Authors: David Briggs and Donald Flora

​Summary
Log measurement systems vary widely among different countries and regions within a country, sometimes with large and Inconsistent differences. A lack of understanding of these systems and their differences can sour buyer-seller relationships and cause confusion far analysts who work with trade data.
Historically, major log trade flows have been between Japan and other countries, primarily the US for softwoods and southeast Asia for hardwoods.  Recently, Japan’s log sources have diversified to include New Zealand, Chile, and the USSR. This paper describes Japan’s log measurement systems and traditional (koku) and metric units of measure. It also presents information on log measurement systems in supplier countries and clarifies how these are treated and reported in Japan.