About Us
A family-owned American exporter of lumber, utility poles, logs, plywood, crossties, and panels, shipping to 40+ countries since 1987.
Who We Are
Gulf South Forest Products, Inc. is an American exporter of lumber, utility poles, logs, plywood, crossties, and mats and panels. The company is headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and operates its primary storage and shipping facility at Blakeley Terminal in the Port of Mobile, Alabama.
Gulf South Forest Products was founded in 1987 and is family-owned, exporting to customers in more than 40 countries and shipping over 300,000 cubic meters of forest products annually.
Our Facility
Gulf South Forest Products has operated at the Blakeley Terminal, Port of Mobile, Alabama for over 25 years. The facility covers more than 153,000 square feet on 18 acres, with 1,400 feet of water frontage, and accommodates ocean-going vessels up to 1,000 feet in length.
Gulf South Forest Products has the ability to charter its own shipping vessels, allowing the company to control loading schedules and sailing dates directly.
Primary Facility
Blakeley Terminal, Alabama State Docks
Port of Mobile, Alabama, USA
Additional Shipping Ports
Port of Savannah, Georgia
Port of Charleston, South Carolina
Jacksonville Port Authority, Florida
Our Approach
Why Work With Gulf South
Gulf South Forest Products offers a full range of services to fill customer requirements from beginning to end, backed by more than 100 years of cumulative team experience in sales, purchasing, documentation, and shipping.
- Product Quality — sourcing only the finest forest products, with regular mill inspections
- Customer Service — orders handled by a dedicated, knowledgeable team
- Documentation — properly prepared to avoid shipping and customs delays
- Speed — responsive service with a cooperative, non-bureaucratic approach
- Shipping — the ability to charter our own vessels for optimal control
Loading & Logistics
Built for Reliable Shipping
Gulf South Forest Products ships from all major U.S. ports and offers small to large breakbulk shipments worldwide, with the capacity to load up to 250 containers per week. Orders can be delivered FOB, CIF, or under other standard Incoterms arrangements.
The company is available seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day, and guarantees disaster replacement poles will be loaded onto a ship within 7–10 days of receiving an order following a hurricane, tsunami, or typhoon.
Certifications & Quality
Phytosanitary and heat treatment certificates are available by destination country upon request. All Gulf South Forest Products lumber is kiln dried, so the material does not require ISPM 15 treatment.
Gulf South Forest Products' lumber and plywood carry third-party grade marks — lumber from the Southern Pine Inspection Bureau (SPIB) and Timber Products Inspection (TPI), plywood under the APA/TPI standard. Gulf South Forest Products itself does not hold SFI or FSC chain-of-custody certification, though some supplying mills do — buyers requiring certified material should confirm certification per order.
Gulf South Forest Products also sources hardwood from suppliers in southern Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, and Chile, regions where reforestation and replanting programs are practiced.
Who We Sell To
Gulf South Forest Products sells wholesale only. Customers are wholesale importers, manufacturers, industrial accounts, and furniture manufacturing accounts, generally purchasing in large volume — at least one truckload at a time.
Recognition & Press
Gulf South Forest Products received the President's "E" Award for Exports from the U.S. Department of Commerce, presented by Secretary John Bryson at a White House ceremony in the Indian Treaty Room on May 17, 2012. Only 41 U.S. companies received the award that year, based on four consecutive years of export growth.
Gulf South Forest Products has also been featured in Alabama Seaport, the official magazine of the Alabama State Port Authority, on multiple occasions covering the company's export operations and disaster relief work.
Presidential "E" Award for Exports
Presented at the White House, May 17, 2012.
Alabama Seaport — July 2012
"Gulf South Forest Products Receives Top U.S. Export Award"
Alabama Seaport — March 2010
"Haitian Humanitarian Efforts Leave Port of Mobile"
Alabama Seaport — March 2004
"Gulf South Forest Products: Keeping Blakeley Terminal Busy"
Gulf South Forest Products is also an active member of the following trade associations:
