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US Hardwood Lumber Exports by Market: 2025 Results, First Half of 2026 and Where the Volume Goes

April 5, 2027

US hardwood lumber exports went two ways in 2025. Greater China, the largest single destination, took about $603 million of lumber, down 14.9% on 2024. Southeast Asia held at $268.5 million, Europe took $230 million and India set a record at about $10 million. In the first half of 2026 exports to the world were just over $841 million, down 3% in value, and the slowest January to June since 2010. This page collects the published figures in one place, with the source of each number and the date it was read.

How to read the numbers

Every figure below was published by one of three sources: the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC), which cites USDA trade data; an article by AHEC’s executive director on the National Hardwood Lumber Association (NHLA) site, dated 6 October 2026; and two USDA Foreign Agricultural Service attache reports on China. I read them on 22 October 2026. I did not query customs tariff lines myself, and none of the sources lists the exact HS lines behind “hardwood lumber”, so totals from different sources do not always match. Where they differ I show both.

Two limits matter. First, I found no full-year 2025 world total for lumber in a source I could open, so the market tables carry regional figures, not a grand total. Second, Canada and Mexico are two of the four biggest lumber markets, but no 2025 value for either was published in those sources. Treat the tables as a map of where volume goes, not a ledger.

2025 by destination

Destination	2025 lumber value	Volume	Change on 2024	Source
Greater China	$603 million	804,382 m3	value -14.9%, volume about -19%	AHEC April 2026 (USDA data)
Mainland China, USDA view	$596.5 million	not stated	value nearly -15%	USDA attache report CH2026-0068 (Trade Data Monitor)
Mainland China, China customs view	$645 million	not stated	down from $769 million in 2019	USDA attache report CH2026-0055
Southeast Asia	$268.5 million	not stated	value +0.7%	AHEC April 2026
Largest Southeast Asian buyer	$214.6 million	not stated	stable, under 1%	AHEC April 2026, NHLA article
Europe	$230 million	327,000 m3	volume -1%, value +2%	NHLA article by AHEC
India	$9.98 million	15,996 m3	volume +46%, value +37%	AHEC release, 26 February 2026
Japan	not stated	not stated	up nearly 33%	NHLA article by AHEC

The two China lines differ because one counts what the United States reports shipping and the other what China’s customs records as arriving, and the series may not cover the same product lines. Neither source says which lines it uses. Use $597 million to $603 million for US-side value and $645 million for the China-side value, and say which one you used.

Inside Southeast Asia the rest of the region is small. AHEC lists Indonesia at $24.1 million (up 20%), Malaysia at $14.9 million (up 14%), Thailand at $13 million, the Philippines at $1.2 million and Singapore at $0.553 million. In its 2025 review AHEC says Southeast Asia overtook Greater China as the largest market for all US hardwood products in 2025, with $770 million against $758 million, but that total includes logs and veneer. Log shipments to the largest Southeast Asian buyer rose 359% to $472.2 million, which is why that region’s total jumped while its lumber barely moved.

India is tiny in value but worth noting. AHEC says lumber volume was 1,751 m3 in 2016, so the 2025 volume is about nine times larger. Red oak ($2.746 million), white oak ($2.541 million) and hickory ($2.207 million) led by value, and oak was more than half the value.

First half of 2026

Item	January to June 2026	Change on January to June 2025
Lumber exports, world	just over $841 million, about 1.29 million m3	volume just over -2%, value -3%
Log exports, world	just over $675 million, 1.27 million m3	about +50%
Greater China, lumber	$283.0 million, 372,077 m3	value -10.7%, volume -13.6%
Southeast Asia, lumber	$147.2 million, 256,952 m3	value +4.8%
Largest Southeast Asian buyer, lumber	$119.3 million	AHEC table, change not shown in the extract I read
EU, lumber	not stated	down nearly 18% through June
Japan	not stated	down nearly 14%
Mexico, lumber	not stated	volume up nearly 7%
India	not stated	up 13%
Middle East and North Africa	35,693 m3	volume -21%, value -23%
Turkey	8,414 m3	+23%

AHEC’s director calls it “treading water” and notes that four markets (China, Canada, Mexico and one Southeast Asian market) take nearly 75% of lumber exports. He adds that logs to that Southeast Asian market have passed lumber to China as the largest single hardwood export flow in 2026, and that logs may pass lumber by volume before the end of the year. He also reports a fear among US lumber suppliers that they will compete with their own logs, because sawmill capacity abroad is growing. For a lumber buyer the point is that the log flow and the lumber flow now move independently.

The first half of 2026 also carries the Gulf conflict, a weaker EU and a recovery in logs, not in lumber. Do not read a first-half number as a full-year number.

What species go where

China is the destination that moves species markets. The AHEC April 2026 report lists the 2025 value and volume of US lumber to mainland China by species:

Species	2025 value	2025 volume	H1 2026 value	H1 2026 volume
Red oak	$237.7 million	359,610 m3	$112 million	166,112 m3
Walnut	$129.1 million	88,770 m3	$53 million	34,734 m3
Cherry	$77.5 million	99,630 m3	$38.9 million	49,685 m3
White oak	$56.8 million	77,918 m3	$30.4 million	42,186 m3
Ash	$41.8 million	64,694 m3	$20.4 million	30,019 m3
Maple	$20.3 million	25,928 m3	$10.8 million	13,496 m3
Yellow poplar	$12.1 million	32,102 m3	$5.6 million	13,553 m3
Hickory	$10.3 million	16,450 m3	$2.7 million	4,489 m3
Western red alder	$7.3 million	23,388 m3	$3.3 million	10,248 m3

The share of each species’ world exports that went to China in 2025, per AHEC: nearly 90% of cherry, 48.5% of red oak, over 51% of walnut, 45% of ash and over 32% of hickory. In the first half of 2026 the shares were over 86% of cherry, 47.5% of red oak, 40% of walnut, 42.2% of ash and over 24% of maple. The NHLA article gives “nearly 40%” for red oak, walnut and ash without naming a period, which does not match either AHEC period, so check the base before you quote a single share.

In southeast Asia the species mix is different. For the largest buyer in the region the top lines in 2025 were white oak ($83.1 million, 119,318 m3), red oak ($39.5 million, 63,414 m3) and yellow poplar ($33.5 million, 100,876 m3), so oak is the main wood there. Buyers elsewhere who want walnut, cherry or ash should note how much of each species goes to one country: when that country buys less, more of the species is available to others, and when it buys more, less is.

China, the share and the swing

The NHLA article says US hardwood lumber exports to China peaked at just under 2.5 million m3 in 2018 and that the US share fell from 30% of a $4.4 billion market in 2018 to 19% of a $2.8 billion market by the end of 2025. The USDA Shanghai report instead says Thailand held 19% in 2025 and the US is second, with $645 million. Divide $645 million by $2.8 billion and the US share is about 23%, so the 19% in one source may belong to Thailand. I show both because I cannot resolve it from published pages.

Both reports agree on the cause: slow growth, the property downturn and tariffs. The ban in 2025 hit logs, not lumber (China’s ban ran from March to November 2025), but lumber also fell, and traders moved processing to third countries. The USDA Guangzhou report says some Chinese importers reported US lumber imports at about 40% of their 2021 peak.

What buyers outside the main markets can do with this

1. Look at supply, not only price. AHEC says US hardwood lumber production in 2025 fell to its lowest level since the 1950s, and nearly half of all grade lumber produced is exported. When China buys less, mills have more to offer other buyers, which may help an importer elsewhere, but it depends on the species and the grade.
2. Check the species. Walnut, cherry and ash depend on China more than red oak or white oak do. If your spec can use another species, see the notes on white oak and red oak and the hardwood species hub.
3. Expect the figures to move. Tariff and regulatory changes can shift flows within a quarter. Our guides on US exports and China tariffs and the Section 232 lumber tariff cover two of those rules.
4. Compare landed cost. The export price is only part of what you pay; the landed cost guide lists freight, duty, shrink and yield.
5. Ask mills what they have for your market. If you want quotes on a species or grade, send your lumber RFQ with the species, grade, thickness, board feet and destination. We pass it to up to 3 mills or yards that say they can supply it, and they reply to you directly.

Sources

• NHLA and AHEC: Uncharted Territory, Hardwood Exports in a Chaotic World (6 October 2026)
• AHEC, Southeast Asia and Greater China market report, April 2026 (USDA export data)
• AHEC, Southeast Asia and Greater China market report, August 2026 (USDA export data)
• AHEC, Record year for US hardwoods to India in 2025 (26 February 2026)
• USDA FAS GAIN, Hardwood Market Update 2026, report CH2026-0055 (23 April 2026)
• USDA FAS GAIN, Dynamic Developments in China’s Hardwood Market, report CH2026-0068 (28 May 2026)

Frequently asked questions

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• Hardwood Lumber Market in 2027: What Supply, Demand and Policy Mean for a Buying Plan
• Responding to a Hardwood Lumber Claim as the Seller: Steps, Evidence and Options