Comparative Analysis of Primary Forest Products Export in the United States and China Using a Constant Market Share Model

The export changes of primary forest products in the United States and China from 2005 through 2012 were compared, and a constant market share model was applied to analyze the impact factors on the export variations of the two countries. The results showed that the decline of import scale and structural changes of the target markets had a negative impact on the wood products export of the two countries. The export variations of primary forest products in the two countries were significantly different. While a small increase in the export of primary forest products was demonstrated in the United States, China's export increased significantly, especially to the major export markets. The change in competitiveness of forest products exports during this time period differed in these two countries. The competitiveness of forest products from the United States remained stable with slight variation; however, the forest products exported by China showed a strong increasing competitive trend.