The wood industry posted sales of $35.8 billion in 2004, the highest on record.5 Since that peak, sales steadily declined until 2009, primarily due to the pine beetle infestation in British Columbia, the softwood lumber dispute, and the recession of 2008-2009. [...] The recession led to a decline in demand for wood products in the United States and had a major impact on the wood industry in Canada. [...] In contrast to the overall decline in exports of petroleum and coal products, exports to the United States continued to increase, up 1.8% in 2013, following double-digit increases over most of the past 10 years. [...] In contrast to the decline in sales for the Canadian automotive industry, the industry grew in the United States in 2013. [...] However, the gain was tempered by a loss of 2.1% in the automotive industry and a decline of 5.5% in the petroleum and coal product industry.