Fwd: Why can't Alaska just produce more lumber
Art Hunter
From: JEFFREY WILLIAMS <drj.bi...@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, Sep 16, 2025, 22:25
Subject: Why can't Alaska just produce more lumber
To:
Well, for one thing…Alaska is not as “big” as you (people from the US) seem to think. Alaska has an area of about 1.723 million km². Meanwhile, Canada has an area of about 9.98 million km², or almost 6 times the area of Alaska. Alaska's population is roughly 740 thousand people, whilst Canada's population is around 41 million, or about 50 times the population of Alaska.
But wait…the question is about lumber.
Well, about 26% of Alaska is covered in forest, that is about 450,000 km². Canada, on the otherhand has forest covering about 40% of the land, or about 3,992,000 km². Canada has more than 8 times as much forest compared to Alaska.
Sooo…even if Alaska expanded their lumber industry, it would not be capable of coming anywhere close to what Canada's lumber industry is capable of producing!
Sure, the rest of the US has a large covering of forest, although less than Canada. But, as we all know, trees grown in colder climates make better lumber…which is why Canadian lumber accounts for 50-70% of US lumber imports. Now, the orange buffoon in the Oval Office has slammed tariffs on Canadian lumber, but this will hurt the US as construction companies will either have to rely on poorer quality “American” lumber, or pay the ridiculous 40% increase in the cost of Canadian lumber. Canada, meanwhile is busy seeking trade with the rest of the world.
Whilst the US “needs” Canadian lumber, Canada does not “need” to sell our lumber to the US.