The past year has been tough on the timber industry. A drought coupled with the worst Southern Pine Beetle epidemic in state history contributed to the poor year. The slump in timber prices is attributable to several different factors, including a drop in demand for timber products and a growing global supply.
Canadian timber is plentiful and generally cheaper.
Jones said in the past decade the timber market has been thrown into the world economy, starting with the Asian financial crisis in the early 1990s, which affected pulp prices. Canadian timber is also competitive, but is kept in check with a Canadian U.S. Agreement that has imposed restrictions on Canadian softwood lumber imports into the U.S. for the past five years. The Canadian U.S. Agreement is up for renewal in April. Jones said he and other timber growers hope the Canadian agreement stays in place. If the restrictions are removed, the U.S. timber industry could suffer.