Washington

Ranking as one of the state’s top manufacturing industries, Washington’s forest products industry is a vital component of the state’s economy. The industry employs 60,000 workers with an annual payroll of $2.1 billion. Washington’s paper and wood manufacturing workforce represents 11.3 percent of the state’s total manufacturing workforce.

Approximately 51 percent of Washington is forested.  Credited to regeneration and planting programs, the net annual forest growth exceeds harvests by a substantial margin.

Washington's Land Area (in thousands of acres)
Total Land Area: 42,613
Forests: 21,892
Forests as Percent of Total: 51.4%
Federal Lands: 12,186
National Forest System: 9,214

Timberland (in thousands of acres)
Government
    Federal: 6,209
    State: 2,035
    County & Municipal: 220
Forestry Industry: 4,109
Other Private Nonindustrial: 4,845
Total Timberland: 17,418

Federal Land Set-Asides (in thousands of acres)
National Parks: 1,964
Reserved National Forest: 2,874
Fish & Wildlife Service: 199
Bureau of Land Management: 12,658
Total: 17,695

Recycled Paper Consumption (in thousands of short tons): 1,281

Tree Planting (acres)
Federal: 22,258
State, County & Municipal 17,000
Forest Industry: 66,038
Farmer & Other Private: 24,336
Total: 129,632

Value of Industry Shipments (in thousands of dollars)
Wood Product Manufacturing: $4,415,151
Paper Manufacturing: $4,719,501

Capital Expenditures (in thousands of dollars)
Wood Product Manufacturing: $165,094
Paper Manufacturing: $320,206

Annual Production
Softwood Lumber (million board feet): 4,487
Hardwood Lumber (million board feet): 325
Structural Panels (million square feet): 1,152
Paper (in thousands of short tons): 3,200
Paperboard (in thousands of short tons): 1,402

Timberland Ownership
Government: 48%
Forest Industry: 24%
Other Private Nonindustrial: 28%

Washington’s total softwood and hardwood inventory has remained stable since 1977 despite increasing production of wood and paper products.

Employment
Forestry: 4,236
Lumber & Wood Products (includes logging): 39,325
Paper & Allied Products: 16,043