Forestry & Logging NAICS 113
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Industry Summary
The 8,000 companies in the US forestry and logging industry are involved in natural resource management and harvesting. Companies may own and manage the land and harvest the trees and plants, or provide contracted services to public and private landowners. Over 1 billion trees are planted in the US annually – the equivalent of three plantings for each tree harvested.
Worker Injuries And Fatalities
Despite efforts by the industry to reduce injury rates, logging ranks as the most dangerous occupation in America.
Pest Infestations
The spread of invasive plants, diseases, and insects that target woodlands are growing and destroying timber stands in the US.
Recent Developments
May 28, 2025 - Trump Administration Loosens Environmental Rules to Enable More Logging
- Citing danger from wildfires, the Trump administration in May announced rollbacks in certain regulations covering logging activity on federal lands, according to the Associated Press. The emergency designation will exempt about 176,000 square miles of forests on federal lands from an objection process that allows groups such as local governments and tribes to challenge logging project plans on the administrative level. The move also hopes to further the Trump administration’s goal of increasing domestic lumber production. The policy change tasks regional Forest Service officials to devise plans for increasing available timber volumes by 25% over the next four or five years. Some environmentalists objected to the directive, arguing it would primarily benefit the timber industry and do little to protect communities from fire danger.
- Fires and land clearing led to record-high global forest loss in 2024, according to a recent report by the University of Maryland and the World Resources Institute and reporting by The New York Times. The researchers estimated that the world lost the equivalent of 18 soccer fields of forest every minute last year. For the first time, fires displaced land clearing for agriculture as the most significant cause of forest loss. Fire caused about half of all forest land lost in 2024. Brazil accounted for 42% of global forest loss last year; fires caused two-thirds of the loss amid the worst drought on record.
- The number of building permits issued for single-family, privately-owned housing units, a demand driver for lumber, decreased 5.1% in April 2025 compared to March and fell 6.2% year-over-year. Single-family housing starts dropped by 1.6% month-over-month and were down 12% compared to April 2024. Single-family housing completions declined 5.9% in April from the previous month and decreased 12.3% year-over-year. Housing starts in April were pressured by tariff-related economic uncertainty, high mortgage rates, and rising costs for building materials, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).
- US home builders are dangling more incentives to close deals amid a tepid spring home-buying season that is halfway over, according to The Wall Street Journal. Builders typically notch 40% of their annual sales during the spring, but mortgage rates that are stuck around 7% and a lack of affordability have reduced demand. Builders have increased incentives to bring buyers off the sidelines, including mortgage-rate buydowns, design upgrades, and price cuts. In the first two weeks of April, incentives offered by builders equaled 7.2% of the purchase price, up from 6.1% in January, according to data from John Burns Research & Consulting. Incentives are eating into builder profits during a season that usually sees few discounts, and prices tend to rise.
Industry Revenue
Forestry & Logging
Industry Structure
Industry size & Structure
The average forestry and logging company operates out of a single location, employs 6 workers, and generates $2 million in annual revenue.
- The forestry and logging industry comprises about 8,000 companies that employ about 49,700 workers and generate about $15.7 billion in annual revenue.
- The industry consists of foresters that maintain woodlands and loggers that harvest timber.
- Over 1 billion trees are planted in the US annually – the equivalent of three plantings for each tree harvested. The US has recorded over 50 consecutive years of net forest growth that exceeds yearly harvest, according to the North American Forest Foundation.
- About one-third of the US is covered in forest; 58% is classified as private land and 42% is public.
- 94% of firms have fewer than 20 employees.
- The industry's gross output is volatile and can change 20% from year to year.
- Large companies include ALRT Corporation, C & C Logging, Huffman-Wright, and the timber operations of vertically integrated companies like Weyerhouser, Mid-South Lumber, Green Diamond Resources, and PotlatchDeltic.
Industry Forecast
Industry Forecast
Forestry & Logging Industry Growth
Source: Vertical IQ and Inforum
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