45

The 2005 RPA Timber Assessment Update

Introduction 

The 2005 update base projection was developed assuming a continuation of current 

public policies regulating management on both private and public forest lands and 

the projected population, macroeconomic, and resource conditions described in 

chapter 2. It provides one view of the future of the U.S. forest sector and serves as 

a datum for considering alternative scenarios on resource policies and other conditions that influence behavior in the sector. Comparisons of the base case and the 

several scenarios presented in chapter 4 provide a means of identifying both emerging problems and favorable developments that may present opportunities for timely 

policy action.

The base projection envisions continued growth in U.S. forest products 

consumption to 2050 but at somewhat slower rates than in the past five decades. 

The expected growth in harvests reverses a downward trend that started in the 

1990s when harvest reductions on public lands led to lower total harvests, declining exports, and increased imports. Over the next 45 years, imports will supply a 

smaller portion of the growth in requirements, and domestic sources will supply a 

correspondingly larger share. The annual increment in future harvests from domestic forests alone,1

 at 0.11 billion cubic feet per year, will be close to the trend average 

over the past 50 years (0.12 billion cubic feet per year). At the same time, real product price growth will fall below long-term historical rates for nearly all products. 

Over the 50 years from 1952 to 2002, U.S. consumption plus exports of all forest 

products rose by some 9.5 billion cubic feet. United States harvest increased by 6.0 

billion cubic feet, while imports rose by 3.5 billion cubic feet over this same period 

(fig. 8).2 Real prices of softwood lumber, hardwood lumber, and paper rose (annual 

compound rates of 0.8 percent, 0.4 percent, and 0.3 percent, respectively), while 

prices of softwood plywood, oriented strand board (OSB) (since 1976), and paperboard fell. In the update base projection, U.S. consumption plus exports increases 

over the 2002–2050 period by 8.6 billion cubic feet. Imports grow by 1.4 billion 

cubic feet, while harvest from both forests and SRWC plantations rises by 7.1 billion 

cubic feet.3 Prices of softwood lumber, hardwood lumber, and OSB rise slowly 

(annual compound rates of 0.2 percent, 0.3 percent, and 0.1 percent, respectively) 

while prices of softwood plywood, paper, and paperboard remain stable or fall. 

Chapter 3: Timber Demand and Supply 

Relationships: Base Projection

1

This excludes hardwood agrifiber or short-rotation woody crops (SRWC).

2

The details for these changes are summarized in Howard (2003).

3

Harvest from domestic forests rises by 5.3 billion cubic feet and SRWC by 

1.8 billion cubic feet.
46

GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-699

Projected Consumption, Production, Trade, and 

Prices for Timber Products

The following sections give details of the update base outlook for major classes of 

forest products. Projected future trends differ markedly across products, driven by 

varying conditions of end-use demand, substitution from alternative products or 

imports, and the effects of changing timber supply conditions.

Solid Wood Products

Spurred by low interest rates and continued growth in disposable income, the key 

single-family component of new housing starts reached high levels during the 

early 2000s, creating strong demand and high levels of consumption for softwood 

lumber, plywood, and OSB. In the update macroeconomic outlook (chapter 2), 

single-family housing starts are expected to move back to long-term trend levels, 

and growth in single-family house size slows markedly, consistent with anticipated 

trends in future income and interest rates. Single-family starts do not move above 

the 2003 peak again until the final decade of the projection. Even so, the projection 

suggests robust demand conditions for housing construction materials, with the 

1940 1960 1980 2000 2020 2040 2060

Year

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Roundwood equivalent (billion cubic feet)

Consumption

Harvest from U.S. forest

Imports

Exports

Short-rotation woody crop

Figure 8—Total U.S. roundwood consumption, harvest, and trade, with projections to 2050.
47

The 2005 RPA Timber Assessment Update

average of single-family starts over the next 45 years expected to be close to the 

peak levels observed at the end of the 1990s. At the same time, real expenditures 

on residential upkeep and alteration are expected to resume their long-term growth 

trends after a period of near stability during the 1990s.

Softwood lumber—

For softwood lumber, this end-use demand outlook leads to limited growth in U.S. 

consumption in the near term as housing starts step down from their recent peaks. 

After 2015, however, the combination of slow growth in starts and trend growth in 

residential upkeep and alteration leads to steady demand expansion. By 2050, U.S. 

softwood lumber consumption rises above 70 billion board feet, nearly 28 percent 

higher than levels of the early 2000s (app. 1, table 25). As illustrated in appendix 1, 

table 24, the largest part of growth in total lumber consumption until 2050 derives 

from residential upkeep and alteration.

Over the past decade, populations of the mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus 

ponderosae) have expanded to epidemic proportions in the lodgepole pine (see 

“Species List” for scientific names) forests of interior British Columbia (BC). The 

BC Ministry of Forests estimated that by the summer of 2004, some 17.3 million 

acres (7 million hectares) of forest had been affected. Beginning in the central 

interior, the infestation has now spread widely in the region. Pine mortality is 

expected to peak by 2007. In what the BC Ministry terms a “worst case” scenario, 

some 95 percent of the susceptible lodgepole pine in the interior could die from 

beetle attack by 2024 (BCMF 2005).

The base case assumes that beetle-killed salvage in interior BC continues to 

rise and that over the period 2005 to 2015 the average annual softwood sawtimber 

harvest in the Canadian Interior (CINT) region rises about 8 percent.4 Harvest 

peaks in 2010 and the expansion in sawlog supply ends in 2015. We assume that 

harvest then falls back gradually to lower levels by 2020 as allowable cuts contract. 

This is due partly to the depletion of stock during the epidemic and salvage process 

and partly due to expanding concerns for forest protection in provinces across 

Canada (see later discussion).

4

This would correspond to about a 6 million cubic meter increase in interior BC annual 

allowable cut (AAC) (we assume the actual harvest rises by the same amount). This is 

slightly larger than the increments in AACs announced by the Provincial Chief Forester 

in September 2004 in the most heavily impacted management areas. The 2005 report 

Provincial-Level Projection of the Current Mountain Pine Beetle Outbreak (see BCMF 

2005) refers to this particular harvest acceleration outlook as the “expedited harvest” 

option. It is but one of many possible future harvest trajectories. We obtain this harvest 

increment in the assessment projection model by shifting the supply of delivered saw logs 

to CINT sawmills.
48

GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-699

Higher CINT sawlog supply (more volume at any given level of delivered log 

cost) will lead to increased lumber output, higher exports to the United States and 

other markets, lower prices in the North American softwood lumber market, and 

some displacement of production in U.S. regions. The speed and extent of CINT 

output growth will be heavily controlled by the rates of investment in new capacity 

in softwood lumber mills. We assume that capacity expands rapidly in the period to 

2010 to fully absorb the sawlog increment. However, slower expansion is possible, 

given the uncertainties about the future course of the epidemic and salvage rates, 

and this would act to damp many of the market effects. We also assume that the 

lumber tariff structure remains at the early 2006 level of 10.8 percent until the peak 

of the output impact in 2010. At that point, we assume that concerns for rapidly 

rising imports to the United States lead to an increase to 15 percent.

In the face of expanded competition from Canadian and continued pressure 

from off-shore suppliers, softwood lumber output in the U.S. declines in the period 

to 2015 (fig. 9, see app. 1, table 25). In 2013, imports are expected to peak at 47 

percent of U.S. consumption with offshore regions alone providing 10 percent (fig. 

10). In later periods, as Canadian harvest falls under diminishing allowable cuts, 

the share of offshore suppliers rises at a faster rate and Canada’s share drops. 

In the period up to 2015, output falls in most softwood lumber producing 

regions. The Pacific Northwest West (PNWW) shows a relatively modest increase 

(fig. 11, see app. 1, table 26). Output in other Western regions continues the downward trend begun in the late 1980s. The South experiences a sharp decline from 

recent peak levels in the face of expanded import competition and near-term sawtimber inventory limitations (see discussion in a later section). After 2015, however, 

both the West and the South raise production, with Southern output exceeding 20 

billion board feet by 2050 and the PNWW nearing 14 billion board feet. Although 

current timber harvest in the PNWW is only about two-thirds of its level prior to 

reductions in national forest harvest in the early 1990s, expansion in lumber output 

is possible based in part on continued shifting of sawlogs from plywood to lumber 

production and sharply reduced levels of log exports. Long-term output growth 

is possible because of improvements in lumber recovery, investments in timber 

management, maturation of large areas of young growth on industry lands in all 

regions, and in the South a steady rise in nonindustrial private (NIPF) harvests 

also based on maturation of younger timber stands.
49

The 2005 RPA Timber Assessment Update

Figure 9—U.S. production, consumption, and trade of softwood lumber, with projections to 2050.

1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050 2060

Year

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Softwood lumber (billion board feet)

Consumption

Production

All imports

Imports from Canada

Exports

Figure 10—Softwood lumber imports by source as a percentage of U.S. consumption, with 

projections to 2050.

1940 1960 1980 2000 2020 2040 2060

Year

0

10

20

30

40

50

Softwood lumber imports (percent)

All sources

Canada

Other countries
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GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-699

Hardwood lumber—

Consumption of hardwood lumber is concentrated in shipping (pallets) and manufacturing (furniture) end uses and, hence, is less sensitive to fluctuations in the 

construction sector than its softwood counterpart. Hardwood lumber use rose markedly during the 1980s with expansion in both new pallet and furniture production. 

Consumption growth slowed during the 1990s as use in manufacturing, flooring, 

millwork, and miscellaneous end uses stabilized. During the early 2000s, changes 

in pallet use that led to reduced requirements for new pallets (through recycling and 

rebuilding old pallets) and declining U.S. wood furniture output (with rising imports) 

further reduced U.S. hardwood lumber consumption growth. 

The update projection envisions a continuation of slow consumption expansion 

(see fig. 12), reflecting limited growth in pallet output and further losses in furniture 

production, as offshore producers capture larger shares of the U.S. market. Between 

1980 and 2000, annual U.S. pallet production rose from 258 million to 441 million. 

In the projection, pallet output reaches just 485 million units by 2020 as pallet recycling accelerates. Hardwood lumber use in all manufacturing (including furniture) 

falls from about 2.5 billion board feet in 2005 to roughly 2.0 billion board feet by 

2050. In contrast, hardwood use in millwork and cabinets and miscellaneous applications (built-in joinery, signage, nonresidential upkeep, etc.) is expected to expand 

along long-term historical trends, offsetting losses in manufacturing.

The United States is a net exporter of hardwood lumber, mostly to Canada and 

Europe. Imports are a little more than half the volume of exports and involve specialty grades of lumber and nonnative species, mostly from Canada and Europe. 

This trade structure is expected to remain stable over the projection.

Virtually all hardwood lumber is produced in the Eastern States, with the South 

Central and Northeastern regions the largest producers. In the update projection, the 

Northeastern region becomes the largest producer by 2015, with output continuing 

to expand along the dramatic upward trend of the past three decades (fig. 13, see app. 

1, table 26). South Central output is projected to continue its 15-year decline, falling 

below both Northern regions by 2050. Both the Southeast and North Central regions 

will experience modest output growth. Hardwood lumber production remains 

relatively stable in the West where the focus is on red alder.

Structural panels—

Structural panels have been one of the few categories of solid wood products showing major consumption growth. Between the late 1970s and early 2000s, U.S. consumption of structural panels rose by nearly 85 percent from 20 billion square feet, 

3/8-inch basis to nearly 37 billion square feet. New housing and residential upkeep 

and alteration have been the primary areas of expansion (see app. 1, table 27).
51

The 2005 RPA Timber Assessment Update

Figure 12—U.S. hardwood lumber production, consumption, and trade, with projections to 2050.

1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050 2060

Year

0

5

10

15

Hardwood lumber (billion board feet)

Production

Consumption

Exports

Imports

Figure 11—Softwood lumber production by U.S. region, with projections to 2050.

1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050

Year

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Softwood lumber prodcution (billion board feet)

Imports

South

Pacific 

 Northwest 

 West

Other West

North
52

GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-699

Figure 13—U.S. hardwood lumber production by major region, with projections to 2050.

Consumption trends for the two components of structural panels, softwood 

plywood and OSB, have been markedly different (see app. 1, table 28). Softwood 

plywood has lost market share to OSB across all major end uses, and plywood 

consumption has fallen steadily since the late 1980s. Consumption of OSB has 

grown and surpassed plywood in the late 1990s (fig. 14). Consumption of OSB is 

expected to continue to grow, although less rapidly than in the recent past, as its 

use per square foot of floor area in single-family units reaches a plateau. Future 

growth, as was the case for softwood lumber, will be heavily dependent on use in 

residential upkeep and alteration.

In the update projections, Canada continues as a major source of OSB supply 

to the United States, but future consumption growth will come largely from 

domestic regions (fig. 15). Southern regions have dominated U.S. OSB output 

since the mid-1990s and are expected to continue to do so until near the end of 

the projection period (fig. 16). 

1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050 2060

Year

4,500

4,000

3,500

3,000

2,500

2,000

1,500

1,000

Hardwood lumber production (million board feet)

North Central

Southeast

Northeast

South Central
53

The 2005 RPA Timber Assessment Update

Figure 14—U.S. softwood plywood and oriented strand board (OSB) consumption, with projections to 2050.

Figure 15—U.S. production, consumption, and trade of oriented strand board (OSB), with projections to 2050.

1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050 2060

Year

0

10

20

30

40

50

Product consumption 

(billion sqaure feet, 3/8-inch basis)

Plywood

Oriented strand board

1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050 2060

Year

0

5

10

20

30

40

OSB (billion square feet, 3/8-inch basis)

Consumption

Production

Imports

Exports

15

25

35

45
54

GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-699

Softwood plywood will continue to lose markets to OSB, with a particularly 

rapid decline in consumption during the first decade of the projection. Consumption eventually stabilizes at about 10 billion square feet. Imports from the Southern 

Hemisphere and Europe are also expected to expand rapidly following recent 

trends. As a result, large production losses are projected in this period in both the 

PNWW and South. By the end of the projection, output in the PNWW, the region in 

which commercial-scale softwood plywood production began in the late 1940s, will 

have fallen to less than 1 billion square feet (fig. 17, and app. 1, table 29), concentrated mostly in the export and high-valued specialty grades.

Nonstructural panels—

Nonstructural panels comprise insulating board, hardboard, hardwood plywood, 

and medium density fiberboard (MDF)-particleboard. Consumption of these panels 

has been another growth area in solid wood products. Driven almost entirely by 

expanding use of MDF-particleboard in furniture, cabinetry, and underlayment, 

consumption rose by nearly 60 percent between the late 1970s and the early 2000s 

(fig. 18, see app. 1, table 30). An average of roughly 25 percent of U.S. consumption 

of nonstructural panels comes from imports, more than half for hardwood plywood 

(from Canada and Europe), and 20 to 30 percent for the other panel types.

Figure 16—U.S. oriented strand board (OSB) production by region, with projections to 2050.

1970 1990 2010 2030 2050

Year

0

5

10

15

OSB production (billion square feet, 3/8-inch basis)

South

North

West
55

The 2005 RPA Timber Assessment Update

Figure 17—U.S. softwood plywood production by region, with projections to 2050.

Figure 18—U.S. consumption of nonstructural panels by type, with projections to 2050. MDF = medium density fiberboard.

1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050 2060

Year

0

5

10

15

Softwood plywood production 

(billion square feet, 3/8-inch basis)

South

Imports

West

1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050 2060

Year

0

5

10

15

20

25

Nonstructual panels 

(billion square feet, 3/8-inch basis)

MDF + particleboard

Hardwood plywood

Insulating board

Hardboard
56

GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-699

Because of different end-use markets and market trends, the outlooks for the 

four panel types differ. Used predominantly in residential construction where 

it faces major substitution from other materials, insulating board is expected to 

decrease in consumption steadily through 2050. Hardwood plywood, used in 

manufacturing and construction, is also expected to decline. Consumption of 

MDF-particleboard, however, paralleling output in cabinetry, underlayment in 

single-family residences, and furniture is expected to show continued growth after 

near-term market adjustments. And consumption of hardboard, with many of the 

same applications as well as siding and paneling, is also expected to rise slowly.

Paper and Paperboard

Boosted by a resumption of growth in U.S. industrial production, U.S. pulp, paper, 

and paperboard consumption is experiencing a gradual upturn following a historic 

downturn that began in the late 1990s. Principal end uses for paper and paperboard 

include shipping containers and packaging (49 percent of consumption), print media 

and advertising (42 percent), and household and sanitary products (7 percent). 

Packaging and advertising both experienced structural changes in demand directly 

connected to the downturn in U.S. industrial production from the late 1990s to 

2002, and conversely both experienced a gradual rebound in demand along with 

resumed growth in industrial production since 2002. 

Trends in industrial production (and demands for paper and paperboard in 

packaging and print advertising) are correlated with trends in the strength of the 

U.S. dollar relative to other world currencies. As the dollar gained strength in the 

period from the late 1990s to 2002, it offset U.S. industrial competitiveness and 

contributed to a decline in overall industrial production (as well as paper and paperboard demand) during that period. A weaker dollar since then (the dollar index 

settled back to its 30-year average in 2005) has contributed to a gradual rebound 

in industrial production and demand for paper and paperboard in packaging and 

print advertising, but structural changes in demand led to slower projected growth. 

Meanwhile, demand for household and sanitary paper products has remained 

relatively robust.

From 1960 to its recent peak (in 1999), the tonnage of U.S. paper and 

paperboard consumption climbed at an average annual rate of 2.8 percent. The 

2005 update projection envisions a much slower growth rate for U.S. paper and 

paperboard consumption that averages just 0.7 percent per year over the period 

from 2005 to 2050, with a gradually declining rate of growth over that period. 

This projected growth, although positive, is nevertheless considerably slower 

than experienced in preceding decades, reflecting structural changes in demand 
57

The 2005 RPA Timber Assessment Update

following the recent downturn and recovery in U.S. industrial production. 

Consequently, U.S. per capita consumption of paper and paperboard is projected 

to remain relatively flat at the current level of around 700 pounds per capita 

through the projection period, while U.S. consumption per million dollars of 

real gross domestic product (GDP) is projected to continue to decline. Figure 19 

illustrates the historical and projected trends for U.S. consumption of paper and 

paperboard per capita and per million dollars of real GDP. 

Figure 19—U.S. consumption of paper and paperboard per capita and per million dollars of real gross domestic product (GDP), 

with projections to 2050.

With slower growth in domestic demand and the presumption of a weaker 

dollar (following the dollar’s moderation since 2000), net imports of pulp, paper, 

and paperboard are projected to increase at a more modest rate than in the recent 

past (when net imports of pulp, paper, and paperboard increased from around 1 

million metric tons in 1996 to nearly 8 million metric tons in 2001). Exports are 

projected to gradually increase in the long run, but export growth expectations are 

tempered in the near term by expanding global capacity (in Asia, Latin America, 

and elsewhere). Figure 20 illustrates the historical and projected trends for U.S. 

consumption, production, and trade in paper and paperboard.

1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050 2060

Year

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

1,000

Paper and paperboard consumption 

per capita (pounds)

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

20

Tons per million dollars GDP (1992 dollars)

Consumption per capita

Consumption per million dollars real GDP
58

GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-699

Structural changes in U.S. manufacturing and in the pulp and paper sector 

result in a significant adjustment in projected growth in pulp, paper, and paperboard 

relative to the trends of the late 20th century. Whereas U.S. paper and paperboard 

output increased at an average annual growth rate of 2.3 percent from 1970 to 1999, 

the current projections yield an average growth rate of only 0.8 percent (from 2001 

to 2050), with very modest expansion in production capacity for at least the next 

decade.

United States wood pulp production is projected to increase at an average 

growth rate of 0.7 percent per year (2001 to 2050), slightly less than projected average annual growth for paper and paperboard production. Projected growth in wood 

pulp output derives from growth in paper and paperboard output and from slower 

expansion in pulp, paper, and paperboard imports. Growth in wood pulp output also 

derives from limited projected growth in domestic recycled fiber use. Paper recovery for recycling in the United States is projected to remain above the recovery 

rate of 50 percent (of consumption), but growth in exports (mainly to China) will 

account for a rapidly expanding share of recovered paper use.

The net effect of the pulp production and fiber use trends is projected growth 

in U.S. consumption of both softwood and hardwood pulpwood at U.S. wood pulp 

mills, although at generally slower rates of growth than in past decades. Figure 21 

illustrates historical (AF&PA 1991–2001) and projected U.S. receipts of pulpwood 

at pulp mills by species group (hardwoods and softwoods). 

Figure 20—U.S. consumption, production, imports, and exports of paper and paperboard, with projections to 2050.

1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050

Year

0

25

50

75

100

125

150

175

Paper and paperboard (million short tons)

Consumption

Production

Imports

Exports
59

The 2005 RPA Timber Assessment Update

Figure 21—U.S. receipts of pulpwood at pulp mills by species group, with projections to 2050.

Receipts of softwood pulpwood at U.S. pulp mills are projected to increase 

at an average growth rate of 0.9 percent per year between 2006 and 2050, a rate 

that is well below the 1960–2003 average growth rate of 1.4 percent. Historically, 

increased rates of paper recycling from the mid-1980s to 1990s had a pronounced 

impact on growth in softwood pulpwood receipts at wood pulp mills (which peaked 

in the late 1980s, see fig. 21). Recycled fiber use expanded significantly in paper 

and paperboard products that traditionally used large proportions of softwood fiber 

(newsprint and containerboard). Both softwood and hardwood pulpwood receipts 

were altered by shifts toward economic globalization and the downturn in paper 

and paperboard output of the past decade. A projected leveling out of U.S. printing 

and writing paper production offsets projected growth in hardwood receipts more 

than growth in softwood receipts. Hardwood pulpwood receipts are projected to 

increase by only 0.4 percent per year (2006 to 2050).

Projected increases in hardwood pulpwood demand and prices are insufficient 

to stimulate rapid expansion in agricultural short-rotation woody crops (SRWC). 

The SRWC technology is a projected structural change, but it is expected to have 

small impacts on pulpwood supply until the last decade of the projection period 

(2040–2050), when hardwood SRWC supply gradually increases along with hardwood pulpwood prices. 

225

200

175

150

125

100

75

50

25

0

Pulp

w

o

o

d (million gre

en tons)

Softwood receipts

Hardwood receipts

1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050

Year

1960
60

GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-699

Product Price Projections

The 2005 update base projection envisions only limited growth in real forest product prices, with growth rates at or below historical experience over the past 50 years 

for all major classes of products. Despite substantial projected increases in U.S. 

consumption of most products, supply expansion and substitution options combine 

to offset pressures for price growth. Specifically, slower price growth reflects (1) 

improved product recovery (input use efficiency); (2) competition from substitute 

products at the consumer level; (3) expanding supplies of lower cost imports 

(competition at the product supply level); (4) limited growth in domestic softwood 

stumpage prices as a result of rising harvests on private lands and maturation of 

productive softwood plantations; (5) regional capacity migration, shifting output to 

lower cost regions; and (6) shifts to lower cost fiber input sources (input mixes).

Projected product price growth rates are summarized in table 6 and price 

levels are given in table 7 and illustrated in figures 22 and 23. Among the solid 

wood products, only softwood and hardwood lumber show any continued growth 

trend. For hardwood lumber, this reflects further upward pressure from stumpage 

prices. Modest growth in softwood lumber price is due in part to our assumptions 

about future harvest trends in Canada. The softwood lumber price cycle between 

2010 and 2030 (at first falling then rising) results from rising output with interior 

BC beetle salvage, subsequent reductions in annual allowable cut (AAC) across 

Canada (see the discussion on Canadian harvest later in this chapter) and eventual 

expansion in U.S. capacity and growth in offshore imports. Prices for OSB, which 

have been highly volatile in recent years, are projected to rise at only 0.1 percent 

per year, given limited growth in key pulpwood prices (softwoods in the South 

and hardwoods in the North) and continued options for expanding imports from 

Canada. Continued competition from OSB and losses of market share effectively 

stabilize projected softwood plywood prices. Historical paper and paperboard 

prices have shown limited growth despite dramatic expansion in U.S. consumption 

of these products over the past 5 decades. This has resulted from steady improvements in input productivity and shifts to alternative and less costly input mixes 

in these industries. These adaptations are expected to continue in the future, and 

deflated paper and paperboard prices are projected to decline slightly relative to 

2000–2003 average levels.

Only limited growth is 

expected in real forest 

products prices.
61

The 2005 RPA Timber Assessment Update

Table 6—Historical and projected base case rates 

of product price changea

Product Historicala Projectionb

Average annual percent change

Softwood lumber 0.8 0.2

Hardwood lumber .4 .3

Softwood plywood 0c 0

Oriented strand board 0d .1

All paper .3 -.2

All paperboard -.1 -.1

a

Based on simple trend regression from 1950 to 2003 except as noted.

b

Based on trend from average 2000–2003 value to average 2041–2050 

value.

c

Uses years 1965–2003.

d

Uses years 1985–2003.

Table 7—Indices of deflated pricesa for selected timber products in the United States, by softwoods and 

hardwoods, 1952–2002, with projections to 2050

Historical Projections

Product, unit, and

species group 1952 1962 1970 1976 1986 1997 2002 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050

Index of price per unit, 1982 = 100

Lumber:

Softwoods 100.0 88.3 95.4 126.2 108.2 161.8 130.3 119.8 138.8 135.4 140.2 146.2

Hardwoods 104.4 103.5 118.4 109.8 118.0 136.4 136.0 138.6 148.8 153.4 157.3 159.5

Structural panels:

Plywood 172.0 118.9 109.2 143.7 109.2 137.5 125.2 134.6 128.2 124.0 128.8 131.5

Structural panels:

OSB-waferboardb NA NA NA NA 112.5 83.6 91.1 105.1 115.9 115.0 129.8 115.9

Nonstructural panels:

Plywood 193.8 176.8 153.6 110.8 98.4 90.8 89.4c 88.0 87.2 86.5 85.7 85.0

Other panelsd 151.5 166.3 119.2 93.2 105.4 107.0 103.3c 99.5 99.5 99.5 99.5 99.5

Paper and paperboard:e

Paper 93.2 102.8 105.1 104.2 106.8 112.8 110.4 102.2 102.2 101.8 102.0 100.7

Paperboard 130.4 121.1 107.6 112.9 106.3 113.2 125.3 131.6 124.3 120.8 120.7 119.5

NA = not available. a

All price indexes deflated by the all-commodity producer price index.

b

Oriented strand board (OSB) historical prices updated.

c

2002 data are estimated.

d

Hardboard, particleboard, and fiberboard products.

e

1991 prices updated.

Source: Historical data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Producer Prices and Price Indexes (USDI BLS 1958–2002); 

OSB from Random Lengths Yearbook 2002.
62

GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-699

Figure 22—Real prices of solid wood products in the United States, with projections to 2050.

Figure 23—Real prices of paper and paperboard in the United States, with projections to 2050.

1940 1960 1980 2000 2020 2040 2060

Year

3.0

2.5

2.0

1.5

1.0

0.5

Price index (1982 = 1.0)

Hardwood lumber

Softwood lumber

Softwood plywood

Oriented strand board

1940 1960 1980 2000 2020 2040 2060

Year

1.5

1.4

1.3

1.2

1.1

1.0

0.9

0.8

Price index (1982 = 1.0)

Paperboard

Paper
63

The 2005 RPA Timber Assessment Update

Shifts in U.S. Forest Products Production and Source Material

The solidwood equivalent of U.S. new supply5 of all wood and paper products is 

projected to increase over the next 50 years at just over half the rate of the last 50 

years. Within this aggregate, paper products increase share from 28 percent to 36 

percent (on a cubic volume of roundwood basis) while the share of lumber products 

falls from 52 percent to 40 percent. The share of composite products, such as OSB 

or particleboard rises from 4 percent to 6 percent. 

About two-thirds of the increase in new supply is from increased U.S. roundwood harvest. The projected rate of growth in domestic harvest is only two-thirds 

of what it was in the last 50 years. But even with this slower rate of growth, domestic roundwood harvest per capita is projected to be roughly constant over the next 

50 years. Harvest increases are mostly on nonindustrial private land in the South, 

mostly softwood, and all from nonsawtimber. Comparing levels in the 1990s with 

projected volumes in 2050, reveals that sawtimber harvest is expected to decrease 

by a small amount.

Total Roundwood Use for Consumption, Production, and Trade

Table 8 displays total U.S. consumption by species for all classes of forest products. 

In this table the quantity of each product is converted to the equivalent volume of 

roundwood that would be required for its manufacture. In general, these quantities 

are similar to those reported in the 2000 assessment (Haynes 2003). Table 8 reveals 

that almost all the growth in consumption comes in the lower value nonsawtimber 

products. This continues the trend observed in the past two decades. The largest 

increase (2002 to 2050) for softwoods comes in pulpwood (which includes roundwood used for OSB), while the greatest roundwood use expansion for hardwoods is 

in fuelwood.

Table 9 shows estimates of domestic harvest, trade, and SRWC output. Similar 

to findings of the 2000 assessment, these projections show that an increasing portion of U.S. consumption is met from imports. By 2050, harvest from U.S. forests 

(excluding SRWC) is about 73 percent of U.S. consumption, down from 78 percent 

in 2002.

Table 9 also reveals the underlying trend in the origin of the forest products 

consumed in the United States. Prior to 1996, net trade in the United States had 

accounted for 7 to 8 percent of consumption. Trade’s share more than doubled after 

5

“New supply” is the sum of domestic production plus imports. It is the total volume 

available for domestic consumption and exports.

Roundwood 

consumption will 

grow 38 percent 

from 2002 to 2050.
64

GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-699

Table 8—Apparent roundwood consumption in the United States, by species group and product, 1952–2002, 

with projections to 2050

Historical Projections

Species group

and product 1952 1962 1970 1976 1986 1996 2002 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050

Billion cubic feet, roundwood equivalent

Softwoods:

Sawlogs 5.0 4.8 5.7 5.6 7.1 7.1 8.1 8.0 7.8 7.9 8.3 8.7

Veneer logs .2 .6 1.1 1.4 1.5 1.1 1.0 .6 .6 .6 .6 .6

Pulpwooda 2.3 2.6 3.6 2.9 3.3 3.6 3.6 3.8 4.8 5.4 5.9 6.6

Reconstituted panelsb 0 0 0 0 0 .1 .1 .7 .7 .7 .8 .9

SRWCc 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Miscellaneous productsd .3 .2 .4 .2 .3 .2 .3 .3 .3 .3 .3 .3

Fuelwood .5 .2 .2 .2 .6 .3 .3 .6 .7 .7 .8 .8

 Total 8.4 8.5 11.0 10.3 12.8 12.4 13.4 14.1 14.8 15.6 16.6 17.9

Hardwoods:

Sawlogs 1.1 1.0 1.7 1.4 1.8 2.1 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.1 2.1 2.2

Veneer logs .2 .2 .2 .2 .2 .2 .2 .3 .2 .2 .2 .2

Pulpwooda .3 .7 1.2 1.2 2.1 2.6 2.7 2.6 2.9 3.1 3.1 3.2

Reconstituted panelsb 0 0 0 0 0 .3 .1 .4 .4 .5 .6 .8

SRWCc 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .1

Miscellaneous productsd .4 .2 .3 .1 .2 .2 0 0 0 0 0 0

Fuelwood 1.5 .9 1.0 1.0 2.9 1.6 1.2 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.5 2.6

 Total 3.5 3.1 4.5 4.0 7.3 6.6 6.2 7.5 7.9 8.3 8.6 9.1

All species:

Sawlogs 6.1 5.8 7.4 7.0 8.9 9.2 10.4 10.0 9.8 10.0 10.4 10.9

Veneer logs .4 .8 1.3 1.6 1.8 1.3 1.2 .9 .8 .8 .8 .7

Pulpwooda 2.6 3.3 4.8 4.1 5.3 6.2 6.4 6.5 7.8 8.5 9.0 9.7

Reconstituted panelsb 0 0 0 0 0 .3 .2 1.1 1.1 1.2 1.4 1.7

SRWC (hardwood)c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .1

Miscellaneous productsd .7 .4 .7 .4 .6 .7 .3 .3 .3 .3 .3 .3

Fuelwood 2.0 1.1 1.3 1.2 3.5 1.9 1.5 2.7 2.8 3.0 3.2 3.5

 Total 11.9 11.6 15.5 14.3 20.1 18.9 19.6 21.5 22.7 23.9 25.2 27.0

Note: Historical data have been revised. Totals may not add because of rounding, all data converted by using national conversion factors.

a Includes both pulpwood and the pulpwood equivalent of the net trade of chips, pulp, paper, and board.

b Includes roundwood used in oriented strand board and particleboard manufacture.

c

SRWC = short-rotation woody crop; includes only hardwoods on agriculture lands.

d Includes cooperage logs, poles, piling, fence posts, round mine timbers, box bolts, shingle bolts, and other miscellaneous items.

Source: Historical data: Ulrich 1989; 1970–1996 updated to reflect revisions in Howard 2003.

1996 and was 16 percent in 2002 as the full effects of harvest reductions on Western federal timberlands worked their way through the forest sector. This reflects a 

structural shift in the U.S. forest sector, and a higher share of trade in total consumption is expected to persist throughout the projection period. There are some 

(Mayer et al. 2005) who point out that increasing domestic forest protection without 

decreasing demand for wood increases wood imports and negative impacts on 

forest biodiversity elsewhere. 
65

The 2005 RPA Timber Assessment Update

Table 9—Apparent roundwood consumption, exports, imports, and harvests in the United States, by species 

group, 1952–2002, with projections to 2050

Historicala Projections

Species group

and product 1952 1962 1970 1976 1986 1996 2002 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050

Billion cubic feet

Softwoods:

Total consumptionb 8.4 8.5 11.0 10.3 12.8 12.4 13.4 14.1 14.8 15.6 16.6 17.9

Exports .1 .4 .9 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.0 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.5

Imports 1.3 1.7 1.7 1.8 2.8 3.3 3.9 5.5 5.5 5.7 5.9 6.3

SRWCc 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Harvest 7.2 7.2 10.2 9.5 11.2 10.5 10.5 9.8 10.7 11.3 12.1 13.1

Hardwoods:

Total consumptionb 3.5 3.1 4.5 4.0 7.3 6.6 6.2 7.5 7.9 8.3 8.6 9.1

Export 0 .1 .1 .1 .3 .9 .7 .8 .9 .9 .9 .9

Imports .1 .2 .4 .4 .6 .7 1.0 .9 1.1 1.2 1.2 1.3

SRWCc 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .1

Harvest 3.4 3.0 4.2 4.2 7.0 6.8 5.9 7.4 7.7 8.0 8.2 8.6

All species:

Total consumptionb 11.9 11.6 15.5 14.3 20.1 18.9 19.6 21.5 22.7 23.9 25.2 27.0

Exports .1 .5 1.1 1.2 1.5 2.3 1.8 2.0 2.2 2.3 2.3 2.4

Imports 1.4 1.9 2.0 2.1 3.4 3.9 4.9 6.4 6.6 6.9 7.1 7.5

SRWCc 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .1

Harvest 10.6 10.2 14.6 13.4 18.2 17.4 16.5 17.2 18.4 19.3 20.4 21.8

Note: Historical data have been revised. Totals may not add because of rounding.

a Data are estimates of actual consumption and harvests; consequently, harvest data do not match similar data in table 10.

b Total consumption of products converted to a roundwood equivalent basis by using national conversion factors.

c SRWC = short-rotation woody crop.

Source: Historical data: Ulrich 1989; 1970–1996 updated to reflect revisions in Howard 2003.

Stumpage Markets

Timber harvest data and stumpage prices are summarized in tables 10 and 11. The 

growing-stock removals are summarized in tables 12 and 13. These projections 

reflect either limited growth in consumption or growth rates that are well within the 

potential of the resource base and increases in available timber inventories. In some 

cases, as for hardwoods in the North, considerable owner resistance to expansion of 

private harvest contributes to price increases.

The trends in timber harvest do not necessarily follow the trends in consumption (shown in table 8). For example, in this decade (through 2010) softwood timber 

harvests fall slightly, while softwood consumption increases. The difference is 

made up from increases in trade, especially for softwood lumber. After 2010, softwood harvest rises as harvests from managed private forests increase and Canadian 

supplies are restricted. 

(text continues on page 71)
66

GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-699

Table 10—Timber harvestsa from forest land in the contiguous states, by region, 1952–2002, with projections 

through 2050 

Historical Projections

Item 1952 1962 1970 1976 1986 1996 2002 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050

Billion cubic feet

Softwoods:

Northeast 0.48 0.37 0.39 0.43 0.57 0.62 0.58 0.58 0.53 0.51 0.50 0.51

North Centralb .17 .20 .17 .21 .23 .33 .26 .28 .30 .30 .30 .30

Southeast 1.65 1.40 1.67 1.70 2.23 2.63 2.92 2.67 3.17 3.41 3.70 4.06

South Central 1.21 1.16 2.01 2.26 2.68 3.48 3.69 3.21 3.64 4.00 4.39 4.79

Rocky Mountains— .47 .61 .81 .84 .97 .85 .60 .69 .72 .76 .81 .83

North Rocky Mountains .31 .44 .57 .60 .66 .57 .50 .44 .43 .44 .46 .46

South Rocky Mountains .16 .17 .24 .24 .31 .28 .10 .25 .28 .32 .35 .36

Pacific Northwestc

—

Pacific Northwest Westd 1.85 2.01 2.50 2.66 3.00 1.73 1.55 1.65 1.58 1.57 1.65 1.78

Pacific Northwest Eastd .38 .50 .49 .53 .57 .39 .20 .24 .26 .29 .31 .34

Pacific Southweste .68 .86 .87 .77 .75 .66 .72 .46 .47 .47 .49 .49

Softwoods total harvests 6.90 7.10 8.90 9.40 11.00 10.70 10.51 9.77 10.67 11.31 12.15 13.11

Hardwoods:

Northeast .55 .55 .60 .59 1.50 1.42 1.29 1.51 1.55 1.59 1.73 1.87

North Central .98 .80 .83 .92 1.91 1.62 1.42 1.43 1.47 1.51 1.53 1.65

Southeast .77 .62 .70 .73 1.34 1.46 1.19 1.55 1.63 1.70 1.66 1.64

South Central 1.27 .96 .98 .96 1.56 2.45 1.84 2.28 2.44 2.58 2.70 2.86

West .03 .07 .10 .10 .29 .55 .25 .63 .62 .62 .62 .62

Hardwoods total harvests 3.60 3.00 3.20 3.30 6.60 7.50 5.99 7.40 7.70 7.99 8.24 8.65

Note: Data may not add to totals because of rounding. a Harvest from all sources.

b Includes the Great Plains States: Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, and eastern South Dakota.

c

Excludes Alaska.

d Pacific Northwest West (western Oregon and western Washington) is also called the Douglas-fir subregion, and 

Pacific Northwest East (eastern Oregon and eastern Washington) is also called the ponderosa pine subregion.

e

Excludes Hawaii.

Sources: Historical data: 1952–96 from 2000 RPA timber assessment update (Haynes 2003). 
67

The 2005 RPA Timber Assessment Update

Table 11—Deflated (1982) stumpage pricesa in the contiguous United States, by region, 1952–2002, with 

projections to 2050 

Historical Projections

Region 1952 1962 1970 1976 1986 1997 2002 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050

Price (dollars) per thousand board feet, Scribner log rule

Sawtimber:

Softwoods—

North 89 62 53 51 37 108 106 98 108 117 128 140

South 130 82 120 142 119 228 209 250 246 228 226 228

 Interior Westb 47 31 55 95 64 108 137 121 136 131 122 118

Pacific Northwest West 55 63 104 155 99 299 208 161 235 215 216 228

Price (dollars) per thousand board feet, International 1/4-inch scale

Hardwoods—

North NA 62 70 75 110 214 186 172 170 181 193 208

South NA 32 45 49 43 86 99 83 91 99 108 118

Price (dollars) per cord

Pulpwood:

Softwoods—

South NA 18 17 15 13 21 12 18 15 10 12 13

Hardwoods—

South NA 5 5 4 3 13 11 7 5 10 17 20

NA = Not available. a All prices deflated by all-commodity producer price index. 

b Interior West includes the Rocky Mountains, Pacific Southwest (California), and Pacific Northwest East (eastern Oregon and Washington).

Sources: Historical data for the North from Sendak (1994), all other regions from U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service Timber Cut and 

Sold reports on national forests (On file at individual Forest Service regional offices); Timber Mart—South 1997–2002, Log Lines 1997–2002.
68

GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-699

Table 12—Softwood and hardwood timber removals, harvest, growth, and inventory in the United States, by 

region, 1952–2002, with projections to 2050 

Historical Projections

Item 1952 1962 1970 1976 1986 1997 2002 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050

Million cubic feet

North:

Softwoods—

 Removals 622 528 583 692 725 673 643 690 660 632 618 624

Harvest 596 501 549 636 908 825 883 870 838 811 801 814

Net annual growth 973 1,212 1,336 1,558 1,288 1,175 1,183 1,192 1,158 1,115 1,059 1,011

Inventory 27,053 33,661 38,817 43,850 47,618 49,376 49,875 54,861 58,816 62,457 65,700 68,710

Hardwoods—

 Removals 1,279 1,391 1,722 1,801 1,982 2,120 2,051 2,180 2,238 2,299 2,404 2,569

Harvest 1,381 1,329 1,465 1,502 3,190 2,819 2,761 2,920 3,007 3,103 3,262 3,494

Net annual growth 2,743 3,213 3,593 3,790 4,223 4,169 4,235 4,135 4,126 4,036 3,915 3,781

Inventory 76,695 94,627 106,867 119,158 142,420 164,874 167,750 195,773 213,258 228,735 241,618 252,134

South: 

Softwoods—

Removals 3,122 2,823 3,674 4,437 5,740 6,480 6,514 6,058 6,996 7,651 8,336 8,997

 Harvest 3,036 2,707 3,527 4,251 5,317 6,157 5,700 5,837 6,776 7,419 8,089 8,738

Net annual growth 3,641 4,699 5,644 6,314 5,500 5,892 6,467 7,502 8,114 8,609 8,951 8,907

 Inventory 60,462 75,087 89,156 101,208 105,613 104,847 108,020 115,830 132,030 144,007 152,892 155,045

Hardwoods—

Removals 2,731 2,832 2,344 2,241 2,958 3,708 3,557 4,080 4,352 4,547 4,644 4,753

Harvest 1,933 1,662 1,840 1,707 2,931 3,438 3,846 3,824 4,066 4,251 4,364 4,492

Net annual growth 3,040 3,394 4,282 5,009 4,488 4,877 5,055 4,716 4,480 4,372 4,368 4,363

 Inventory 88,008 98,985 109,271 122,165 139,027 151,516 159,950 155,980 158,343 156,544 154,041 150,542

Rocky Mountains:a

Softwoods—

Removals 534 739 889 842 839 517 511 532 584 610 649 664

Harvest 497 684 814 773 876 613 763 680 756 801 856 882

Net annual growth 1,100 1,256 1,446 1,594 1,956 2,026 1,901 1,579 1,475 1,396 1,362 1,344

Inventory 87,545 93,222 94,275 95,111 100,298 114,682 120,840 129,164 138,607 146,735 154,139 161,131

Hardwoods—

Removals 34 30 27 24 28 30 24 67 74 81 88 89

 Harvest 10 13 13 5 57 47 137 150 163 174 186 193

Net annual growth 87 99 119 139 169 483 222 171 164 171 166 153

Inventory 5,074 5,595 6,034 6,138 7,681 9,360 8,693 5,778 6,183 6,530 6,822 7,058

Pacific Coast: 

Softwoods—

Removals 3,484 3,514 4,039 4,024 4,057 2,421 2,387 2,275 2,274 2,298 2,411 2,551

Harvest 3,393 3,429 3,805 3,850 4,190 2,506 2,726 2,394 2,382 2,411 2,527 2,673

Net annual growth 2,021 2,445 2,905 3,034 3,777 4,460 4,159 4,335 4,291 4,377 4,422 4,277

Inventory 256,729 247,785 237,754 226,787 199,382 214,933 212,961 230,209 248,054 272,529 293,894 312,628

Hardwoods—

Removals 43 77 115 126 114 118 151 318 315 304 294 286

Harvest 37 62 87 102 145 172 468 483 472 455 442 437

Net annual growth 304 388 484 486 681 596 510 646 654 647 629 623

Inventory 14,093 16,413 19,197 18,437 23,220 25,805 27,598 32,380 36,384 40,610 44,613 48,625
69

The 2005 RPA Timber Assessment Update

Table 12—Softwood and hardwood timber removals, harvest, growth, and inventory in the United States, by 

region, 1952–2002, with projections to 2050 (continued)

Historical Projections

Item 1952 1962 1970 1976 1986 1997 2002 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050

Million cubic feet

United States:

Softwoods—

Removals 7,763 7,604 9,186 9,995 11,362 10,092 10,055 9,555 10,514 11,191 12,015 12,836

 Harvest 7,522 7,321 8,695 9,510 11,290 10,101 10,072 9,781 10,752 11,441 12,273 13,108

Net annual growth 7,734 9,611 11,331 12,501 12,520 13,552 13,710 14,608 15,038 15,496 15,794 15,539

Inventory 431,789 449,755 460,002 466,956 452,911 483,838 491,699 530,064 577,507 625,728 666,626 697,514

Hardwoods—

Removals 4,087 4,330 4,208 4,193 5,082 5,977 5,783 6,645 6,979 7,231 7,431 7,698

 Harvest 3,361 3,066 3,405 3,316 6,324 6,475 7,213 7,377 7,707 7,983 8,253 8,619

Net annual growth 6,175 7,094 8,478 9,423 9,561 10,126 10,022 9,668 9,424 9,225 9,078 8,919

 Inventory 183,870 215,620 241,369 265,898 312,348 351,555 363,991 389,910 414,167 432,417 447,093 458,358

Note: Historical harvest data are estimates of the trend level of harvests and differ somewhat from the estimates of actual consumption 

shown in some tables. For the projection years, the data show the average volume that would be harvested given the assumptions of the 

study. Inventory data for 1952 and 1962 are as of December 31. Inventory data for 1970 and the projection years are as of January 1. 

Inventory data shown under 1976, 1987, 1997, and 2002 are as of January 1 of following year. Historical data updated since 2000 report. 

a

Great Plains states are included in the Rocky Mountains for historical data. For projections, western South Dakota is in the Rocky 

Mountains, and eastern South Dakota and other Great Plains states are in the North.

Source: For historical data, Powell et al. 1993; 1997 removals, growth, inventory data Smith et al. 2001; 2002 removals, growth, 

inventory from Smith et al. 2004; harvest data from Haynes 2003; 2002 harvest estimated from the assessment projections.

Table 13—Softwood and hardwood timber removals, harvest, growth, and inventory in the United States, by 

ownership, 1952–2002, with projections to 2050

Historical Projections

Item 1952 1962 1970 1976 1986 1997 2002 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050

Million cubic feet

National forest:

Softwoods—

 Removals 1,028 1,728 2,082 1,986 2,061 630 250 384 506 510 510 510

 Harvest 961 1,635 1,918 1,867 2,153 712 315 377 519 523 523 523

Net annual growth 1,664 1,999 2,367 2,468 2,783 3,431 3,349 2,852 2,621 2,389 2,218 2,077

Inventory 204,437 213,696 211,927 208,099 186,313 222,326 228,041 251,450 274,567 294,847 312,921 329,591

Hardwoods—

 Removals 117 126 146 130 160 198 91 70 81 83 85 85

 Harvest 100 97 123 101 166 217 109 103 115 118 120 122

Net annual growth 396 508 573 658 617 674 637 568 540 490 440 399

 Inventory 13,556 17,207 19,721 21,567 25,107 29,789 31,856 35,925 40,866 45,241 49,107 52,520

Other public:

Softwoods—

Removals 429 568 750 851 858 562 553 597 642 660 680 691

Harvest 403 562 702 822 814 577 600 612 655 674 693 702

Net annual growth 730 961 1,113 1,191 1,371 1,208 1,178 1,349 1,284 1,259 1,257 1,240

Inventory 55,184 55,720 57,521 59,039 57,255 51,089 51,837 59,400 66,341 72,401 78,196 83,749
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GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-699

Table 13—Softwood and hardwood timber removals, harvest, growth, and inventory in the United States, by 

ownership, 1952–2002, with projections to 2050 (continued)

Historical Projections

Item 1952 1962 1970 1976 1986 1997 2002 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050

Million cubic feet

Hardwoods—

Removals 141 150 199 225 223 386 381 361 394 418 441 456

 Harvest 122 130 170 199 276 445 451 479 507 524 544 561

Net annual growth 492 634 749 840 978 841 910 913 936 930 915 904

Inventory 16,417 20,621 23,894 26,365 31,256 36,524 38,798 43,017 48,476 53,696 58,536 63,108

Forest industry:a

Softwoods—

Removals 2,765 2,301 3,084 3,616 4,213 3,683 3,680 4,166 4,794 5,122 5,342 5,601

 Harvest 2,796 2,289 2,896 3,417 4,222 3,623 4,207 4,234 4,806 5,110 5,308 5,553

Net annual growth 1,872 2,326 2,626 2,949 3,152 3,382 3,453 4,641 5,377 5,811 6,135 6,129

Inventory 77,439 76,094 75,433 74,526 72,753 66,261 65,857 64,972 69,881 80,970 89,080 95,607

Hardwoods—

 Removals 525 663 570 600 818 1,050 927 817 749 775 796 792

Harvest 421 434 488 473 1,025 1,069 996 901 834 867 893 900

Net annual growth 690 830 1,070 1,222 1,130 986 945 998 943 914 897 874

Inventory 20,373 25,425 29,381 32,313 35,311 33,526 33,214 32,251 33,680 34,838 35,816 36,594

Nonindustrial private forest:a

Softwoods—

Removals 3,541 3,007 3,270 3,543 4,230 5,217 5,572 4,408 4,572 4,899 5,482 6,033

Harvest 3,362 2,836 3,179 3,403 4,102 5,189 4,950 4,558 4,772 5,134 5,749 6,330

Net annual growth 3,468 4,325 5,225 5,893 5,214 5,532 5,730 5,767 5,757 6,037 6,184 6,093

 Inventory 94,729 104,245 115,121 125,292 136,590 144,162 145,964 154,242 166,718 177,511 186,428 188,566

Hardwoods—

 Removals 3,305 3,392 3,293 3,237 3,881 4,342 4,374 5,397 5,756 5,956 6,109 6,366

 Harvest 2,718 2,405 2,624 2,543 4,856 4,745 5,658 5,895 6,252 6,474 6,696 7,033

Net annual growth 4,597 5,122 6,086 6,704 6,836 7,625 7,530 7,189 7,005 6,892 6,827 6,743

 Inventory 133,524 152,367 168,373 185,653 220,674 251,716 260,123 278,717 291,145 298,642 303,634 306,136

United States: 

Softwoods—

 Removals 7,763 7,604 9,186 9,995 11,362 10,092 10,055 9,555 10,514 11,191 12,015 12,836

 Harvest 7,522 7,321 8,695 9,510 11,290 10,101 10,072 9,781 10,752 11,441 12,273 13,108

Net annual growth 7,734 9,611 11,331 12,501 12,520 13,552 13,710 14,608 15,038 15,496 15,794 15,539

Inventory 431,789 449,755 460,002 466,956 452,911 483,838 491,699 530,064 577,507 625,728 666,626 697,514

Hardwoods—

Removals 4,087 4,330 4,208 4,193 5,082 5,977 5,783 6,645 6,979 7,231 7,431 7,698

Harvest 3,361 3,066 3,405 3,316 6,324 6,475 7,213 7,377 7,707 7,983 8,253 8,616

Net annual growth 6,175 7,094 8,478 9,423 9,561 10,126 10,022 9,668 9,424 9,225 9,078 8,919

Inventory 183,870 215,620 241,369 265,898 312,348 351,555 363,991 389,910 414,167 432,417 447,093 458,358

Note: Historical harvest data are estimates of harvest trends and differ somewhat from the estimates of actual consumption shown in some tables. 

For the projection years, the data show the average volume that would be harvested given the assumptions of the study. Inventory data for 1952 and 

1962 are as of December 31. Inventory data for 1970 and the projection years are as of January 1. Inventory data shown under 1976, 1986, 1997, and 

2002 are as of January 1 of following year. Historical data updated since 2000 report. 

a Lands held by firms with commercial timber production objectives but no processing facilities (e.g., timberland investment organizations [TIMOs] 

and real estate investment trusts [REITs]) are included in forest industry and nonindustrial private forest categories, depending on their classification 

in the starting (approximately 1995) inventory data. See text in chapter 2 “Projected Area Changes for Land Uses and Forest Management Cover Types” 

section for further discussion.

Source: For historical data, Powell et al. 1993; 1997 removals, growth, inventory data Smith et al. 2001; 2002 removals, growth, inventory from 

Smith et al. 2004; harvest data from Haynes 2003; 2002 harvest estimated from the assessment projections.
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The 2005 RPA Timber Assessment Update

Softwoods

United States softwood harvests rise slowly over the projection at about 0.7 percent 

per year (2010–2050), driven entirely by expansion of pulpwood consumption (for 

OSB and wood pulp). Sawtimber cut for lumber, plywood, and other solid wood 

products declines slightly for the first decade of the projection (to 2015) then recovers to near current levels by 2050 (fig. 24). The decline to 2015 reflects a modest 

reduction in U.S. softwood lumber production and a steady fall in plywood output. 

After 2015, driven by expansion in residential upkeep and alteration (and by a 

resurgence in new housing after 2030), growth in softwood lumber consumption 

and in overall softwood sawtimber harvest resumes. 

In contrast, U.S. paper and paperboard output and OSB production continue 

to expand throughout the projection, driving up pulpwood consumption and total 

softwood nonsawtimber harvest (fig. 24). Between 2010 and 2050, OSB production 

expands at 1.2 percent per year, and U.S. pulp production rises at 0.7 percent. During this period, roundwood pulpwood consumption (at OSB and wood pulp mills) is 

projected to grow annually at about 1.1 percent. 

Projected softwood sawtimber and nonsawtimber harvests at the regional level 

are illustrated in figures 25 and 26. In part because of continuing improvements in 

recovery, further losses in lumber milling capacity, reductions in plywood production, and sawlog exports much lower than historical levels, sawtimber harvests in 

the West do not rise above recent levels by 2050. In the South, sawtimber cut grows 

more rapidly and exceeds recent levels in the last decade of the projection. Driven 

by the steady growth in U.S. and regional pulp production, Southern softwood nonsawtimber harvest rises sharply (fig. 26), with harvest more than doubling between 

2003 and 2050.

For all regions, the private components of these projected softwood harvests 

are less than the anticipated forest growth, and private inventory volumes by 2050 

are higher than in 2003 (fig. 27). Growth in excess of rising harvest is due in part to 

changes in the age class structure of private inventories, specifically the movement 

of large areas of young stands into the ages of very rapid volume accumulation. 

It also reflects the update projection of continued investment in more intensive 

management by private owners (see discussion in a later section of this chapter).

Softwood harvests 

will increase about 0.7 

percent a year from 

2010 to 2050.
72

GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-699

1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050 2060

Year

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

Timber harvest 

(billion cubic feet, roundwood equivalent)

Softwood sawtimber

Hardwood nonsawtimber

Softwood nonsawtimber

Hardwood sawtimber

Figure 24—U.S. timber harvest by species and product category, with projections to 2050. Volumes include growing-stock 

and non-growing-stock sources. Sawtimber used for solid wood products; nonsawtimber includes pulpwood and fuelwood.

Figure 25—Softwood sawtimber harvest all owners, by region, with projections to 2050. Historical values are estimates.

1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050 2060

Year

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

Softwood sawtimber harvest (billion cubic feet)

South

West

North
73

The 2005 RPA Timber Assessment Update

Figure 26—Softwood nonsawtimber harvest all owners, by region, with projections to 2050. Historical values 

are estimates.

Figure 27—Private softwood growing-stock inventory, with projections to 2050. Historical values 

are estimates.

1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050 2060

Year

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Softwood nonsawtimber harvest (billion cubic feet)

South

West

North

1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050 2060

Year

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

Softwood growing-stock inventory 

(billion cubic feet)

South

West

North
74

GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-699

Hardwoods

Projected hardwood growing-stock removals on timberland rise steadily to 2025 

then stabilize over the projection period. On average, hardwood harvests (excluding SRWC) are projected to increase at 0.4 percent per year from 2010 to 2050. As 

in the case of softwoods, the increase is due almost entirely to expansion of the 

pulpwood component of nonsawtimber harvest (fig. 24). 

With increased wood pulp output, nonsawtimber consumption is projected to 

increase, but no gain is projected in the hardwood share of total nonsawtimber use. 

As illustrated in figure 28, hardwood harvests in the North and West are projected 

to be stable to slowly increasing, consistent with expected pulp output in those 

regions. In the South, hardwood harvest rises in line with the historical trend.

Total U.S. hardwood harvests for lumber, plywood, and other sawtimber 

products are relatively stable over the projection (fig. 24). This pattern is dictated by 

end-use consumption trends in hardwood lumber, where declining use for pallets 

and furniture offset growth in use for millwork and miscellaneous products. At the 

regional level, rising inventories and sawtimber stumpage prices in the North are 

expected to lead to some growth in hardwood harvest, particularly in the Northeast (fig. 29). Southern and Western hardwood sawtimber harvests, however, are 

expected to fall. 

Growth rates of hardwood forests on private lands in the United States are 

smaller than those of softwood stands, and the hardwood growth rate has been 

declining over the past three decades.6 Yet, despite declining growth rates and 

rising harvests, private hardwood inventory in the North has grown steadily over 

the past five decades. This expansion, at a decreasing rate, is expected to continue 

in the update projection (fig. 30). In the South, however, future hardwood growth is 

projected to fall below harvests, yielding a declining private inventory.

Stumpage Prices

Projected growth in stumpage prices differs across regions, species, and between 

sawtimber and pulpwood (see table 11). Prices in the major producing regions of 

the West and South show limited growth (fig. 31). Cycles in PNWW, Interior West, 

and Southern prices between 2010 and 2030 reflect fluctuations in Canadian timber 

6

The average growth rate (current annual net growth as a percentage of inventory) on all 

private hardwood forests in the Eastern United States was 3.0 percent per year versus 11.5 

percent per year for softwoods in 2002 (Smith et al. 2004). Between 1976 and 2002 the 

growth rate of private hardwood stands in the North fell from 3.1 percent to 2.6 percent per 

year, while in the South the rate declined from 4.2 percent in 1976 to 3.3 percent in 2002. 

Some of this loss is due to the declining proportions of hardwoods in softwood and mixed 

stands as levels of forest management intensify.
75

The 2005 RPA Timber Assessment Update

1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050 2060

Year

0

1

2

3

4

Hardwood nonsawtimber harvest (billion cubic feet)

South

North

West

Figure 28—Hardwood nonsawtimber harvest all owners, by region, with projections to 2050. Historical values are estimates.

1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050 2060

Year

1.5

1.0

0.5

0

Hardwood sawtimber harvest (billion cubic feet)

North

South

West

Figure 29—Hardwood sawtimber harvest all owners, by region, with projections to 2050. Historical values are estimates.
76

GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-699

Figure 30—Private hardwood growing-stock inventory, with projections to 2050. Historical values are estimates.

Figure 31—Real softwood sawtimber stumpage prices by U.S. region, with projections to 2050.

1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050 2060

Year

0

50

100

150

200

250

Hardwood growing-stock inventory (billion cubic feet)

North

South

West

1940 1960 1980 2000 2020 2040 2060

Year

0

100

200

300

400

500

Softwood stumpage price 

(1982 dollars/thousand board feet, Scribner rule)

South

Pacific Northwest West

Interior West

North
77

The 2005 RPA Timber Assessment Update

harvest (see later discussion) and their effects on competing lumber suppliers. 

Prices in the North continue to rise slowly in the projection, despite stable softwood 

sawtimber output and inventories. As the management objectives of nonindustrial 

ownership in this region continue to shift away from timber production, higher 

timber prices will be needed to induce continued harvesting.

Projected hardwood sawtimber prices, unlike their softwood counterparts, 

show continuation of the trends that have characterized the past 50 years (fig. 32). 

In the South this reflects a relatively stable hardwood sawtimber harvest but a 

steady decline in sawtimber inventory. In the North, hardwood sawtimber harvest 

rises in part because higher prices are needed to encourage private owners to 

expand cutting.

Pulpwood prices in the South have undergone significant changes in the recent 

past, with a major cycle in softwoods during the 1990s and an upward shift in 

hardwood prices to levels above softwoods for the first time (fig. 33). Both softwood 

and hardwood prices continue to cycle in the projections, driven by changes in 

the wood fiber mix in Southern pulp mills and in timber abundance on private 

lands. The cycles, roughly centered at 2015, derive from rapid projected growth in 

Southern softwood use (relative to hardwoods) over the next decade. After 2015, 

hardwood supply is more constrained, pushing up hardwood prices. Softwood use 

surges again after 2030 as hardwood prices move to higher levels.

Trends in Timber Removals, Inventory, Growth, and 

Private Management Investment

The update projection envisions continued growth in both softwood and hardwood 

removals, with the South remaining the primary regional source for both species 

groups (see table 12). Removals will rise, but growth will continue to exceed 

removals over the full projection period,7 leading to rising U.S. inventories. 

Viewed as an aggregate across all regions and owner groups, U.S. inventories are 

expected to rise by more than 41 percent for softwoods and more than 25 percent 

for hardwoods between 2002 and 2050. For private ownerships alone, softwood 

inventories are projected to rise by 34 percent and hardwoods by 17 percent. 

Softwoods are the larger category of removals and are projected to rise at roughly 

28 percent, while hardwoods increase by nearly 33 percent between 2002 and 

2050. Given current management policies, most removals (> 90 percent) come 

from private lands. In contrast to removals and inventory, trends in timber growth 

7

Both net growth and removals are summarized in tables 12 and 13, and the ratio of 

growth to removals is summarized at the national level in table 17.

United States timber 

inventories are 

expected to rise by 

more than 41 percent 

for softwoods and 25 

percent for hardwoods.
78

GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-699

Figure 32—Real hardwood sawtimber stumpage prices by U.S. region, with projections to 2050.

Figure 33—Real Southern softwood and hardwood pulpwood stumpage prices, with projections to 2050.

1940 1960 1980 2000 2020 2040 2060

Year

0

50

100

150

200

250

Hardwood stumpage price 

(1982 dollars/thousand board feet, 

international 1/4-inch basis)

North

South

1950 1970 1990 2010 2030 2050

Year

0

5

10

15

20

25

Pulpwood prices (1982 dollars/cord)

Softwood

Hardwood
79

The 2005 RPA Timber Assessment Update

differ markedly by species. Softwood growth rises at a decreasing rate on both 

public and private lands, private lands contributing about 75 percent of the total. 

Hardwood growth on both public and private ownerships is projected to decline 

slowly as inventories age or as improved management reduces hardwood volumes 

in softwood stands. Private lands account for about 85 percent of the hardwood 

growth. 

Details of the outlook by region and owner group can be found in tables 12 

and 13 and in appendix 1, tables 31 through 34 for private owners, app. 1, tables 

20 through 23 for public owners. Appendix 1, table 35 shows the trends in average 

diameter of trees harvested by region. The table suggests little projected change in 

the average harvest diameter relative to recent experience. 

Softwoods

Growth, removals, and inventory relations are shown in figure 34 for three critical 

softwood supply groups, Southern forest industry, Southern other private, and 

PNWW forest industry, which jointly produce more than 70 percent of all U.S. 

softwood removals. The South becomes increasingly important as a softwood 

supplier over the projection. The region’s share of total U.S. softwood removals 

rises from 63 percent in 2002 to 70 percent by 2050. Within this aggregate, 

Southern forest industry’s share rises (22 percent to 32 percent) while the share 

of other private owners declines (40 percent to 35 percent).

Inventories, growth, and removals rise in all three cases, although trends in 

growth and the relation of growth to removals differ across regions. There are also 

wide differences in rates of inventory growth (growth/inventory) across the groups. 

Southern forest industry has the highest rates, ranging from 9.0 to 11.6 percent over 

the projection period. Southern other private growth rates cover a narrower range, 

from 4.7 to 5.6 percent, while PNWW forest industry rates range from 4.2 percent 

to 5.6 percent. Causes of the rising growth projections and differences in growth 

rates across the groups lie in three areas: (1) varying levels of management intensity 

over time, (2) shifts in the age class structure of the groups’ inventories, and (3) 

gains and losses in the area of timberland and its allocation across forest cover 

types.

Figure 35 shows current and projected fractions of the timberland base allocated to various levels of management intensity for key inventory components of 

the same three region/owner groups. In the South, these charts exclude any lands 

reserved from management and areas allocated to extremely short-rotation fiber 

plantations. More intensive forms of management generally raise the absolute 

growth of stands at any age and the rates of growth on inventory (growth/inventory) 
80

GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-699

Figure 34—Softwood removals, growth, and inventory for Southern forest industry and other private and 

Pacific Northwest West (PNWW) forest industry lands, current and projections to 2050.

South forest industry

0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

4.5

5.0

1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050 2060

Rem

o

vals, gro

wth (billion cubic feet)

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

Inventory (billion cubic feet )

South other private

0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

4.5

5.0

1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050 2060

Rem

o

vals, gro

wth (billion cubic feet)

60

65

70

75

80

85

90

95

Inventory (billion cubic feet)

PNWW forest industry

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1.0

1.2

Rem

o

vals, gro

wth (billion cubic feet)

17.0

17.5

18.0

18.5

19.0

19.5

20.0

20.5

21.0

21.5

22.0

Inventory (billion cubic feet)

Growth

Removals

Inventory (right scale)

Growth

Removals

Inventory (right scale)

Growth

Removals

Inventory (right scale)

1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050 2060

Year
81

The 2005 RPA Timber Assessment Update

Figure 35—Fraction of softwood timblerland area by management intensity groupings for 

Southern forest industry planted pine, Southern nonindustrial private other softwood types, 

and Pacific Northwest West (PNWW) forest industry, with projections to 2050.

High

Medium

Low

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050 2060

Year

Management intensity class (fraction) Management intensity class (fraction) Management intensity class (fraction) 

South other private 

other softwoods

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

1980 2000 2020 2040 2060

PNWW 

forest industry

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

1980 2000 2020 2040 2060

South forest industry planted pine

Partial cut

Low even-aged

High even-aged

Medium + high

Low
82

GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-699

as well. The shifts to more intensive forms of management are clear for the two 

Southern groups. In the PNWW forest industry case, however, the fraction of 

the land base in more intensive regimes rises at first then returns to proportions 

observed in the 1990s.

Shifts in the proportions of the softwood land base in various age classes can 

also influence growth. For most softwood species managed on an even-age basis, 

growth per unit area rises and reaches a peak in the early life of a stand, then 

declines as the stand continues to age. If larger portions of the land base are moved 

into these younger and higher growth age classes, overall growth of the inventory 

will rise while the inventory per unit area falls. Figure 36 (upper) shows the age 

class structures of the three key softwood region-owner groups in the year 2000 

and at two points during the projection. Figure 36 (lower) shows changes in the projected age distributions relative to year 2000 and a representative growth increment 

curve for the group (medium site, medium-intensity plantations). This relation gives 

the periodic annual increment (PAI) of the representative stand—its average growth 

per acre per year for each age. 

Again the effects are easiest to see for the South. For both industry and other 

private, proportions of the land base in older age classes fall while the area in 

ages near the growth peak of the yield curve rises. The growth effects of age class 

changes are more complex for the PNWW forest industry. By 2050, this inventory 

is more heavily concentrated in ages less than 65 years than it was in 2000. This 

raises overall growth (as shown in fig. 34) owing primarily to large increases in 

area near the peak PAI age (45 years)

Changes in the timberland base can influence growth directly by altering the 

area over which forest growth can occur and through changes in the mix of forest 

cover types, each of which has a distinct growth potential. Figure 37 shows timberland area by cover type for the three critical softwood region-owner groups. The 

most rapid softwood growth in the South is associated with planted pine types. As 

illustrated in figure 37, planted pine area increases on both Southern industry and 

other private lands, while natural pine area declines slightly. Timberland area losses 

are concentrated in the hardwood types. In the PNWW region, expanding area of 

the Douglas-fir type at the expense of hardwoods and “other softwoods” plays the 

same role. Total timberland area for PNWW forest industry is relatively stable over 

the projection.
83

Figure 36—(upper) Percentage of area by age class for softwood types (all types for Pacific Northwest West [PNWW]) at three time points for three region/owner groups and (lower) change in area proportions between time points and periodic annual growth (PAI) from a typical even-age yield function for the region/owner group.

PNWW forest industry 

all types

50

25201510

5

15

25

35

45

55

65

75

85

95

105

115

125

135

145

155

165

175

Age class midpoint (years)

Timberland (percent)

South forest industry

50

30

25

20

15

10

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

55

60

65

70

75

80

85

90

Age class midpoint (years)

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

55

60

65

70

75

80

85

90

Age class midpoint (years)

Timberland (percent)

South other private

864

2

0

1816141210

Timberland (percent)

-0.02-0.04-0.06-0.08-0.10

0.080.060.040.02

0

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

Age class midpoint (years)

Change in area proportion

0

50

300

250

200

150

100

-0.02-0.04-0.06-0.08-0.10

0.080.060.04

0.02

0

Age class midpoint (years)

Change in area proportion

0

50

250

200

150

100

PAI (ft

3/acre per year)

PAI (ft

3/acre per year) -0.02

-0.04-0.06-0.08

0.060.040.020

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Age class midpoint (years)

0

80

60

40

20

180

160

140

120

100

Change in area proportion

200020202050

200020202050

200020202050

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

2020 value–2000 value 2020 value – 2000 value2050 value–2020 value 2050 value – 2000 valuePAI

2020 value–2000 value 2020 value – 2000 value2050 value–2020 value 2050 value – 2000 valuePAI

2020 value–2000 value 2020 value – 2000 value2050 value–2020 value 2050 value – 2000 valuePAI

PAI (ft

3/acre per year)
84

GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-699

Figure 37—Area by forest cover type for three critical softwood supply groups, with projections 

to 2050.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050 2060

Year

Area (million acres)

South forest industry

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

1980 2000 2020 2040 2060

Year

Area (million acres)

South other private

0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

4.5

5.0

1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050 2060

Year

Area (million acres)

Douglas-fir

Western hemlock

Hardwoods

Other softwoods

PNWW forest industry

Planted pine

Natural pine

Oak-pine

Upland hardwood

Bottomland

Upland hardwood

Oak-pine

Bottomland

Natural pine

Planted pine
85

The 2005 RPA Timber Assessment Update

Hardwoods

Other private ownerships in the Northern and Southern regions provide nearly 

three-quarters of annual U.S. hardwood removals. Growth, removal, and inventory 

relations for these groups are shown in figure 38. In contrast to softwoods, hardwood 

inventories are projected to rise in the North but fall in the South, and in both regions 

growth is expected to decline. Growth on hardwood lands is generally lower than 

that for softwoods both per unit area and as a percentage of inventory. On Northern 

other private lands, for example, hardwood growth rates (growth/inventory) decline 

from 2.6 percent in 2002 to 1.6 percent by 2050, whereas on Southern other private 

lands there is no trend, with rates lying in the 3.0 to 3.4 percent range.

Declining growth on these key components of U.S. hardwood timberland results 

from loss of timberland area and lack of any significant intensification of management. Falling hardwood timberland area on Southern other private ownerships is 

evident in figure 37. Between 2000 and 2050, the update projects a loss of nearly 

10 percent of the hardwood area to softwood types or nonforest uses. The Northern 

other private hardwood base is projected to be relatively stable. Unlike softwood 

projections, the update projection for hardwoods envisions only limited areas of 

Southern hardwoods being moved into more intensive silvicultural regimes. At the 

same time, a sizable area of other private land is projected to shift into “reserved” 

status, which owners withhold from harvest and active management. The combination of land lost to reservations and to other uses and forest types far exceeds the 

area shifted to more intensive management, implying a net reduction in hardwood 

management intensity on Southern other private lands. 

In the North, no change in the mix of other private hardwood management 

practices is foreseen. At the same time, the average stocking density (hardwood 

volume/acre) of Northern other private hardwood lands is expected to rise by nearly 

40 percent between 2000 and 2050. As stand density rises to these higher levels, 

competition increases and growth gradually declines.

Projections of Canadian Harvest

Public lands in Canada, like their counterparts in the United States, face an array 

of pressures to broaden management objectives. To address these issues, Canada 

adopted a new National Forest Strategy in 2003.8 Among the eight strategic themes 

that are to guide future forest policy development are concerns for maintaining 

8

For a condensed description and links to detailed discussion see Natural Resources 

Canada 2003. The State of Canada’s Forests: 2002–2003 available at http://www.nrcan.

gc.ca/cfs-scf/national/what-quoi/sof/. Use the menu to access the 2003 report, Special 

Articles, “Canada’s New National Forest Strategy.”
86

GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-699

Figure 38—Hardwood inventory, growth, and removals for North and South other private ownerships, 

with projections to 2050.

North other private

0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050 2060

Year

1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050 2060

Year

Hardwood removals, growth

(billion cubic feet per year) 

120

130

140

150

160

170

180

190

Inventory (billion cubic feet)

South other private

0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

4.5

Hardwood removals, growth 

(billion cubic feet per year) 

100

105

110

115

120

125

Inventory (billion cubic feet)

Growth

Removals

Inventory (right scale)

Growth

Removals

Inventory (right scale)

biodiversity, approaching sustainable management, and recognizing the rights and 

participation of Aboriginal peoples. Addressing these concerns, some provinces 

have already begun to adjust their potential harvest levels downward (also called 

AAC).9

9

See http://nfdp.ccfm.org/compandium/harvest/index_e.php for a discussion of 

AAC and variation in its definition across provinces.
87

The 2005 RPA Timber Assessment Update

10See the BC Ministry of Forests Mountain Pine Beetle information Web site at 

(October 2005) http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfp/mountain pine beetle/ particularly 

British Columbia’s Mountain Pine Beetle Action Plan for 2005–2010 and the link 

Cut Level Increased in Response to Epidemic.

11See the Canadian Forest Service’s National Forestry Database Program at 

http://nfdp.ccfm.org/compendium/harvest/index_e.php.

The 2005 update base case assumes that harvest restrictions through reductions 

in AACs will begin to significantly affect Canadian sawtimber cut beginning in 

2010. Pulpwood harvest and harvests for use in OSB production are not limited in 

this process. For the BC coast region, we assume that allowable softwood harvest 

will be constrained to 400 million cubic feet per year, approximately the harvest 

level observed in the late 1990s. In the eastern Canada region, it was assumed that 

harvest would be allowed to rise no higher than 2.6 billion cubic feet by 2010 then 

fall back to 2.0 billion cubic feet per year by 2020. These levels and restrictions 

are analytical assumptions made in the update about future policy developments. 

Throughout most of Canada, actual policies and any AAC limitations have yet to 

be determined.

At the same time, the interior BC region faces a major expansion in harvest 

to salvage vast areas of lodgepole pine killed by the ongoing mountain pine beetle 

epidemic. The province has increased AACs in the most heavily impacted areas 

in an effort to salvage mortality and to remove susceptible live trees in advance of 

attack as a control measure.10 Between 2003 and 2004, the softwood AAC for all of 

BC rose by more than 9 percent,11 and the actual 2004 softwood roundwood harvest 

from interior BC forests reached an all-time high of 58.1 million cubic meters. Given 

the anticipated trends of future beetle mortality, AACs and harvests could continue 

to rise in the near term, although the timing and extent are highly uncertain. 

Part of this uncertainty arises from the difficulty of predicting the future 

course of the infestation. Rising beetle populations resulted, in part, from 

accumulating volumes of mature and slow-growing lodgepole pine (as a food 

source). This was augmented by a lengthy period of mild winters with low beetle 

mortality. A sequence of colder than normal winters over the next few years could 

act to slow the infestation, reducing mortality and hence the need for expanding 

salvage harvests. Trends in future salvage harvests will also be influenced by the 

time required to access dead trees, parts of which are in remote sections of the 

province, and the “holding time” of dead timber (the period over which dead timber 

remains merchantable). Both of these elements are not well understood at present. 

Accelerated harvest of mortality is also a political decision, subject to pressures 

from an array of groups, with attendant uncertainties.
88

GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-699

In the update base case, we assume that beetle-kill salvage in interior BC continues to rise and that until 2015 the average annual softwood sawtimber harvest in 

the Canadian Interior (CINT) region rises about 8 percent (see footnote 4). Harvest 

peaks in 2010, and the expansion in sawlog supply ends in 2015. Harvest then 

falls back toward pre-epidemic levels. In light of the potential volumes of salvable 

sawlog material projected in Provincial-Level Projection of the Current Mountain 

Pine Beetle Outbreak (see BCMF 2005), this scenario lies in the lower portion of 

the range of possible harvest responses.

With the end of the beetle salvage in interior BC, we assume that AACs in 

that region will fall as a result of depleted inventories and that the overall cut in 

the other parts of the CINT region (Alberta and the Prairie provinces) will decline 

owing to the same types of pressures faced by other Canadian regions. In the base 

case, we limit interior Canadian harvest to 1.75 billion cubic feet per year by 2020 

and for the remainder of the projection.

Historical harvest estimates for Canada by product category and base case 

projections are shown in figure 39 together with reported levels of AAC (see app. 1, 

table 36 for details). Projected sawtimber harvest falls after 2015 in the face of the 

assumed AAC restrictions. Pulpwood harvest (including use for OSB) is stable to 

declining over the projection consistent with the historical trend.

Figure 39—Canadian harvest by product category and total annual allowable cut for recent years, 

with projections to 2050.

1960 1980 2000 2020 2040 2060

Year

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Canadian harvest (billion cubic feet)

Pulpwood

Allowable cut

Total

Sawtimber
89

The 2005 RPA Timber Assessment Update

Broad-Scale Trends in Forest Conditions

The base projections that are described in this chapter largely focus on timber 

markets and how harvest levels change forest resources. These projections 

also contain information about how forest conditions will change relative to 

recent conditions. In this section, we synthesize selected indicators into three 

determinants of broad-scale forest conditions. The first two are implications of the 

base projections for trends in diversity of forest types and structure. Both of these 

variables are cited as important components in broad-scale measures of ecosystem 

condition and change. The third is a composite measure that provides an overall 

descriptor of forest conditions. 

This section is motivated by discussions about sustainable forest management 

and other approaches to broad-scale land management. These discussions represent 

a broadening of the goals for forest management and involve different types of 

information such as the expected changes in forest types, inventory structures, and 

composite measures of forest conditions. 

These discussions all rely on developing various index measures. These indices 

serve the purpose of illustrating how an indicator changes over time. They are 

simply the ratio of one quantity to another quantity of the same indicator in a different period of time. These indices have no units, and the base year is selected to 

facilitate discussion (usually the first year of the data series for the indicator). 

Trends in Structure

Concern about the structure of the inventory (the relative abundance of different 

size classes or seral stages) reflects the belief that there is value in maintaining a 

diverse range of different stages of forest development. Earlier results discussed in 

this chapter suggest we are seeing a progressive decline on private timberlands in 

older seral stages and an increase in the younger seral stages. The data for public 

and private lands are shown in appendix 1, tables 37 to 39 and summarized as 

diversity indices in tables 14 to 16. They reveal a more complex story but one much 

like that revealed in figures 40 to 42. For much of the country, we are seeing an 

aging of the forests and an accumulation of acres in the older seral stages as production shifts to managed forests that occupy only a small part of the timberland base. 

This is especially true in both the West and the North. In the South, however, there 

is a shift from older hardwood stands to younger softwood stands because of forest 

management decisions. From another perspective, the data in appendix 1, table 35 

imply that much of the change in seral stage probably occurred before 1986 when 

the average diameter of harvested timber fell, especially in the West. From 1976 to 

U.S. forests are 

getting older.
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GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-699

1986, the transition from naturally regenerated to managed stands occurred in both 

the South and PNWW, reducing the size of trees for final harvest. These trends are 

now expected (as shown in tables 14, 15, and 16) to be relatively stable.

Trends in Diversity 

In addition to concerns about loss of older forests are concerns expressed about 

the lack of diversity associated with managed forests and that the spatial extent of 

managed forests will expand at the expense of existing natural forest types. The 

motivations for these concerns are rooted in the creation, during the last 50 years, 

of the planted forest type in the South that now covers approximately 30 million 

acres. The largest source from existing forest lands was the conversion of naturally 

regenerated pine after timber harvest, with a net area loss in pine types of about 

15 million acres between 1953 and 2002. At the same time, upland hardwood area 

Table 14—Diversity indicesa for national forest timberlands

Region

 North Central 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 Pacific	 Pacific

	 Lake	 Plains	 	 South	 Northern	 Southern	 Pacific	 Northwest	 Northwest

Year Northeast States States Southeast Central Rockies Rockies Southwest Westb Eastb

Seral stage diversity

2002 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000

2010 .832 .961 .981 1.010 .962 .992 .927 .991 .948 .987

2020 .852 .942 .954 1.015 .978 .972 .909 .992 .924 .980

2030 .800 .895 .877 1.046 .995 .979 .935 .990 .888 .972

2040 .828 .895 .908 1.113 .981 .988 .923 .945 .851 .975

2050 .771 .895 .904 1.058 1.121 .994 .894 .990 .824 .968

Type diversity

2002 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000

2010 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000

2020 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000

2030 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000

2040 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000

2050 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000

Seral x type diversity

2002 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000

2010 .918 .983 .990 1.016 .978 .996 .973 1.073 .974 .997

2020 .925 .980 .973 1.030 .993 .985 .967 1.025 .960 .994

2030 .899 .963 .934 1.056 1.025 .986 .967 1.018 .943 .991

2040 .912 .964 .949 1.058 1.023 .988 .972 1.025 .925 .992

2050 .892 .967 .945 1.028 1.076 .990 .958 1.018 .912 .990

a

These were computed as Shannon and Weaver Diversity indices by using the proportion by seral stage. Changes in each region are computed relative 

to that region’s value for 2002. Numbers less than 1 represent a loss of diversity and numbers greater than 1 a gain (relative to 2002) in diversity.

b

Pacific Northwest West (western Oregon and western Washington) is also called the Douglas-fir subregion, and Pacific Northwest East (eastern 

Oregon and western Washington) the ponderosa pine subregion.
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The 2005 RPA Timber Assessment Update

increased, and in 2002, the area of private timberlands of the Southern United 

States was dominated by upland hardwoods, followed by planted pine, natural pine, 

lowland hardwoods, and oak-pine forest types. The largest projected percentage 

change in net area is for planted pine, increasing by about 14 million acres by 2050, 

approximately a 50-percent increase (Alig and Butler 2004). More than half of the 

additional plantations would be on forest industry lands. With management intensification on these lands, many harvested natural pine, mixed oak-pine, and hardwood stands are being artificially regenerated. Even with such projected changes, 

hardwoods will continue to dominate the forested landscape of the South and will 

cover about one-half of the southern private timberland base in 2050. Naturally 

regenerated forests are projected to compose three-fourths of the Southern private 

timberland in 2050. 

Table 15—Diversity indicesa for other public timberlands

Region

 North Central Pacific	 Pacific

Lake Plains South Northern Southern	 Pacific Northwest Northwest

Year Northeast States States Southeast Central Rockies Rockies Southwest Westb Eastb

Seral stage diversity

2002 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000

2010 .933 .991 1.032 1.020 .814 1.070 .979 .925 .940 1.070

2020 .943 .987 1.003 1.119 .941 1.042 .947 .886 .969 1.049

2030 .826 .949 .989 1.152 1.127 1.090 .970 .893 .947 1.059

2040 .903 .936 .991 1.251 1.205 1.122 .977 .858 .924 1.035

2050 .834 .914 .990 1.389 1.356 1.150 .994 .898 .908 1.070

Type diversity

2002 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000

2010 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000

2020 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000

2030 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000

2040 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000

2050 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000

Seral x type diversity

2002 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000

2010 .971 1.002 1.026 1.013 .919 1.034 .999 .813 .978 1.058

2020 .970 1.001 1.009 1.054 .979 1.054 .991 .981 .975 1.036

2030 .922 .990 1.001 1.080 1.069 1.080 1.004 .976 .964 1.065

2040 .957 .981 .997 1.119 1.085 1.119 1.067 .976 .951 1.049

2050 .924 .976 .995 1.168 1.159 1.168 1.078 .979 .949 1.071

a

These were computed as Shannon and Weaver Diversity indices by using the proportion by seral stage. Changes in each region are computed relative 

to that region’s value for 2002. Numbers less than 1 represent a loss of diversity and numbers greater than 1 a gain (relative to 2002) in diversity.

b

Pacific Northwest West (western Oregon and western Washington) is also called the Douglas-fir subregion, and Pacific Northwest East (eastern 

Oregon and western Washington) the ponderosa pine subregion.
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GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-699

Table 16—Diversity indicesa for private timberlands

Region

 North Central Pacific	 Pacific

Lake Plains South Northern Southern	 Pacific Northwest Northwest

Year Northeast States States Southeast Central Rockies Rockies Southwest Westb Eastb

Seral stage diversity

2002 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000

2010 .973 1.019 .997 .985 1.049 .929 .947 .982 .948 .941

2020 .987 1.007 .993 .954 1.031 .874 .954 .918 .939 .911

2030 1.004 1.011 1.001 .983 1.029 .878 .915 .957 .942 .961

2040 .959 1.023 1.006 .960 1.035 .916 .960 1.038 .987 1.018

2050 1.022 1.031 1.023 .944 1.033 .877 .991 1.064 1.005 1.037

Type diversity

2002 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000

2010 .995 .994 .995 .993 1.029 .978 .990 .994 .979 .991

2020 .992 .990 .999 .991 1.044 .958 .980 1.000 .978 .986

2030 .985 .979 1.003 .987 1.052 .940 .972 .999 .981 .983

2040 .980 .981 1.006 .984 1.054 .918 .964 .999 .986 .989

2050 .975 .978 1.011 .983 1.054 .901 .956 .998 .988 .985

Seral x type diversity

2002 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000

2010 .980 1.001 .993 .994 1.029 .953 .983 .995 .962 .976

2020 .986 .997 .993 .979 1.018 .913 .993 .960 .953 .956

2030 .985 .993 1.000 .997 1.032 .900 .927 .959 .943 .969

2040 .963 1.006 1.007 .984 1.045 .902 .956 1.009 .957 1.003

2050 .989 1.010 1.018 .985 1.047 .860 .966 1.006 .965 1.007

a

These were computed as Shannon and Weaver Diversity indices by using the proportion by seral stage. Changes in each region are computed relative 

to that region’s value for 2002. Numbers less than 1 represent a loss of diversity and numbers greater than 1 a gain (relative to 2002) in diversity.

b

Pacific Northwest West (western Oregon and western Washington) is also called the Douglas-fir subregion, and Pacific Northwest East (eastern 

Oregon and western Washington) the ponderosa pine subregion.

Most U.S. regions are expected to maintain their current diversity of timber 

types (fig. 43) over the next five decades. The number of types and extent of 

diversity (based on number of types) differs by region. The highest diversity 

of types is in the Pacific Northwest East (PNWE). Some of the lowest relative 

diversity is for softwood and hardwood types in the PNWW, softwood types in 

the Great Plains, and for hardwood types in the South. Changes are expected in 

current levels of diversity of forest types for hardwood types in the South Central 

and softwood types in the Great Plains and northern Rocky Mountains. In these 

regions, timberland area lost or type conversions result in less abundance of some 

timber types in the future relative to the mid-1990s.

Diversity of forest type and seral stage can be combined and represented as 

a single index. These results are shown in the bottom part of tables 14, 15, and 

16. In general, the results show remarkable stability in forest conditions for the 

U.S. forests will retain 

their current diversity.
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The 2005 RPA Timber Assessment Update

0

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Softwood area (percent)

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Hardwood area (percent)

2002 2050

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Age class

Age class

Figure 40—Age class distribution for all softwood (A) and hardwood (B) forest types on timberland area for the Northern 

United States, by ownership, with projections to 2050. 
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GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-699

Figure 41—Age class distribution for all softwood (A) and hardwood (B) forest types on timberland area for the 

Southern United States, by ownership, with projections to 2050. 

0

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2002 2050

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Forest industry

2002 2050

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The 2005 RPA Timber Assessment Update

Figure 42—Age class distribution for all forest types on timberland area for the Pacific Coast (California, Oregon, and Washington) (A), 

and Rocky Mountains (B), by ownership, with projections to 2050. 

5

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Timberland area (percent)

Other public

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Timberlandarea (percent)

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GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-699

next 50 years. In many ways this reflects the dynamic nature of forested ecosystems 

where regrowth, increasing productivity, and harvest all help balance ecosystem 

conditions.

Some of the biggest changes are expected to be on public timberlands. There, 

declines in the combined indices reflect shifts in seral stages toward older stands and 

a diminishment in the proportion of stands in young seral stages. For example, in 

the West, currently 24 percent of the area is in late-seral conditions, but by 2050 this 

proportion rises to 53 percent with most of the change coming from a reduction of 

acres in the younger and midseral stages (see app. 1, tables 37 through 39 for details). 

These results have enormous implications for future forest policy discussions. 

Much of the current policy debate (such as management of hazardous fuels, sustainable forest management, and certification) is stimulated by the assertion that ecological conditions are in decline. Although those perceptions have been shaped by events 

of the past several decades, it seems unlikely that we will see changes of those magnitudes repeated in the next several decades. For example, the creation of a planted 

pine type in the South starting in the 1950s is a relatively recent event that created a 

new forest type primarily by converting timberland from three existing forest types 

(natural pine, oak-pine, and upland hardwoods). In the West, the attempts to regulate 

forest management on public timberlands starting in the 1950s changed age-class 

structures. Changes of these magnitudes and the associated ecological changes are 

not expected in the next 50 years. 

Figure 43—Diversity index for private lands by region and species for 2000. Note: PNWE 2000 is the base for the index.

0

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Softwoods Hardwoods

Diversity index

Lake States

Great Plains States

Northeast

South Central

Southeast

Pacific Northwest West

Northern Rockies

Southern Rockies

Pacific Northwest East

Pacific Southwest
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The 2005 RPA Timber Assessment Update

A Composite Index to Describe Broad-Scale Trends in 

Forest Conditions

Composite measures have been used in forestry to describe broad-scale conditions 

(see Dorren et al. 2004, Haynes and Quigley 2001, Haynes et al. 2000, Heinz Center 

2002, Noss 1999, US EPA 2003). In general, measures such as ecological integrity 

have proved useful in presenting assessments of broad-scale conditions to the public 

(Kay 1993), but the scientific community sees composite measures as oversimplifying complex relations and involving considerable measurement issues (NRC 2000). 

A composite measure was developed from various individual indicators to 

describe forest conditions in the United States and the major RPA regions (see 

Haynes 2007 for more details). It is constructed from frequently cited variables such 

as area of timberland, proportion across all age classes, the proportion of the lateseral stage, fragmentation, total growing-stock inventories, proportion of softwood 

and hardwood types, and ratio of growth and harvest, which are used as indicators 

of broad-scale implications of forest management.12 Data for most of these variables 

have been displayed in earlier tables and are summarized in table 17 in index form 

(where, except for the ratio of removals to growth, the value in each series has been 

divided by the 1952 value for that series). The use of indices removes the difficulties 

caused by different units. Area of timberland, total growing-stock inventories, proportion of softwood and hardwood types, and the ratio of growth and harvest can 

be used almost directly as indicators. Area disturbed by harvest is used as a proxy 

for fragmentation, and it is computed by dividing total harvest by average inventory 

per acre.

13 The indicator for extent of area by successional stage is computed from 

an index that combined both the seral stage index with the proportional change 

since the base year in the oldest seral stage. This recognizes both the importance 

the public places on maintaining or improving the balance among age seral stages 

as well as on maintaining or expanding the proportion of the inventory in the oldest 

age class. 

The indicators in table 17 are aggregated for the national level (the regional 

data are summarized in app. 1, table 40). Two of the indices are computed as the 

reciprocal of the original data because a drop relative to 1952 in those two indices 

12All of these variables, except harvest, are included in some form among the indicators 

composing the first two criteria of the Montréal Process.

13Fragmentation as used here does not include forest to nonforest changes. The approach 

used here probably overestimates fragmentation, as it does not recognize thinnings, partial 

harvest, or the differences between average volume per acre and the volume in mature 

stands typically clearcut, and treats all harvests as clearcuts.
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GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-699

Table 17—Indices of changes for selected indicators for the United States

Old Area of Total growing- Softwood Composite

Area stands Fragmentation timberland stock inventory inventory Growth/harvest index

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1952 = 100 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Percent

1952 100 100 100 100 100 128 105

1962 92 89 101 108 96 161 113

1970 87 97 99 114 94 164 112

1976 83 96 97 119 91 171 114

1986 78 124 95 124 84 125 104

1991 76 124 96 128 82 121 104

1997 78 111 99 136 83 143 111

2002 78 101 99 139 82 154 115

2010 81 104 99 149 82 141 115

2020 83 104 98 161 83 133 115

2030 87 101 98 172 84 127 117

2040 89 101 97 181 85 121 117

2050 94 102 96 188 86 113 117

Source: The data for all columns except old stands are given in tables 4 and 12. The indices were computed by dividing each value by the 

1952 value for that series except the ratio of growth to harvest, which is used directly. See Haynes (2007) for computation details.

are seen as positive by various publics (see Shields et al. 2002 for a general discussion of the public values regarding forest lands). The composite index is constructed 

as a linear combination of individual indices for those indicators shown in table 17. 

This approach assigns equal weighting to the various indicators and is an average of 

all indicators reported for that year. Equal weighting was used here as a reasonable 

first estimate, but this is an area where further research is warranted. 

The trends revealed in the indices by region and for the Nation can help shape 

perceptions about changes in forest conditions. For example, many believe that 

since the 1950s there has been a general decline in some of the indicators (see some 

of the indices in table 17) characterizing conservation of biological diversity and 

maintenance of productive capacity. Figure 44 suggests that offsetting changes 

among indices kept the composite index relatively stable to slightly increasing 

until the late 1970s or early 1980s when there were increased harvests, especially 

of hardwoods for pulpwood and fuelwood (see table 8). But in the 1990s, reduced 

public harvest, improving forest management, and increased productivity of private 

forest lands resulted in greater balance among the various indicators. For example, 

increases in growing-stock inventories have offset fragmentation and have slowed 

the shift from softwoods to hardwoods. Some of the greatest changes took place 

from 1976 to 1986 and involved increased harvests, especially of hardwoods for 

pulpwood and fuelwood (see table 8).
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The 2005 RPA Timber Assessment Update

0

50

100

150

200

Composite index 

North

South

United States

West

1952196219701976198619911997200220102020203020402050

Year

Figure 44—Total timberland integrity, with projections to 2050.

The results also show an apparent contradiction. That is, what causes inventory 

to increase when growth is about equal to or less than harvest? The answer lies in 

the proportion of the volume in trees less than 5 inches in diameter not included in 

the reported volume of inventory. There are periods when the proportion of southern softwood inventory less than 5 inches in diameter is relatively high (such as 

this decade and from 2030 to 2040). Not apparent in these national summaries are 

regional differences (shown in app. 1, table 40). For example, much of the increase 

in inventories and proportion of softwoods comes in western softwood species, 

whereas most of the increase in harvest comes from southern pines. 

The indices also suggest that forests are aging as production shifts to fewer 

planted acres. Overall, seral stage conditions remain relatively stable after some 

initial shifts in the 1950s and 1960s (the same implications for the projections are 

shown in tables 14 to 16). The results also show that although fragmentation has 

emerged as a critical natural resource issue, its extent declines as the area harvested 

declines. However, its importance will not diminish as a land use issue. 

The various changes in the composite index illustrated in figure 44 reflect 

shifts in the underlying index components. Some of these shifts reflect fundamental 

transitions in the U.S. forest sector. For example, there was a pronounced decline 

Timberland integrity 

is expected to remain 

constant.
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GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-699

in the composite index during the 1980s that resulted from the beginnings of the 

transition from natural forests to more regulated and managed forests. Some of 

the factors contributing to these downward changes were increases in public lands 

reserved from timber production (13.8 million acres were protected in wilderness 

status between 1977 and 1987), rapid growth of timber harvest in the South, and 

the propensity of private land owners to manage for timber (USDA FS 1988). There 

was also a progressive increase in the demand for forest products, especially for 

fuelwood, pulp, and paper, which had a disproportionately large impact on the 

hardwood sector. The second set of events led to a stabilization of the index starting 

in the late 1990s and continuing into the future. Events contributing to this include 

growing inventory values (especially on public timberlands), stable growth/removals relations, rising proportion of older forests, and slower loss of timberland area.

Figure 44 also shows substantial differences among the regions of the United 

States. For example, much of the decline in timberland conditions observed in the 

1970s and 1980s actually was concentrated in the East (the sum of the North and 

the South shown in app. 1, table 40), where it was associated with increases in 

hardwood harvests used as pulpwood and fuelwood (see table 8 for details). Figure 

44 also shows a rapid increase in the West associated with the reductions of federal 

harvest and the timber industry that took place during the 1990s. Finally, it illustrates that the South, which provides the bulk of U.S. timber harvests, maintains 

relatively stable timberland conditions as the ratio of harvest and growth remain 

about constant. Figure 44 also reveals the advantage of looking across different 

spatial and temporal scales. Trends at the national level dampen trends at lower 

spatial (regional) scales. This raises questions about the desirability of, for example, 

being sustainable at the national level but seeing declines in timberland conditions 

for a region. 

The trends shown in figures 43 and 44 are generally contrary to often-cited 

public concerns (reflecting societal values) that environmental conditions are in 

decline. These perceptions of decline have been shaped by many of the same events 

that led to declines in the composite index during the 1980s and, in some cases, 

changes in selected regions. This suggests that individual perceptions are slow 

to change, but the projected trends in the composite index offer hope that public 

values may change as perceptions of improving forest conditions become more 

widespread. 
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The 2005 RPA Timber Assessment Update

Disaggregating the Projections

Various aspects of these projections can be disaggregated and used to show the consequence of the set of assumptions when applied across the landscape. These disaggregated projections are shown in figures 45 to 47 (see Haynes 2003: 180–181 for a 

brief description of the disaggregation methods). These maps illustrate the spatial 

extent of forests in the United States and some of the differences and similarities 

between public and private timberlands. Figures 45 and 46 show the distribution of 

timber inventories by county for private and public timberlands. Comparing the two 

figures illustrates how public lands are concentrated in the West, the Lake States, 

and the Ozark and Appalachian Mountains. Private lands are concentrated in the 

East, but there are places in the West and Lake States where both private and public 

lands coexist and support diverse forests. Figure 47 shows the distribution of the 

average annual removals for the projection period. It reveals that the bulk of removals will come from a minority of counties located in the Pacific Northwest and in 

the Piedmont area of the South.

Inventory and timber product output information14 can be synthesized into a 

Timber Importance Index (TI_index) that measures the overall relative importance 

of private timberland in a county. The TI_index is shown in figure 48 and is being 

used in studies like the Forests at the Edge project (see Stein et al. 2005). It is a 

weighted index of the growth index, volume index, and timberland area index all 

adjusted by the production index. The indices were computed as the average value 

on all private timberland in a county relative to the average growing-stock growth 

on all timberland and counties. The timberland area index was weighted as being 

twice as important as the sum of the growth and volume indexes. 

Figure 48 displays the distribution of these values for private lands for the 

Lower 48 States. In general it shows that 253 counties have the highest timber 

importance. These countries contain 20 percent of timberland and are concentrated 

in three areas of the United States: the PNWW, a crescent in the South from Texas 

to Virginia, and Maine. This is not to say that forests elsewhere are less important, 

only that forest production is concentrated in these relatively few counties. The relative locations of these counties in coastal or near coastal counties raises questions 

about the possible impacts of land conversions for residential development.

14This information is from the RPA database (Smith et al. 2004) and the Timber Product 

Output database maintained on the FIA Web site (http://ncrs2.fs.fed.us/4801/fiadb/rpa_

tabler/2002_rpa_draft_tables.htm).
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GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-699

Figure 45—Distribution of timberland inventory on private timberland in 2002. 

Figure 46—Distribution of timberland inventory on public timberland in 2002.

Cubic feet/timberland acre

Less than 1,000

1,000 to 2,000

2,000 to 3,000

More than 3,000

Cubic feet/timberland acre

Less than 1,000

1,000 to 2,000

2,000 to 3,000

More than 3,000
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The 2005 RPA Timber Assessment Update

Figure 47—Average annual removals from private timberland (2000 to 2050).

Figure 48—Timber importance index for all ownerships.

Cubic feet/timberland acre

Less than 20

20 to 40

40 to 60

More than 60

Timber importance index

Low

Medium

Medium High

High
104

GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-699