The U.S. forest products industry is divided into two major categories: Paper (NAICS 322) and Wood Products (NAICS 321). These industries are often grouped together because both rely on the nation's vast forest resources for raw material. In addition, many companies that produce pulp and paper also produce wood products in integrated operations. With a timberland base of about 475 million acres, the forest products industry harvested just over 20 billion ft³ of softwood and hardwood timber in 2001 [Miller Freeman 2002]. Almost half of the wood harvested is used for construction and building materials, and close to 30% of the wood is used to make pulp and paper [TAPPI PRESS 1998].

The United States is the world's leading producer of lumber and wood products used in residential construction and in commercial wood products such as furniture and containers. The United States is also the leader in the pulp and paper business, producing about 28 percent of the world's pulp and 25 percent of total world output of paper and paperboard [Miller Freeman 2002]. Fueling this large manufacturing sector is consumption; as the world's leading consumer of paper and paperboard products, the United States consumed close to 96 million short tons in 2001 or 690.6 pounds per capita [Miller Freeman 2002]. In 2001, exports totaled $18.0 billion dollars, 15.1 billion less than imports [ITA 2001].

The forest products industry is a multinational enterprise with plantations and mills around the world. With over 16,000 facilities in the United States alone (4,676 in Pulp and Paper and 11,663 in Lumber and Wood), the industry produced shipments valued at close to 243 billion in 2001. As a strong contributor to the nation's economy, the industry employs close to 1.1 million people in all regions of the country and ranks among the top 10 manufacturing industries in 46 states. Although the industry self-generated close to 40% of its energy needs in 1998, it is still the third largest user of fossil energy in the U.S. manufacturing sector [MECS 1998, DOC 2001].

Page last modified on