By Ram Dahal, Wisconsin DNR Forest Economist
The Department of Forestry at Michigan State University, on behalf of the Northeast-Midwest State Foresters Alliance Forest Markets & Utilization Committee, has released a new, USDA-supported report series detailing the economic contributions of the forest products sector. This project consists of one comprehensive regional report and 20 state-specific reports.
The study utilized 2023 IMPLAN (Impact Analysis for Planning) data, the latest data available at the time of the analysis and compared it to the previous benchmark study completed in 2020 which relied on 2017 data. Looking at these timelines side by side, the reports show how the forest products sector reacted to COVID-19 supply chain issues and give us an updated look at its current post-pandemic health.
By assessing core economic indicators including employment, output, labor income and value-added, this series provides metrics that state agencies and industry leaders can use to monitor forest resource economic health, justify strategic capacity-building investments, target local workforce development, and shape regional forest management policies to actively strengthen the sector.
In the Northeast-Midwest region, the forest products industry acts as a $203 billion industry, directly supporting over 514,000 jobs. When accounting for the ripple effects throughout supply chains and household spending, the sector’s total footprint grows to a massive $387 billion and over 1.28 million jobs. This shows a substantial increase from the 2017 report, which recorded a $327 billion total footprint, highlighting the sector’s long-term growth and its powerful ability to support wider employment.
Compared to 2017, the Northeast-Midwest region’s forest products sector saw a 5.1% decline in direct employment and a 2.9% drop in gross output. Despite this, the industry showed resilience with a 1.7% net gain in value-added wealth, reaching $63 billion, while individual worker productivity increased to $395.27 thousand in output per job.
The report also reveals distinct manufacturing and labor patterns across individual states. Pennsylvania leads the region in direct employment, followed by Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan. However, when measuring value of production, Wisconsin takes the top spot, followed by Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan and Indiana. Ultimately, these rankings demonstrate that while some states serve as major labor hubs, others excel in high-value, high-output production, providing each state agency with targeted insights to strengthen their specific local advantages.
These state and regional reports provide a clear, reliable guide for anyone looking to support the regional forest economy. This analysis helps state agencies, industry groups, and investors track sector health and create better workforce and marketing strategies. The complete series of state and regional reports is now available through the Michigan State University FERM Lab Forest Product Industry portal.