■ Timber procurement distance getting longer
 
In Japan, while demand of timber is in the downward stream, the distance it travels is increasing. Timber imported from European countries is getting a bigger share in the market, and processing factories are being transformed into labor/land-intensive ones.
The Demand for Wood Products (sawn timber) 2005
MAFF of Japan“The Annual Report of Forest and Forestry 2007 “
Imported timber comes from very far side of the world. According to the annual report on trends in forest and forestry 2007, in 2005, 18.8% of all the imported timber was from North America (often referred as American timber), 12.2% was from Malaysia, Indonesia, and others in the region (referred as South pacific timber), 10.2% was from Australia, 8.6% was from Russia (referred as North pacific timber), 6.9% was from European countries like Finland, and others were from New Zealand, Chile, and China.
Woodmiles of European Timber
The Woodmiles Forum (2005) “Woodmiles Research Note 2“
In case of European timber, typical transportation routes are as follows: one of the biggest processing factories is in Kitte near the border of Finland and Russia. Timber harvested within the range of 100km from Kitte is brought there to be processed and travel 350km on the train to Kotka Port in the Baltic Sea and then travel again 2,200km by the sea to Tokyo via Hamburg.. Not only European timber, but also American timber and South pacific timber or others come to Japan through extremely long distances
Timber Importation of Major Importing Countries by Distance from Origin
The Woodmiles Forum (2005) “Woodmiles Research Note 2“
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Background of Woodmiles
Global environment issues and timber 
