I own a sawmill and I am also a member of several worldwide sawmill owners orgainzations so I know a little about what I am talking about here.

The CITES  treaty has caused undue pressure on the normal supply chain of tonewoods that have come out of central and south america for eons. Because of this, luthiers and other wood workers are now turning to home grown woods that will suit their needs. While this causes some demands on domestic woods, it is not the REAL problem.

China is buying ship loads of all kinds of woods. Some of these woods are still in log form. They will buy just about anything and then mill and process it into cheap furniture, and knobs and handles and anyhting wood can be used for instead of plastic. This comes right back to the Industrialized world as cheap furniture.... guitars, etc.

Now, the chinese have got into making musical instruments. CHeck out ebay and see how many  sub $100 guitars you can buy on there now. These instruments are sporting sitka spruce, BRW, Koa... you name it, they make instruments out of it. What a waste of good wood!

As CHina comes into the industrial age and begins to trade on the open market, you can expect that some supply-side staples that we use every day will become commodities. This includes gasoline, steel, wood, and food. Seen any increases in the price of these items lately?