North Carolina

Ranking as one of the state’s top manufacturing industries, North Carolina’s forest products industry is a vital component of the state’s economy. The industry employs 75,000 workers with an annual payroll of $2.1 billion. North Carolina’s paper and wood manufacturing workforce represents 7.1 percent of the state’s total manufacturing workforce.

Approximately 62 percent of North Carolina is forested. Credited to regeneration and planting programs, the net annual forest growth exceeds harvest by about 13 percent.

North Carolina's Land Area (in thousands of acres)
Total Land Area: 31,248
Forests: 19,298
Forests as Percent of Total: 61.8%
Federal Lands: 2,508
National Forest System: 1,244

Timberland (in thousands of acres)
Government
    Federal: 1,448
    State: 346
    County & Municipal: 84
Forestry Industry: 2,252
Other Private Nonindustrial: 14,508
Total Timberland: 18,638

Federal Land Set-Asides (in thousands of acres)
National Parks: 401
Reserved National Forest: 210
Fish & Wildlife Service: 421
Total: 1,032

Recycled Paper Consumption (in thousands of short tons): 2,450
also includes Virginia and West Virginia’s recycled paper consumption

Tree Planting (acres)
Federal: 1,861
State, County & Municipal: 1,284
Forest Industry: 25,197
Farmer & Other Private: 77,485
Total: 105,827

Value of Industry Shipments (in thousands of dollars)
Wood Product Manufacturing: $4,780,409
Paper Manufacturing: $5,141,792

Capital Expenditures (in thousands of dollars)
Wood Product Manufacturing: $204,042
Paper Manufacturing: $389,385

Annual Production
Softwood Lumber (million board feet): 1,823
Hardwood Lumber (million board feet): 724
Structural Panels (million square feet): 1,556
Paper (in thousands of short tons): 1,039
Paperboard (in thousands of short tons): 1,352

Timberland Ownership
Government: 10%
Forest Industry: 12%
Other Private Nonindustrial: 78%

North Carolina’s total softwood and hardwood inventory has increased 53 percent since 1953 despite increasing production of wood and paper products.

Employment
Forestry: 2,698
Lumber & Wood Products (includes logging): 48,866
Paper & Allied Products: 23,835