Japan remains the single most important offshore market for the North American wood products industry. North American softwood lumber exports to Japan, for example, have grown from less than 500,000 cubic metres in 1965 to nearly 8,000,000 cubic metres in the peak of 1996.
Yet many of the competitive advantages that North America has enjoyed as the premier supplier have been challenged, focused around a number of identifiable trends in demand and supply, leading to considerable market share erosion. This publication summarizes these trends and identifies the challenges and opportunities for North American wood products suppliers in Japan.