Canadian lumber climbed 18 per cent in 2010 over the previous year, finishing at 22.2 billion board feet, according to figures released by Statistics Canada.
However, production still remained seven per cent below the 2008 level.
Production in British Columbia reached 11.5 billion board feet, with both the Coast and Interior also up 18 per cent from 2009 levels.
B.C. maintained a 51.7 per cent share of total Canadian output. Quebec led Eastern provinces in production at 4.7 billion board feet, up 23 per cent from the previous year.
The strongest gain was in Nova Scotia, up 67 per cent to 382 million board feet. Production of 1.4 billion board feet in Ontario, represented a gain of just 1 per cent compared to 2009.
Canadian production for December totalled 1.6 billion board feet, down 15 per cent from November, but up 14 per cent compared to December 2009.
While the United States remains the No. 1 export market for British Columbia lumber, the province has benefited from increasing sales to Asia.
British Columbia lumber shipments to China reached a new plateau in 2010, hitting 2.8 billion board feet and a value of $687 million, supplanting Japan as the province's No. 2 export destination.
The lumber shipped to China is equal to the production of about one dozen sawmills. The growing Chinese market has helped restart plants in north-central B.C. still suffering the impacts of a U.S. housing collapse. For example, Canfor Corp. re-opened its Quesnel sawmill last summer to deliver lumber exclusively to China, putting 155 workers back on the job.
