Arkansas

Ranking as the state’s number two manufacturing industry, Arkansas’ forest products industry is a vital component of the state’s economy. The industry employs 43,000 workers with an annual payroll of $1.1 billion.  Arkansas’ paper and wood manufacturing workforce represents 11.9 percent of the state’s total manufacturing workforce.

Approximately 56 percent of Arkansas is forested. Credited to regeneration and planting programs, the net annual forest growth exceeds harvests by about 20 percent.

Arkansas’ Land Area (in thousands of acres)
Total Land Area: 33,328
Forests: 18,790
Forests as Percent of Total: 56.4%
Federal Lands: 3,260
National Forest System: 2,586

Timberland (in thousands of acres)
Government
    Federal: 2,813
    State: 394
    County & Municipal: 67
Forestry Industry: 4,498
Other Private Nonindustrial: 10,620
Total Timberland: 18,392

Federal Land Set-Asides (in thousands of acres)
National Parks: 105
Reserved National Forest: 297
Fish & Wildlife Service: 346
Total: 748

Recycled Paper Consumption (in thousands of short tons): 2,180
also includes Louisiana’s recycled paper consumption

Tree Planting (acres)
Federal: 5,549
State, County & Municipal: 889
Forest Industry: 60,000
Farmer & Other Private: 47,300
Total: 113,738

Value of Industry Shipments (in thousands of dollars)
Wood Product Manufacturing: $2,562,165
Paper Manufacturing: $3,735,035

Capital Expenditures (in thousands of dollars)
Wood Product Manufacturing: $136,444
Paper Manufacturing: $238,007

Annual Production
Softwood Lumber (million board feet): 2,079
Hardwood Lumber (million board feet): 492
Structural Panels (million square feet): 1,946
Paper (in thousands of short tons): 1,811
Paperboard (in thousands of short tons): *
*withheld to avoid disclosing data for individual companies

Timberland Ownership
Government: 18%
Forest Industry: 24%
Other Private Nonindustrial: 58%

Arkansas’ total softwood and hardwood inventory has increased 54 percent since 1953 despite increasing production of wood and paper products.

Employment
Forestry: 1,726
Lumber & Wood Products (includes logging): 26,824
Paper & Allied Products: 14,566