Robbinsville, North Carolina businessman Jimmy Lee has purchased 11 lumber mills in western North Carolina and much of the lumber he processes is shipped to Asia, where it is milled into flooring and furniture, reports the Asheville Citizen-Times in an article called “In Need of Flooring and Furniture, China Turns to WNC Trees” by Tonya Maxwell.

“North Carolina’s timber exports to China have skyrocketed in recent years,” the article reports. “It's a trend reflected nationwide as more timber harvested in the United States is shipped to the world’s most populous country, where it is milled into furniture, flooring and other high-value products for buyers there. For each of the last five years, the average value of Tar Heel wood and wood products exported to China has averaged $165 million, a number nearly 30 times what the state saw in 2000. That year, wood valued at $5.7 million was shipped to China, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Today, about 40% of North Carolina lumber is destined for Asia.

Lee has additional facilities in Virginia and Tennessee.

The article notes that in past decades, hardwood was often shipped from the U.S. to China where it was made into product that was shipped back to the U.S. for American consumers. Today, the same dynamic occurs with low-end wood, but high-end wood like walnut and cherry are typically made into products sold within the Asian market.

(Source: floordaily.net)