Mountain ash Sorbus scopulina Greene var. scopulina

Mountain hemlock Tsuga mertensiana (Bong.) Carrière 

Birch species (includes Alaska 

paper birch and Kenai birch)

Betula papyrifera Marsh.; Betula neoalaskana 

Sarg.; Betula papyrifera Marshall var. kenaica 

(W.H. Evans) A. Henry

Quaking aspen Populus tremuloides Michx. 

Red alder Alnus rubra Bong.

Sitka spruce Picea sitchensis (Bong.) Carrière 

Sugar maple Acer saccharum Marshall

White spruce Picea glauca (Moench) Voss 

Western hemlock Tsuga heterophylla (Raf.) Sarg. 

Western redcedar Thuja plicata Donn ex D. Don 

Metric Equivalents 

When you know: Multiply by: To find:

Inches (in) 2.54 Centimeters 

Feet (ft) .305 Meters 

Square feet (ft2

) .093 Square meters 

Cubic feet (ft3

) .028 Cubic meters 

Cubic yards (yd3

) .765 Cubic meters

Acres (ac) .405 Hectares 

Pounds (lbs) .454 Kilograms 

Tons (t) .907 Tonnes or megagrams
31

Alaska’s Timber Harvest and Forest Products Industry, 2011

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Dan Parrent, U.S. Forest Service Alaska Region natural 

resources specialist, for sharing his in depth knowledge of the Alaska forest 

industry. Margaret O’Neal of the Juneau Economic Development Council (JEDC) 

graciously shared the results of JEDC’s 2011 survey of the Alaska logging and primary forest products industries in 2011. The JEDC identified many firms that could 

not have been found by BBER researchers. Alaska State Forester Chris Maisch and 

his staff provided extensive background on Alaska’s wood products industry and 

served as excellent hosts during BBER’s 2012 census. Randy Coleman, U.S. Forest 

Service Alaska Region, contributed substantial content for the emerging issues 

section.

The authors thank the U.S. Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station 

Forest Inventory and Analysis program for funding this work.

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Alaska’s Timber Harvest and Forest Products Industry, 2011

Glossary

Board foot—A unit of measure applied to lumber that is 1-ft long, 1-ft wide, and 

1-in thick (or its equivalent) and also associated with roundwood as to its potential 

yield of such products.

Bone dry unit (BDU)—The amount of wood residue that weighs 2,400 lb (1,088 

kg) at 0 percent moisture content. One BDU equals approximately 9.49 yd3

 or 96 ft3

of solid wood.

Cubic foot—A unit of true volume that measures 1 by 1 by 1 ft (30.48 by 30.48 by 

30.48 cm).

Forest land—Land at least 10-percent stocked with trees of any size, or formerly 

having had such tree cover, and not currently developed for nonforest use. (Note: 

Stocking is measured by comparing specified standards with basal area and/or 

number of trees, age or size, and spacing.) The minimum area for classification of 

forest land is 1 ac. Roadside, streamside, and shelterbelt strips of timber must have a 

crown width of at least 120 ft to qualify as forest land. Unimproved roads and trails, 

streams or other bodies of water, or clearings in forest areas shall be classified as 

forest if less than 120 ft wide.

Growing stock—All live trees 5.0 in (12.7 cm) diameter at breast height (d.b.h.) or 

larger that meet (now or prospectively) regional merchantability requirements in 

terms of saw-log length, grade, and cull deductions. Excludes rough and rotten cull 

trees.

House log—Roundwood timber used to construct log homes. Products manufactured from house logs can be sawn, scribed by hand, notched, or milled by lathe 

to meet customer construction needs. House log timber is often dead (by choice—

“green” logs usually require drying before they can be used for construction) and of 

lower value than sawlogs.

Lumber recovery factor (LRF)—The volume of lumber recovered (in board feet) 

per cubic foot of log processed.

Lumber tally—The volume of sawn products, usually expressed in board feet.
38

general technical report pnw-gtr-903

Nonforest land—Land that does not support or has never supported forests and 

lands formerly forested where use for timber management is precluded by development for other uses. Includes areas used for crops, improved pasture, residential 

areas, city parks, improved roads of any width and adjoining rights-of-way, power 

line clearings of any width, and non-census water. If intermingled in forest areas, 

unimproved roads and nonforest strips must be >120 ft wide, and clearings, etc., >1 

ac, to qualify as nonforest land.

Nonreserved forest land—Forested land available for wood products utilization 

through statute or administrative designation.

Overrun—The volume of lumber actually obtained from a log in excess of the 

estimated volume of the log, based on log scale.

Production capacity (owner reported)—Potential facility product output per shift 

or 240-day year, assuming one 8-hour shift per day, firm market demand for products, and sufficient supply of raw materials. For sawmills, expressed as thousand 

board feet lumber tally per shift or per year.

Recovery—The volume of output per unit of input, a measure of mill efficiency.

Reserved forest land—Land permanently reserved from wood products utilization 

through statute or administrative designation.

Residue—The wood or bark that is left after manufacturing of timber. Three types 

are generated:

Coarse—edgings, slabs, trim, mis-cuts, log ends.

Fine—sawdust and planer shavings.

Bark.

Sawlog—A log that meets minimum regional standards of diameter, length, and 

defect, intended for sawing.

Scaling—Or “log scaling;” the measurement of volume in a log based on specific 

log rules, for example the Scribner log rule. In this report, all scaled volumes are 

reported in Scribner. Two versions of Scribner log scale are commonly used—west 

side and east side. Maximum log length is 40 ft for west-side Scribner, and 20 ft for 

east-side scale. 

Scribner—A diagram log rule originating in the 1800s that assumes 1-in (2.54-cm) 

boards and 0.25-in (0.64-cm) kerf, is based on diameter at the small end of the log, 

disregards taper, and does not provide for overrun—note that the Scribner rule 

underestimates lumber yield on small logs and on long logs with taper.
39

Alaska’s Timber Harvest and Forest Products Industry, 2011

Standing volume—Total aboveground stem volume, net of cull, calculated on a 

cubic-foot basis for all trees larger than 5 in diameter at breast height (d.b.h.). Scribner board-foot volume, net of cull, was calculated for all trees larger than 9 in d.b.h.

Timberland—Forest land that is producing or capable of producing in excess of 20 

ft3

 per acre per year of wood at culmination of mean annual increment. Timberland 

excludes reserved forest lands.

Timber-processing capacity—The volume of timber reported in MBF Scribner 

that could be processed given sufficient supplies of raw materials and firm market 

demand for products—estimated for each facility by applying the product recovery 

ratios to production capacity.
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employees, and applicants for employment on the bases of race, color, national origin, age, 

disability, sex, gender identity, religion, reprisal, and where applicable, political beliefs, marital 

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either an EEO or program complaint please contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service 

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on how to contact us by mail directly or by email. If you require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) please contact 

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which is also in Spanish or call the State Information/Hotline Numbers. 

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Agencies and Offices for specific agency information. 
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