An Overview of the Wood Products Import Sector in the U.S.

The U.S. has dramatically altered its wood product
imports and exports in the recent past, and
currently, it is the leading wood product importer
in the world. An understanding of market structures,
factors in selecting foreign suppliers and the
emphasis they place on environmental certification
are critical to understand from the perspective of
wood products importers in the U.S. Sri Lanka
exports wood products to U.S. markets. Sri Lanka s
wood product manufacturing sector is characterized
by small companies, low volumes of production,
inefficient processing, and old technology. However,
Sri Lankan wood products are generally of good
quality. Given sufficient institutional and
technological assistance, this sector has great
potential to grow. Two studies conducted on the U.S.
wood products importers and Sri Lankan wood products
exporters are discussed here. Findings better frame
import related issues from the perspective of wood
product importers in the U.S. while identifying
opportunities in the U.S market for Sri Lankan wood
products exporters. Studies further identify
bottlenecks in Sri Lankan wood products export
sector and areas for improvement.

Autorentext

Rangika Perera,MSc. PhD candidiate and Research Assistant, Forest Products Marketing at Louisiana State University.Richard Vlosky, Director of the Louisiana Forest Products Development Center and Professor of Forest Products Marketing at the Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, Baton Rouge, LA.

Klappentext

The U.S. has dramatically altered its wood product imports and exports in the recent past, and currently, it is the leading wood product importer in the world. An understanding of market structures, factors in selecting foreign suppliers and the emphasis they place on environmental certification are critical to understand from the perspective of wood products importers in the U.S. Sri Lanka exports wood products to U.S. markets. Sri Lanka's wood product manufacturing sector is characterized by small companies, low volumes of production, inefficient processing, and old technology. However, Sri Lankan wood products are generally of good quality. Given sufficient institutional and technological assistance, this sector has great potential to grow. Two studies conducted on the U.S. wood products importers and Sri Lankan wood products exporters are discussed here. Findings better frame import related issues from the perspective of wood product importers in the U.S. while identifying opportunities in the U.S market for Sri Lankan wood products exporters. Studies further identify bottlenecks in Sri Lankan wood products export sector and areas for improvement.