The Souths Timber Industry

In 2003, industrial roundwood output from the Souths forests totaled 8.2 billion cubic feet, 6 percent less than in 1999. Mill byproducts generated from primary manufacturers increased 1 percent to 3.2 billion cubic feet. Almost all plant residues were used primarily for fuel and fiber products. Saw logs were the leading roundwood product at 3.7 billion cubic feet; pulpwood ranked second at 3.3 billion cubic feet; veneer logs were third at 830 million cubic feet. The number of primary processing plants declined from 2,551 in 1999 to 2,281 in 2003. Total receipts declined 5 percent to 8.3 billion cubic feet.

During the second half of the twentieth century, the forest industry removed more than 300 billion cubic feet of timber from southern forests. Yet at the same time, partnerships between public and private entities improved the inventory, health, and productivity of this vast and resilient resource. A comprehensive and multilayered history, Forestry in the U.S. South explores the remarkable commercial and environmental gains made possible through the collaboration of industry, universities, and other agencies. This authoritative assessment starts by discussing the motives and practices of early lumber companies, which, having exhausted the forests of the Northeast by the turn of the twentieth century, aggressively began to harvest the virgin pine of the South, with production peaking by 1909. The rapidly declining supply of old-growth southern pine triggered a threat of timber famine and inspired efforts to regulate the industry. By mid-century, however, industrial forestry had its own profit incentive to replenish harvested timber. This set the stage for a unique alliance between public and private sectors, which conducted cooperative research on tree improvement, fertilization, seedling production, and other practices germane to sustainable forest management. By the close of the 1990s, concerns about an inadequate timber supply gave way to questions about how to utilize millions of acres of pine plantations approaching maturity. No longer concerned with the future supply of raw material and facing mounting global competition the U.S. pulp and paper industry consolidated, restructured, and sold nearly20 million acres of forests to Timber Investment Management Organizations (TIMOs) and Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), resulting in an entirely new dynamic for private forestry in the South. Incomparable in scope, Forestry in the U.S. South spotlights the people and organizations responsible for empowering individual forest owners across the region, tripling the production of pine stands and bolstering the livelihoods of thousands of men and women across the South.

During the second half of the twentieth century, the forest industry removed more than 300 billion cubic feet of timber from southern forests. Yet at the same time, partnerships between public and private entities improved the inventory, health, and productivity of this vast and resilient resource. A comprehensive and multilayered history, Forestry in the U.S. South explores the remarkable commercial and environmental gains made possible through the collaboration of industry, universities, and other agencies. This authoritative assessment starts by discussing the motives and practices of early lumber companies, which, having exhausted the forests of the Northeast by the turn of the twentieth century, aggressively began to harvest the virgin pine of the South, with production peaking by 1909. The rapidly declining supply of old-growth southern pine triggered a threat of timber famine and inspired efforts to regulate the industry. By mid-century, however, industrial forestry had its own profit incentive to replenish harvested timber. This set the stage for a unique alliance between public and private sectors, which conducted cooperative research on tree improvement, fertilization, seedling production, and other practices germane to sustainable forest management. By the close of the 1990s, concerns about an inadequate timber supply gave way to questions about how to utilize millions of acres of pine plantations approaching maturity. No longer concerned with the future supply of raw material and facing mounting global competition the U.S. pulp and paper industry consolidated, restructured, and sold nearly 20 million acres of forests to Timber Investment Management Organizations (TIMOs) and Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), resulting in an entirely new dynamic for private forestry in the South. Incomparable in scope, Forestry in the U.S. South spotlights the people and organizations responsible for empowering individual forest owners across the region, tripling the production of pine stands and bolstering the livelihoods of thousands of men and women across the South.

This Report Contains the findings of a 2009 canvass of primary wood using plants in the South, and presents changes in product output and residue use from 2007 to 2009. It complements the forest inventory and analysis periodic inventory of volume and removals from southern timberland.

In 2003, industrial roundwood output from the South's forests totaled 8.2 billion cubic feet, 6 percent less than in 1999. Mill byproducts generated from primary manufacturers increased 1 percent to 3.2 billion cubic feet. Almost all plant residues were used primarily for fuel and fiber products. Saw logs were the leading roundwood product at 3.7 billion cubic feet; pulpwood ranked second at 3.3 billion cubic feet; veneer logs were third at 830 million cubic feet. The number of primary processing plants declined from 2,551 in 1999 to 2,281 in 2003. Total receipts declined 5 percent to 8.3 billion cubic feet.

In 1994, volume of roundwood products removed from South Carolina's forests totaled 653 million cubic feet- 12 percent more than in 1992. Mill byproducts generated from primary manufacturers increased 9 percent to 21 1 million cubic feet. Almost all plant residues were used, primarily for fuel and fiber products. Pulpwood was the leading roundwood product at 334 million cubic feet; saw logs ranked second at 264 million cubic feet; veneer logs were third with 50 million cubic feet. The number of primary processing plants declined from 1 1 4 in 1992 to 105 in 1994. Totaf receipts increased 12 percent to 652 million cubic feet.