American Lumber Standard Committee

The American Lumber Standard Committee Incorporated (ALSC), is a non-profit organization incorporated in the State of Maryland.  The ALSC, comprised of manufacturers, distributors, users, and consumers of  lumber, serves as the standing committee for the American Softwood Lumber Standard (Voluntary Product Standard 20) and in accordance with PS 20, administers an accreditation program for the grademarking of lumber produced under the system.  That system, the American Lumber Standard (ALS) system, is an integral part of the lumber industry's economy and is the basis for the sale and purchase of virtually all softwood lumber traded in North America.  The ALS system also provides the basis for acceptance of lumber and design values for lumber by the building codes throughout the United States.

As noted above, a function of the ALSC is to maintain the American Softwood Lumber Standard.  The ALSC in accordance with the Procedures for the Development of Voluntary Product Standards of the U.S. Department of Commerce and through a consensus process establishes sizes, green/dry relationships, inspection provisions, grade marking requirements and the policies and enforcement regulations for the accreditation program.  The ALS system as a whole is set up to give manufacturers, distributors, users and consumers a mechanism to formulate and implement the Standard under which softwood lumber is produced and specified.  Participation of each segment of the industry is an integral part of the program and provides the industry with a direct voice in the standardization and accreditation program as it evolves into the twenty-first century.

The activities above are carried out through the ALSC or, through framework established by the ALSC and PS 20, by the National Grading Rule Committee (NGRC).  The NGRC is an autonomous body functioning under bylaws approved by the ALSC and has specific functions with regards to maintaining the National Grading Rule for dimension lumber.

Another important function of the ALSC is the election of the Board of Review (BOR).  The BOR, acting under bylaws established by the ALSC and consistent with PS 20, is an independently elected autonomous body responsible for serving as the certification and accreditation board for the ALSC.

In addition to the untreated lumber accreditation program, the ALSC also administers accreditation programs for the quality marking of treated lumber produced under standards written and maintained by the American Wood Preserver's Association (AWPA) and for the labeling of wood packaging material produced under the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) Guidelines for Regulating Wood Packaging Material in International Trade.

The ALSC Wood Packaging Material (WPM) program, operating under the Board of Review currently has 13 accredited independent third-party agencies with current operations of these agencies extending to approximately 1500 facilities. 

The WPM program operates to monitor adherence to the requirements of the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) Guidelines for Regulating Wood Packaging Material in International Trade.  The ALSC WPM Policy and WPM Enforcement Regulations implement this program.

The Board of Review discharges this function pursuant to the Memorandum of Understanding with the United States Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and the ALSC WPM Policy and WPM Enforcement Regulations.