Business Notes EXPORTS

For all their pride and manufacturing prowess, the Japanese recognize that there are a few things that Americans know how to make best: hamburgers, soft drinks and, now, log cabins. Montana-based Alpine Log Homes, which has supplied handcrafted, custom-made log structures to U.S. national parks and forests for half a century, has agreed to sell $3 million worth of its products to a Japanese architectural firm, mainly for use in recreational areas. The bet is that Japanese vacationers, weary of crowded cities and suburbs, will enjoy a bit of Abe Lincoln-style living.