To further aid its global expansion, the American Hardwood Export Council announced the launch of a comprehensive environmental profiling system for US hardwood with wide-ranging implications for the sector.

The new American Hardwood Environmental Profile will provide guidance on US hardwood, demonstrating the legality and sustainability of every consignment of lumber and veneer delivered to global export destinations.

It will also provide access to information on the identity of the US supplier, product description, quality of the wood, commercial and scientific species name, place of harvest, and documents demonstrating negligible risk of illegal harvest.

Snow said the system will have wider implications for manufacturers and the "green" building industries in China and across Southeast Asia.

"Over the next few years, we will see a transformation in hardwood manufacturing in China from low cost to medium- and high-end products using higher grades of wood, as well as a rise in manufacturing centers in Vietnam," said John Chan, regional director of the American Hardwood Export Council for Southeast Asia and China.

More than 70 member companies of the American Hardwood Export Council have established branches and distribution facilities in Harbin, the capital of Heilongjiang province. Harbin's periphery has developed wood processing and manufacturing plants, as well as wood distribution services with nationwide coverage.