Longshoremen at ports in Washington state and Vancouver, British Columbia, are set to load more timber and lumber onto vessels bound for Japan as it rebuilds from the Great East Japan Earthquake.
The March 11 quake and tsunami will require the biggest importation of logs, timber and plywood since 2008, according to Wood Resources International LLC., a forest-industry consulting firm based in Bothell, Washington.
Increased Asian demand may be the lone bright spot for dry-bulk shippers, including Hyundai Merchant Marine Co. and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd., that are suffering from a glut of new ships that is pushing down charter rates.