US Forest Products Industry Statistics

Industry Statistics

Of America's 2.263 billion acres, forests cover 747 million acres (33 percent of the land base)
More than 244 million acres of federal land are set aside by various government agencies
The U.S. contains 5 percent of the Earth's forest cover
Despite a 143 percent increase in population, the U.S. has about the same area of forestland today as it did in 1920
The volume of wood in U.S. forests is about 25 percent greater today than it was 40 years ago
Each year, 1.5 billion new trees are planted in the U.S. - that's more than five seedlings for each American and 2,000 for every bear
U.S. forest planting currently averages about 2.4 million acres per year
Annual forest growth has consistently exceeded harvest in the U.S. since the 1940s
Forests of the Southern U.S. (from eastern Texas to northern Florida) have the highest biodiversity of any forests in North America
Over the past decade, the forest products industry has spent more than $100 million on wildlife and environmental research
The U.S. forest products industry employs over 1.4 million people and produces wood and paper products valued at more than $200 billion annually