Georgia

Ranking as one of the state’s top manufacturing industries, Georgia’s forest products industry is a vital component of the state’s economy. The industry employs 83,000 workers with an annual payroll of $2.7 billion.  Georgia’s paper and wood manufacturing workforce represents 10.3 percent of the state’s total manufacturing workforce.

Approximately 66 percent of Georgia is forested.

Georgia's Land Area (in thousands of acres)
Total Land Area: 37,068
Forests: 24,413
Forests as Percent of Total: 65.9%
Federal Lands: 2,808
National Forest System: 865

Timberland (in thousands of acres)
Government
    Federal: 1,380
    State: 260
    County & Municipal: 111
Forestry Industry: 4,381
Other Private Nonindustrial: 17,664
Total Timberland: 23,796

Federal Land Set-Asides (in thousands of acres)
National Parks: 63
Reserved National Forest: 178
Fish & Wildlife Service: 479
Total: 720

Recycled Paper Consumption (in thousands of short tons): 3,546
also includes Florida’s recycled paper consumption

Tree Planting (acres)
Federal: 2,407
State, County & Municipal: 3,838
Forest Industry: 150,375
Farmer & Other Private: 259,660
Total: 416,280

Value of Industry Shipments (in thousands of dollars)
Wood Product Manufacturing: $5,174,866
Paper Manufacturing: $8,970,553

Capital Expenditures (in thousands of dollars)
Wood Product Manufacturing: $148,881
Paper Manufacturing: $692,402

Annual Production
Softwood Lumber (million board feet): 2,899
Hardwood Lumber (million board feet): 365
Structural Panels (million square feet): 2,091
Paper (in thousands of short tons): 2,148
Paperboard (in thousands of short tons): 5,372

Timberland Ownership
Government: 7%
Forest Industry: 19%
Other Private Nonindustrial: 74%

Georgia’s total softwood and hardwood inventory has increased 64 percent since 1953 despite increasing production of wood and paper products.

Employment
Forestry: 3,573
Lumber & Wood Products (includes logging): 45,700
Paper & Allied Products: 33,675