COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Texas A&M Forest Service recently launched Wood Flow South, an interactive website that provides insights into the volume, value and trends of the global forest products trade across the timber supply chain.
“Wood Flow South tracks forest product flows and visualizes the ‘what, where and when’ of timber imports and exports,” said Dr. Xufang Zhang, Texas A&M Forest Service forest resource analyst.
The tool provides estimates of the volume and value of forest products trade with foreign countries across Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida and South Carolina. Data can be filtered for each state by import/export, country, year, commodity and sub-commodities and presented in map or graph view.
“My favorite feature is the clear and interactive visualization of trade partners and trends, which helps users quickly identify key trade relationships and overall patterns,” said Zhang. “The application also integrates annual trade reports to provide comprehensive and detailed state-level trade information.”
The Texas Forest Sector continues to be a vital economic driver, contributing $27.4 billion in direct economic output and supporting over 73,000 jobs in 2024.
Mexico was the largest destination for Texas forest products exports in 2024, totaling $1.65 billion, followed by Canada at $197.85 million.
In 2024, the 13 million Texas acres classified as productive timberland produced 545.1 million cubic feet of wood products. The total value of Texas’ forest products exports reached $2.1 billion: $1.3 billion in paper and paperboard products; $356.6 million in wood pulp; $314.3 million in solid wood products; $67.6 million in wood chemicals; and $62.3 million in wooden furniture.
Wood Flow South was supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service through the Southern Region Landscape Restoration Project. Other partners include South Carolina Forestry Commission, the Louisiana State University AgCenter, the Mississippi State University Forest & Wildlife Research Center and Oregon State University’s College of Forestry.
