Tennessee

Ranking as one of the state’s top manufacturing industries, Tennessee’s forest products industry is a vital component of the state’s economy. The industry employs 50,000 workers with an annual payroll of $1.4 billion.  Tennessee’s paper and wood manufacturing workforce represents 4.6 percent of the state’s total manufacturing workforce.

Approximately 51 percent of Tennessee is forested. Credited to regeneration and planting programs, the net annual forest growth exceeds harvests by 62 percent.

Tennessee's Land Area (in thousands of acres)
Total Land Area: 26,380
Forests: 13,603
Forests as Percent of Total: 51.6%
Federal Lands: 1,643
National Forest System: 635

Timberland (in thousands of acres)
Government
    Federal: 1,027
    State: 422
    County & Municipal: 59
Forestry Industry: 1,122
Other Private Nonindustrial: 10,635
Total Timberland: 13,265

Federal Land Set-Asides (in thousands of acres)
National Parks: 373
Reserved National Forest: 77
Fish & Wildlife Service: 115
Total: 565

Recycled Paper Consumption (in thousands of short tons): 2,067
also includes Kentucky's recycled paper consumption

Tree Planting (acres)
Federal: 677
State, County & Municipal: 1,026
Farmer & Other Private: 9,717
Total: 11,420

Value of Industry Shipments (in thousands of dollars)
Wood Product Manufacturing: $2,402,457
Paper Manufacturing: $3,897,797

Capital Expenditures (in thousands of dollars)
Wood Product Manufacturing: $66,891
Paper Manufacturing: $237,999

Annual Production
Softwood Lumber (million board feet): 46
Hardwood Lumber (million board feet): 822
Structural Panels (million square feet): 1,385*
Paper (in thousands of short tons): 1,245
Paperboard (in thousands of short tons): 1,405
*also includes Oklahoma, Colorado and New York’s production

Timberland Ownership
Government: 11%
Forest Industry: 9%
Other Private Nonindustrial: 80%

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

Employment
Forestry: 809
Lumber & Wood Products (includes logging): 27,352
Paper & Allied Products: 22,187