Abstract
The issues in this paper are, first, the reality of the price increase in the Northern Tohoku region of Japan during the wood shock and, second, why the log supply was insufficient to meet the log prices that rose and increased demand during the wood shock. This paper first overviewed the characteristics of the forestry production and distribution structure in the Northern Tohoku region. Next, the movement of log and product prices under the wood shock on official Statistics was confirmed. Then, the analysis was based on national and prefectural data and interviews with forestry professionals. As a result, it was notable that the forestry productivity in the Northern Tohoku region, as revealed by the wood shock, was determined by the management strategies of the forestry enterprise. Their management strategies were, (1) allocation of forestry labor between the timber production business and the forestation business, (2) adjustment of the business ratio between the purchase of standing timber of private forests and the contracting business for national forests, (3) selection of business sites based on the quality and quantity of standing timber inventory, and (4) leveling of transaction costs, including psychological costs by using a large-scale log distribution company.
