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American Hardwood

The hardwood forests of the eastern United States contain a wide range of temperate hardwood species, which have been managed for commercial and non-commercial purposes since the turn of the 20th Century.

The hardwood sawmilling and processing industry, which depends upon this resource, is the largest producer of sawn hardwood in the world. In recent years, the US has substantially increased exports and through careful management of its forests, it is growing more hardwood each year than the wood being harvested, thus ensuring reliable and long term supplies.

American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC) is the leading international trade association of the US hardwood industry, representing the committed exporters of US hardwood companies and all the major US hardwood product trade associations. AHEC’s policy is to develop worldwide markets for all species and thereby balance exports with what is growing in the forest now and in future.

The American hardwood industry is now seeking to develop a market for the US hardwoods in India. With this in mind, sometime ago AHEC decided to sponsor the testing of the most commercially available American hardwood species at the Indian Plywood Industries Research & Training Institute (IPIRTI) in Bengaluru (Karnataka) and to bring out a publication comprising test results and suitability of the tested species for the end-use applications. The publication has already come out published in English under the title American hardwoods and their suitability for the Indian Market. It is also available in Hindi as well. It is designed to help specifiers and manufacturers to understand the physical and mechanical properties and potential applications of American hardwoods, thereby giving them the necessary tools to make an informed choice.

Nine out of about 22 commercial species were selected on the basis of their availability for exports on a large scale, which included the following:  

American alder (Alnus rubra), American ash (Fraxinus spp), American cherry (Prunus serotina), American hard maple (Acer saccharum, Acer nigrum), American soft maple (Acer rubrum, Acer saccharinum), American red oak (Quercus spp), American white oak (Quercus spp), American tulipwood (Liriodendron tulipifera), American black walnut (Juglans nigra).

These 9 species underwent rigourous testing at the laboratory of IPIRTI in accordance with its rigid rules in order to assess its physical and mechanical properties as well as factors like durability, sound absorption capacity and working properties. About 20 hardwood samples of each species were subjected to the vigorous tests. While its physical properties like specific gravity, average weight and shrinkage were tested in accordance with IS1708:1986, mechanical properties like bending, compression, tension and hardness were tested as per IS1708:1986. Sound absorption coefficient of each of the species was assessed in accordance with IS:10420:1982.

Assessment of durability of the species was carried out with the extended tests against fungus, borers and termites. Since the level of natural durability in most of the species is limited, American hardwood species are largely used in interiors-related work. But many of these species can be treated with the help of preservatives for using it in external work.

American hardwoods and

their suitability for the Indian Market

Dr. C.N. Pandey, Director of the Indian Plywood Industries Research and Training Institute (IPIRTI), Dr. C.N. Pandey, says: "While demand for timber and timber products in the housing sector is increasing in India, the gap between demand and supply is widening partly due to the Forest Conservation Act. In contrast, American hardwood, forests of which are sustainably managed, is in surplus in the US domestic market and is exported over the world. With the Indian government’s liberalization policy on the import of wood products, the American hardwood industry has great potential and products to develop markets for American hardwood species in India for joinery, furniture as well wooden floor manufacturing."

In order to help increase the knowledge and acceptance of American hardwood species in India, the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC) identified the need for a competent authority to conduct exhaustive test to find out suitability of US hardwood species in accordance with the relevant Indian Standards for different end-use applications. As a first step in this direction, AHEC asked the Indian Plywood Industries Research & Training Institute (IPIRTI), which has the necessary infrastructure and expertise, to examine the suitability of nine US hardwood species and submit the results with recommendations.

The publication American hardwoods and their suitability for the Indian Market summarizes physical characteristics and potential applications of nine key commercial US hardwood species. The results clearly demonstrate that these species can offer Indian designers and manufacturers new opportunities to develop sustainable hardwood products, which are fashionable and can perform to the highest standards

Results clearly demonstrate that these species can offer Indian designers and manufacturers new opportunities to develop sustainable hardwood products, which are fashionable and can perform to the highest standards.

The publication American hardwoods and their suitability for the Indian Market in English or its Hindi edition can be downloaded from AHEC website: www.americanhardwood.org

Some of the American hardwood species