SEATTLE - Softwood lumber and logs sold by the U.S. and Canada to China are on track to double in 2011, reaching a record $2.6 billion dollars.

According to Wood Resource Quarterly, the two countries exported $1.3 billion in softwood products to China last year.

While U.S. exports have trended toward logs, Canadians sell processed lumber, much of it lumber from the massive supply of timber killed by pine beetles over the last 15 years. 

China's demand has boosted lumber production in both the U.S. and Canada. Some sawmills in the Western U.S. and Canada are exporting up to 30-40 percent of their production. Lumber shipments from Canada have increased from just $55 million in 2005 to an estimated $1.2 billion this year.

The U.S. has  expanded exportation of logs to Chinese lumber manufacturers. In fact, some U.S. sawmills complain China is bypassing them and buying round logs instead.This year, U.S. West Coast log exporters are projected to ship $900 million in logs, up from only $42 million four years ago.