Michigan

Ranking as one of the state’s top manufacturing industries, Michigan’s forest products industry is a vital component of the state’s economy. The industry employs 45,000 workers with an annual payroll of $1.4 billion. Michigan’s paper and wood manufacturing workforce represents 4 percent of the state’s total manufacturing workforce.

Approximately 53 percent of Michigan is forested. Credited to regeneration and planting programs, the net annual forest growth exceeds harvests by a substantial margin.

Michigan's Land Area (in thousands of acres)
Total Land Area: 36,358
Forests: 19,335
Forests as Percent of Total: 53.2%
Federal Lands: 4,087
National Forest System: 2,858

Timberland (in thousands of acres)
Government
    Federal: 2,643
    State: 3,728
    County & Municipal: 256
Forest Industry: 1,514
Other Private Nonindustrial: 10,525
Total Timberland: 18,666

Federal Land Set-Asides (in thousands of acres)
National Parks: 718
Reserved National Forest: 296
Fish & Wildlife Service: 118
Total: 1,132

Recycled Paper Consumption (in thousands of short tons): 1,885

Tree Planting (acres)
Federal: 3,042
State, County & Municipal: 7,700
Total: 10,742

Value of Industry Shipments (in thousands of dollars)
Wood Product Manufacturing: $2,033,688
Paper Manufacturing: $4,878,245

Capital Expenditures (in thousands of dollars)
Wood Product Manufacturing: $82,597
Paper Manufacturing: $209,489

Annual Production
Softwood Lumber (million board feet): 227
Hardwood Lumber (million board feet): 530
Structural Panels (million square feet): 935
Paper (thousands of short tons): 1,978
Paperboard (thousands of short tons): 1,607

Timberland Ownership
Government: 36%
Forest Industry: 8%
Other Private Nonindustrial: 56%

Michigan’s total softwood and hardwood inventory has more than doubled since 1953 despite increasing production of wood and paper products.

Employment
Forestry: 2,235
Lumber & Wood Products (includes logging): 21,563
Paper & Allied Products: 21,082