Nature of Business Operations	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2018
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
Nature of Business Operations	<div style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:10pt;"><div style="line-height:120%;font-size:10pt;"><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;color:#002e5b;font-weight:bold;">NATURE OF BUSINESS OPERATIONS </font></div><div style="line-height:120%;padding-top:6px;text-align:justify;text-indent:24px;font-size:10pt;"><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;">Rayonier Inc., a North Carolina corporation, including its consolidated subsidiaries (“Rayonier” or “the Company”), is a leading timberland real estate investment trust (“REIT”) with assets located in some of the most productive softwood timber growing regions in the U.S. and New Zealand. Rayonier owns or leases approximately </font><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;">2.6 million</font><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;"> acres of timberland, located in the United States and New Zealand. Included in this property is approximately </font><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;">0.2 million</font><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;"> acres of timberlands located primarily along the coastal region from Savannah, Georgia to Daytona Beach, Florida, some of which has long-term potential for real estate development. The Company also engages in the trading of logs, primarily to support the Company’s New Zealand export operations. </font></div><div style="line-height:120%;padding-top:12px;text-align:justify;text-indent:24px;font-size:10pt;"><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;">Rayonier operates in </font><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;">five</font><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;"> reportable business segments: Southern Timber, Pacific Northwest Timber, New Zealand Timber, Real Estate and Trading. See </font><a style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;" href="#s805015E7DBBD5FEE9746DAD7A237C704"><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;">Item 1 — Business</font></a><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;"> for a discussion of each of the Company’s reportable segments.</font></div><div style="line-height:120%;padding-top:12px;text-align:justify;text-indent:24px;font-size:10pt;"><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;">The Company is a REIT and is generally not required to pay federal income taxes on its U.S. timber harvest earnings and other U.S. REIT operations contingent upon meeting applicable distribution, income, asset, shareholder and other tests. See </font><a style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;" href="#s1285FE4058DC572398B7A0642A409C0C"><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;">Note 10 —Income Taxes</font></a><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;"> for further discussion of REIT and non-REIT qualifying operations.</font></div></div>

Nature of Business Operations

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

<div style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:10pt;"><div style="line-height:120%;font-size:10pt;"><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;color:#002e5b;font-weight:bold;">NATURE OF BUSINESS OPERATIONS </font></div><div style="line-height:120%;padding-top:6px;text-align:justify;text-indent:24px;font-size:10pt;"><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;">Rayonier Inc., a North Carolina corporation, including its consolidated subsidiaries (“Rayonier” or “the Company”), is a leading timberland real estate investment trust (“REIT”) with assets located in some of the most productive softwood timber growing regions in the U.S. and New Zealand. Rayonier owns or leases approximately </font><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;">2.6 million</font><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;"> acres of timberland, located in the United States and New Zealand. Included in this property is approximately </font><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;">0.2 million</font><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;"> acres of timberlands located primarily along the coastal region from Savannah, Georgia to Daytona Beach, Florida, some of which has long-term potential for real estate development. The Company also engages in the trading of logs, primarily to support the Company’s New Zealand export operations. </font></div><div style="line-height:120%;padding-top:12px;text-align:justify;text-indent:24px;font-size:10pt;"><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;">Rayonier operates in </font><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;">five</font><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;"> reportable business segments: Southern Timber, Pacific Northwest Timber, New Zealand Timber, Real Estate and Trading. See </font><a style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;" href="#s805015E7DBBD5FEE9746DAD7A237C704"><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;">Item 1 — Business</font></a><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;"> for a discussion of each of the Company’s reportable segments.</font></div><div style="line-height:120%;padding-top:12px;text-align:justify;text-indent:24px;font-size:10pt;"><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;">The Company is a REIT and is generally not required to pay federal income taxes on its U.S. timber harvest earnings and other U.S. REIT operations contingent upon meeting applicable distribution, income, asset, shareholder and other tests. See </font><a style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;" href="#s1285FE4058DC572398B7A0642A409C0C"><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;">Note 10 —Income Taxes</font></a><font style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;"> for further discussion of REIT and non-REIT qualifying operations.</font></div></div>