Timber trade in the United States of America 1870 to 2017. A socio-metabolic analysis

Abstract

The importance of international timber trade in The United States forest transition is poorly understood. Here, we synthesize a variety of historical sources to establish a consistent socio-metabolic dataset for U.S. physical trade in timber and timber products from 1870 to 2017, distinguishing three product categories (raw, primary and final products) and major trading partners. The United States increasingly relied on net imports of primary and final timber products, mainly from Canada, but also from Asia, and Europe, while emerging as a net-exporter of raw timber. The growing physical import dependence coincided with domestic forest recovery, indicating that imports contributed to reducing pressures on domestic forests. The structure of timber trade suggests that the United States also outsourced labor for wood processing.