History
Pacific Lumber & Shipping, LLC (PLS) was established in 1932 in Seattle, Washington. PLS began as a lumber wholesale company distributing high quality Pacific Northwest lumber throughout North America, eventually expanding to Europe, the Middle East and Australia. During this time, PLS also developed an export lumber and specialty products business in Japan. Although this Japanese business was curtailed throughout WWII, PLS was able to re-establish these business connections in the post-war reconstruction of Japan with some of these relationships still in existence today.
The company’s manufacturing history began in 1952, with the creation of several pole and piling production facilities in Washington. PLS became a significant lumber manufacturer in 1974 with the purchase of two sawmill companies, Packwood Lumber Company and Cowlitz Stud Company. These mills supported all of the company’s lumber trading activity and had a solid, worldwide reputation. Packwood Lumber and Cowlitz Stud operated continuously until 1999, when PLS sold them in order to concentrate on its core business of international and domestic log and lumber trading.
PLS’s Japanese export log trading activity grew dramatically in 1963 in the aftermath of the devastating Columbus Day windstorm that struck the Northwest in October 1962. With 11 billion board feet of blown down timber, offshore markets were desperately needed and PLS’s long history and established relationships in Japan were critical to rapidly expanding this export log business. As log exporting became a mainstay of Northwest forest marketing, PLS continued to build its business by developing a Korean customer base in 1978 that continues today. In 1984, after the US resumed trade with China, PLS developed markets in that country. This Chinese log trading activity was very strong until 1992 when global competition changed the direction of Northwest log marketing. The China market reemerged for PLS in 2008 and China is currently a significant customer for Northwest logs and lumber.
Continuing to create relationships that enable it to support customers with high quality wood products and excellent value, PLS was purchased in 2005 by Port Blakely Companies. PLS remains an international log and lumber-marketing company with a global outlook and customer base, and continues as a wholly owned subsidiary of Port Blakely Companies.