American Red Oak makes up roughly 1/5 of the hardwood forest in the United States, the largest share of any species. This iconic tree creates the most important product for American sawmills in all regions, and traditionally has been popular exclusively in the United States and China. Thanks to MAP, FMD, and ATP funded promotion of U.S. Hardwoods through the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC), global market adoption of this species has grown significantly and led to direct gains in exports of U.S. red oak products to Europe, valued at $38.7 million per year in 2021.
Compared to the average value from 2010 to 2015, this growth from $8.5 million per year up to nearly $40 million has added over $80 million in new red oak exports to Europe since 2010.
American Hardwood Export CouncilFrom 2010 to 2015, the average value of red oak lumber exported to Europe was $8.5 million per year. After years of outreach to the European industry through design projects, technical seminars, and industry networking, the United States doubled its European red oak market to an average $19.9 million from 2016-2020, and since 2021, the market has roughly doubled again – reaching exports of over $37.5 million in red oak lumber to Europe in 2021, and $38.7 million for all red oak products. Through the latest data in July 2022, red oak exports were up another 52% from that record high so far in 2022. Compared to the average value from 2010 to 2015, this growth from $8.5 million per year up to nearly $40 million has added over $80 million in new red oak exports to Europe since 2010.
AHEC has also been able to host a U.S. Hardwood Pavilion at Interzum Cologne, the largest woodworking and furniture trade show in Europe. At the 2019 Interzum Cologne trade show, AHEC hosted a pavilion with 27 U.S. hardwood producers. Companies from Tennessee, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Virginia, and Michigan reported over $2.2 million in direct sales at the event.