Forestry & Logging
Industry Profile Report
Dive Deep into the industry with a 25+ page industry report (pdf format) including the following chapters
Industry Overview Current Conditions, Industry Structure, How Firms Operate, Industry Trends, Credit Underwriting & Risks, and Industry Forecast.
Call Preparation Call Prep Questions, Industry Terms, and Weblinks.
Financial Insights Working Capital, Capital Financing, Business Valuation, and Financial Benchmarks.
Industry Profile Excerpts
Industry Overview
The 8,100 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.
Industry size & Structure
The average forestry and logging company operates out of a single location, employs 6 workers, and generates $1-2 million in annual revenue.
- The forestry and logging industry comprises about 8,100 companies that employ about 44,500 workers and generate about $12 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
Forestry & Logging Industry Growth
Recent Developments
Jan 27, 2025 - Prices and Payrolls Fall Amid Declining Sales
- Producer prices for logging companies fell 2.4% in December compared to a year ago after falling 4.9% in the previous December-versus-December annual comparison, according to the latest US Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Meanwhile, employment by logging companies shrank 8.9% year over year in December, on the heels of a 1.8% rise in the average industry wage to $29.76 per hour in September, BLS data show. Prices and employment are falling amid a decline in sales for wood products companies, which dropped 12.2% year over year in the third quarter and 2.9% versus Q2, Census Bureau data show.
- Congress included economic aid for forest restoration in the continuing resolution (CR) signed in December by President Biden, the American Forest Foundation (AFF) reports. The CR, which funds the federal government through mid-March, included $356 million for the Emergency Forest Restoration Program (EFRP), which helps family forest owners restore forest health damaged by natural disasters. As part of a comprehensive disaster relief program, the CR authorizes payments to owners of nonindustrial private forests to restore disaster damaged forests including those impacted by Hurricane Helene in late September, which severely damaged western North Carolina's national forests. The AFF expressed gratitude for the inclusion of $220 million in block grants to states and territories that can be used to compensate producers and non-federal forest owners for timber, among other losses caused by drought, hurricanes, wildfires, or other extreme events in 2023 and 2024.
- The hardwood industry in Appalachia is struggling, The Wall Street Journal reports. While the industry has been in decline for decades, a series of shocks beginning in 2018 – a trade war with China, pandemic-induced collapse in exports, China’s real-estate slump, and falling US home building – have accelerated the decline, according to WSJ, which notes that about two dozen sawmills in the region have gone out of business over recently. The growing use of less expensive synthetic products such as vinyl plank flooring and engineered composites over solid wood for furniture and cabinetry by home builders and manufacturers is sapping demand for hardwoods. Output in 2024 is on pace to be 40% lower than 2017, the year before the trade war with China caused US exports to plunge. Another trade war with China, a cause for concern given Trump’s re-election, could cripple the industry, writes WSJ.
- The Northwest Forest Plan (NFP) Advisory Committee has amended a 30-year-old plan for managing 24.5 million acres of federally managed lands in the Northwest, according to the US Forest Service. The committee of 21 scientists, loggers, conservationists, and tribal and government representatives published 184 recommendations to address changing conditions and guide the future of endangered forests in the Northwest. While 113 recommendations are dedicated to Tribal and Indigenous inclusion – left out in the 1994 NFP – the committee also redefined old-growth forests as any stand established before 1825 and recommended prohibiting logging in those stands. The committee also published 26 fire resilience recommendations, including reintroducing fire on the landscape through controlled burns. The Forest Service said it plans to release the draft Environmental Impact Statement for the amendment to the NFP in October.
Get A Demo
Vertical IQ’s Industry Intelligence Platform
See for yourself why over 60,000 users trust Vertical IQ for their industry research and call preparation needs. Our easy-to-digest industry insights save call preparation time and help differentiate you from the competition.
Build valuable, lasting relationships by having smarter conversations -
check out Vertical IQ today.