California’s Forest 

Products Industry: A 

Descriptive Analysis

Todd A. Morgan, Charles E. Keegan III, Thale Dillon, 

Alfred L. Chase, Jeremy S. Fried, and Marc N. Weber

United States 

Department of 

Agriculture

Forest Service

Pacific Northwest 

Research Station

General Technical 

Report

PNW-GTR-615

July 2004
The Forest Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture is dedicated to the principle of 

multiple use management of the Nation’s forest resources for sustained yields of wood, 

water, forage, wildlife, and recreation. Through forestry research, cooperation with the 

States and private forest owners, and management of the National Forests and National 

Grasslands, it strives—as directed by Congress—to provide increasingly greater service to 

a growing Nation.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and 

activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political 

beliefs, sexual orientation, or marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all 

programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of 

program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s TARGET 

Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD).

To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, Room 326-

W, Whitten Building, 14th and Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or 

call (202) 720-5964 (voice and TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

USDA is committed to making its information materials accessible to all USDA customers 

and employees.

Authors

Todd A. Morgan and Alfred L. Chase are research foresters, Charles E. Keegan 

III, is the Director of Forest Industry Research, and Thale Dillon is a research 

associate, Bureau of Business and Economic Research, University of Montana, 

Missoula, MT 59812-1110; Jeremy S. Fried is a research forester and Marc N. 

Weber is an ecologist, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific 

Northwest Research Station, Forestry Sciences Laboratory, 620 SW Main Street, 

Suite 400, Portland, OR 97205.
Abstract

Morgan, Todd A.; Keegan, Charles E., III; Dillon, Thale; Chase, 

 Alfred L.; Fried, Jeremy S.; Weber, Marc N. 2004. California’s forest products 

industry: a descriptive analysis. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-615. Portland, OR: 

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research 

Station. 55 p.

This report traces the flow of California’s 2000 timber harvest through the 

wood-using industries; provides a description of the structure, operations, and 

condition of California’s primary forest products industry; and briefly summarizes 

timber inventory and growth. Historical wood products industry changes are discussed, as well as trends in harvest, production, and sales. Employment and worker 

earnings in the state’s forest products industry also are examined, and an industry 

leaders’ assessment of past and future operating conditions is provided.

Keywords: Forest products, California, timber harvest, employment, bioenergy.
Highlights

• A total of 93 primary forest products plants operated in California in 

2000. These plants included 47 sawmills, 25 bioenergy plants, 10 bark 

and mulch plants, 5 reconstituted board plants, 2 veneer plants, 2 pulp and 

paper mills, and 2 manufacturers of other primary wood products. 

• Total sales value for California’s primary forest products was about $2.3 

billion in 2000, with lumber accounting for 65 percent of the total. The 

majority (62 percent) of all products were sold in California, whereas 

other Far Western States received the majority of exports (11 percent of 

total sales). 

• Three sectors accounted for 97 percent of industry sales: sawmills, 

residue-utilizing plants, and bioenergy plants. 

• California sawmills produced 3,100 million board feet (MMBF) of lumber 

in 2000, just under 9 percent of U.S. production of softwood lumber and 

nearly 6 percent of U.S. consumption. 

• California’s timber harvest was 2,250 MMBF Scribner in 2000, less than 

68 percent of the average annual harvest for the past 20 years. The 2001 

harvest was 2,180 MMBF. These declines are largely attributable to reductions in national forest harvest levels since the late 1980s. State regulations 

and, more recently, market conditions have reduced timber harvest from 

private lands. 

• California’s forest products industry’s annual capacity to process sawtimber has decreased 60 percent, from 6,000 MMBF in the late 1980s to 

2,400 MMBF in 2002. 

• Approximately 112,700 workers, earning $4.5 billion annually, are employed in the primary and secondary wood and paper products industry in 

California. Twenty-five thousand of these employees are in harvesting and 

processing of timber or in private sector land management, and they earn 

about $900 million annually in labor income. 

• Most industry leaders expressed a positive outlook for the industry over 

the next 5 years, expecting improved product markets. They indicated 

strongest concerns about energy costs, state regulations, and timber 

availability.
Contents

1 Introduction

1 Forest Industries Data Collection System

 2 Overview of California’s Forest Products Industry

2 Operating Environment: 1945-1989

 3 Operating Environment: 1990 and Beyond

 5 California’s Timber Havest, Products, and Flow

 6 California’s Timberlands

 7 Harvest by Ownership

10 Harvest by Geographic Source

12 Harvest by Species

17 Harvest by Product Type

21 End Uses of California’s 2000 Timber Harvest

24 Timber Flow

28 Structure of California’s Forest Products Industry

31 Sawmill Sector

33 Plywood and Veneer Sector

34 Bioenergy Sector

35 Other Sectors

36 Plant Capacity

36 Sawtimber Processing Capacity

38 Lumber Recovery Factor and Overrun

38 Lumber Production Capacity

39 Mill Residue: Quantity, Type, and Use

42 Forest Product Sales, Employment, and Worker Earnings

42 Product Markets and Sales Values

44 Employment and Worker Earnings in California’s Forest Products Industry

47 Forest Industry Labor Income in Northern California

48 California Forest Products Leaders Survey and Outlook

49 Past 10 Years

49 Current Conditions

49 Five-Year Outlook

53 Metric Equivalents

53 References

Introduction

This report describes the structure, operations, and condition of California’s 

primary forest products industry for 2000, and briefly discusses timber inventory, 

growth, and harvest. Primary forest product manufacturers are firms that process 

timber into (manufactured) products such as lumber, as well as facilities like pulp 

mills and particleboard plants that use the wood fiber residue directly from timber 

processors. 

The report discusses long-term historical trends, trends since 2000, and results 

from a survey of industry leaders conducted in December 2002. The primary focus 

is on the trends and changes in the industry since the late 1980s—a recent watershed period with sizeable declines in federal timber availability and increasing 

forest management regulation in California. However, for historical perspective, 

some discussion is offered of industry changes throughout the last half of the 

20th century. 

The major source of data for this report is a statewide census of California’s primary forest products industry and mills in adjacent states that received timber from 

California during calendar year 2000. The census represents a cooperative effort 

between the University of Montana’s Bureau of Business and Economic Research 

(BBER) and the USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest (PNW) Research Station, 

Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Program called the Forest Industries Data 

Collection System (FIDACS). Firms were identified through telephone directories, 

directories of the forest products industries (Miller Freeman, Inc. 1999, Paperloop 

2000, Random Lengths 2001), and with the assistance of the California Forestry 

Association, the Forest Resource Council, and the California Forest Products Commission. Firms cooperating in the 2000 California census, including out-of-state 

mills, processed all of California’s commercial timber harvest. Inventory data, including standing volumes and growth, were provided by the PNW Research Station 

FIA Program.

Forest Industries Data Collection System

The BBER, in cooperation with the FIA programs in the Rocky Mountain and 

PNW Research Stations, has developed FIDACS to collect, compile, and make 

available state and county information on the operations of the forest products 

industry. The FIDACS is based on a census of primary forest product manufacturers located in a given state. Through a written questionnaire or phone interview, 

manufacturers provide the following information for each of their plants for a given 

calendar year: 

1

California’s Forest Products Industry: A Descriptive Analysis
2

GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-615

• Plant production capacity and employment 

• Volume of raw material received, by county and ownership 

• Species of timber received 

• Finished product volumes, types, sales value, and market locations 

• Utilization and marketing of manufacturing residue 

This effort is the first complete application of FIDACS in California. The BBER 

and the Forest Service research stations have been conducting censuses in the 

west coast and Rocky Mountain states periodically for over 25 years. The state of 

Washington, in cooperation with the PNW Research Station, reports on periodic 

censuses of that state’s industry. 

Information collected through FIDACS is stored at the BBER in Missoula, 

Montana. Additional information is available by request; however, individual firmlevel data are confidential and will not be released.

Overview of California’s Forest Products Industry

Operating Environment: 1945–1989 

Interrelated factors of markets, technology, the timber resource, and public policy 

have shaped the primary forest products industry in California, a major producer 

of wood products since statehood in 1850. It emerged as the Nation’s third leading 

softwood lumber-producing state in the 1940s, and since then has ranked second 

or third in the Nation, along with Oregon and Washington (Steer 1948, WWPA 

1964-2002). Two major structural changes in California’s forest products industry 

between 1945 and 1989 were the development and then near disappearance of the 

plywood and veneer industries, and the development of major industries (i.e., pulp 

and paper, reconstituted board plants, decorative bark and mulch, and bioenergy) 

based on mill residue from sawmills and other major timber-processing facilities. 

Following World War II, timber harvest volumes expanded in response to the 

large increases in U.S. home building. Harvest peaked at about 6 billion board feet 

in 1955 with private lands supplying over 75 percent of the harvest volume. The 

1950s and early 1960s was a period of diversification for the California wood products industry (Barrette et al. 1970), especially with the expansion of the plywood, 

pulp and paper, and reconstituted board sectors. During the 1950s and 1960s, plywood and veneer manufacturing consumed up to 12 percent of California’s timber 

harvest, whereas lumber consistently used about 86 percent. The 1960s was also 

a period of modest harvest declines, with annual harvests averaging about 5 billion board feet (Bolsinger 1980). Reductions in total harvest and reduced plywood 

production during the mid to late 1960s were apparently due to inventory declines 
3

California’s Forest Products Industry: A Descriptive Analysis

of larger Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) on private lands 

(Howard 1974). 

Through the 1970s and 1980s, the predominant factors influencing California’s 

forest products industry were market conditions. Harvest volume generally increased during good market years and declined during years with weak markets. 

The 1970s was a period of strong wood products markets driven by a strong U.S. 

economy, with housing starts exceeding 2 million units annually for several years. 

Harvest in California exceeded 5 billion board feet in 1972 and averaged 4.7 billion 

board feet annually for the decade (Ruderman1975-1984, Warren 1985-2000). 

The strong markets of the 1970s ended abruptly in late 1979. High interest rates 

caused a sharp drop in the U.S. housing and construction industries through 1982, 

when the California timber harvest declined to 2.5 billion board feet. By 1983, 

conditions in the construction and housing industries had improved, but wood 

product prices remained low owing to a high-valued U.S. dollar, which in turn led 

to decreased U.S. exports and increased Canadian imports. Meanwhile, as substitute products (i.e., oriented strand board) increased their market share, the plywood 

sector continued its decline, producing well under 200 million square feet annually for most of the 1980s, compared to more than 800 million square feet annually 

throughout the 1960s and 1970s. 

It was not until the last half of the 1980s that markets started to improve, with 

prices of wood products increasing owing to a strong economy and a lower valued 

U.S. dollar. Mills in California had substantial uncut volumes under contract as a 

result of the weak markets of the early 1980s and experienced what proved to be a 

temporary abundance of timber during the late 1980s. Mills made use of this available timber while markets were good, and California’s timber harvest increased to 

nearly 5 billion board feet annually during this period.

Operating Environment: 1990 and Beyond 

Restricted timber availability, particularly on federal lands, exerted a major influence on California’s forest products industry after the 1980s. Harvests from 

federal timberland (mainly national forest land) in California declined more than 

80 percent owing to numerous policy and legal constraints on harvesting. These 

constraints included protection of threatened and endangered species, restrictions 

on harvesting old growth and operating in unroaded areas, and appeals and litigation of timber sales (McWilliams and Goldman 1994, Stone 2003). Private harvest 

was also lower in the 1990s, resulting largely from increasing state regulation 

(see “California Forest Products Leaders Survey and Outlook” section)(California 

Department of Forestry 2003, Dicus and Delfino 2003). Overall, California’s timber 
4

GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-615

harvest volume fell sharply throughout the 1990s, finishing the decade at just over 2 

billion board feet annually, less than 50 percent of the harvest levels of the late 1980s.

This is not to say that economic conditions had no effect on the forest products industry in the 1990s. Against the backdrop of decreasing timber availability, 

changes in U.S. and global economies had a strong influence on product prices. The 

Gulf War-induced recession of 1990 and 1991 brought about low prices. However, 

by 1993, the market was at the other extreme; lumber prices rose to near record 

highs owing to increased demand driven by stronger U.S. and global economies as 

well as significant nationwide reductions in federal timber availability. 

Markets in 1995 weakened as a result of a slowdown in U.S. and international 

economies and rising imports of Canadian lumber. Lumber prices fell approximately 20 percent, although still remaining above the prices of the late 1980s. Beginning 

in 1996, lumber prices rebounded, reaching new record-high levels in the first half 

of 1997, owing to a much-improved U.S. economy, improved overseas markets, 

and a quota system regulating Canadian softwood lumber entering the United 

States. However, in the second half of 1997, although the U.S. economy remained 

strong, Japan and a number of other Asian countries experienced sharp declines 

in economic activity. With reduced global demand, lumber prices fell. The Asian 

economic crisis also further weakened the Canadian dollar, improving the competitiveness of Canadian products in the United States. 

In 1999, markets improved considerably owing to the U.S. economy’s continued 

strong performance and some improvement in the global economy. This improvement was short lived, however, and the years 2000 through 2002 saw weak U.S. 

and global economies, including a U.S. recession in 2001. Curiously, even during 

the 2001 recession, U.S. home building and lumber consumption remained high as 

a result of low interest rates. Low lumber prices in 2000 through 2002 were due to 

abundant lumber supplies on the U.S. market caused by a number of factors: 

• Poor economic conditions throughout much of the world 

• Increased wood products manufacturing capacity worldwide 

• A high-valued U.S. dollar in 2000 and 2001 

• Increased average mill size and capital intensity with higher fixed costs 

(and often debt)—making managers reluctant to curtail production 

• Weakness in other sectors of the U.S. economy (e.g., manufacturing)—

impacting markets for other wood and paper products 

In addition to a weaker market situation, very high and volatile electricity prices 

in 2000 and 2001 created problems for some California wood and paper products 

producers and opportunities for others. Mills buying power from outside sources, 

especially those buying electricity on the spot market, were faced with substantially 
5

California’s Forest Products Industry: A Descriptive Analysis

higher operating costs. In contrast, a number of facilities using wood to produce 

energy benefited from high electricity prices by selling electricity to other users. 

Like timber availability, regulations, and market conditions, electricity rates will 

continue to influence California’s primary wood products industry.

California’s Timber Harvest, Products, and Flow 

This section discusses historical trends in California’s timber harvest and the wood 

products industry’s use of timber, focusing on the year 2000. It presents ownership 

and geographic sources of timber, species composition, types of timber products 

harvested and processed, utilization of wood fiber from the harvest, and movement 

of timber products within California, and between California and other states. The 

relationships among standing volume, harvest, and net growth also are examined. 

Similar timber harvest characterizations are available from several sources, 

including the California State Board of Equalization (annually) and the PNW 

Research Station of the USDA Forest Service (annually and periodically), and these 

sources were used for historical comparisons. However, detailed harvest volumes 

presented in this report for calendar year 2000 are from the FIDACS census of California and out-of-state mills receiving timber harvested in California during 2000. 

Differences may exist between the numbers published here and those published 

by other sources. These small differences are often due to varying reporting units 

and conversion factors, rounding error, scaling discrepancies among timber sellers 

(agencies and private owners) and between sellers and buyers, and other reporting 

variations. 

Standing volume and growth were calculated by PNW FIA for all nonreserved 

forest land, including lands rated noncommercial forest. Total aboveground stem 

volume and growth, net of cull and mortality, was calculated on a cubic-foot basis 

for all trees larger than 1-inch diameter at breast height (d.b.h.). Scribner board-foot 

volume, net of mortality, was calculated for all trees larger than 10 inches d.b.h. 

Growth-to-harvest ratios reported here were made on a board-foot basis. 

Timber harvested from California timberland and manufactured into wood 

products in 2000 came from three broad land ownership categories: industrial 

timberland, nonindustrial private forest (NIPF) land, and public lands. California’s 

timber harvest consisted largely of Douglas-fir and true firs (Abies spp.). Most 

timber used by California’s industry was harvested from within the state, with additional volume coming from Oregon, Washington, and Utah. Some smaller volumes 

came from as far away as Texas and Canada. 
6

GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-615

California’s Timberlands 

California has approximately 99.823 million acres of land area, of which 38.547 

million acres are forested (Smith et al. 2001). About 17.952 million acres (46.6 percent) of California’s forest land are classified by the USDA Forest Service as timberland, 5.968 million acres are reserved from timber harvesting, and 14.627 million 

acres are “unproductive” forest land (Smith et al. 2001). Of nonreserved timberland 

in California, the forest industry owns 2.982 million acres (16.6 percent), NIPF landowners hold 4.455 million acres (24.8 percent), and public lands account for 10.515 

million acres (58.6 percent) (fig. 1). Approximately 20.654 million acres of forest 

land in California are managed by the USDA Forest Service in national forests; less 

than half (10.086 million acres) of that forest land is nonreserved timberland.

Ownership distribution of standing (live) timber volume differs slightly from 

land ownership. Total standing volume on California’s nonreserved lands is approximately 87.0 billion cubic feet, with trees greater than 10 inches d.b.h. accounting 

for approximately 71.1 billion cubic feet (295.6 billion board feet, Scribner) or 81.8 

percent. The majority (62.4 percent) of the volume of trees greater than 10 inches

d.b.h. is in national forests, whereas 18.1 percent is on NIPF lands, 17.2 percent is 

located on industrial land, and 2.3 percent is on other public lands.

Figure 1—Characteristics of California’s nonreserved timberland by ownership class, 2000.

Industrial

Other public

National forest

Nonindustrial

private and

tribal

100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0%

Timberland

area

Standing

volume (>10 inches d.b.h.)

Harvested

volume
7

California’s Forest Products Industry: A Descriptive Analysis

Harvest by Ownership 

In 2000, 2.2 billion board feet (Scribner) of industrial wood (timber) was harvested 

from California forests and sent to mills for processing (fig. 2). This harvest volume 

represents 0.8 percent of the approximately 295.6 billion board feet of standing 

volume greater than 10 inches d.b.h. In an historical context, California’s calendar 

year 2000 timber harvest was less than 68 percent of the average annual harvest for 

the previous 20 years, and only 51 percent of the 50-year average. This substantial 

decline is due largely to reductions in national forest harvest levels, with most of 

the reductions taking place since the late 1980s. By 2001, timber volume harvested 

from national forests had decreased 86 percent from its recent peak (2.18 billion 

board feet) in 1988. Harvest volumes from private lands also had decreased, but 

at a slower rate—43 percent (2.6 to 1.5 billion board feet) over the same period.

Although private lands have always provided the majority of California’s timber 

(fig. 3), national forest harvest reductions over the past dozen years have led to a 

distinct shift in the proportion of timber coming from public versus private sources. 

Most (83.8 percent) of the 2,250 MMBF of timber harvested from California 

timberlands in 2000 came from industrial, nonindustrial private, and tribal 

timberlands (table 1). National forests accounted for 15 percent of the harvest, 

and all other public sources combined made up the remaining 1.2 percent. Since 

2000, timber harvests from national forests have averaged 298 MMBF annually, 

less than 20 percent of the state’s estimated total annual harvest.

The current harvest ownership disparity, characteristic of national forest 

versus private timber harvest volumes throughout the 1990s, has not existed in 

California since the 1950s, when private harvests were more than four times that of 

the national forests (fig. 3). Since the 1950s, the proportion of total timber harvest 

coming from public lands has fluctuated widely (Bolsinger 1980). In California 

during the early 1950s, harvest was done primarily on private lands (87 percent in 

1952), with the remainder coming from public lands (12 percent from national forest 

lands in 1952). From 1963 through 1987, 58 percent of California’s annual timber 

harvest came from private lands and 40 percent came from national forests. The 

share of harvest from national forest lands peaked in 1988 with 46 percent (2,364 

MMBF), but fell to 36 percent in 1990. Through the 1990s, volume harvested 

from national forest lands continued its steady decline, and by 2000, the share 

was reduced to 15 percent. The shift away from national forests as a nearly equal 

provider of timber means that today 85 percent of timber harvested in California is 

coming from less than 44 percent of the state’s nonreserved timberlands.
8

GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-615

Figure 2—California’s timber harvest by ownership class, 1947-2001.

0

7,0006,0005,0004,0003,0002,0001,000

Year

National forestsBureau of LandManagementTribalStatePrivate
9

California’s Forest Products Industry: A Descriptive Analysis

Table 1—California’s timber harvest by ownership class, 2000

Ownership Harvest Percentage of total

Million board feet

a

Industrial 1,075.2 47.79

Nonindustrial private 800.7 35.59

National forest 337.1 14.98

State 18.6 .83

Tribal 9.9 .44

Bureau of Land Management 7.7 .34

Other public .5 .02

Total 2,249.7 100.00

a

 Volume in Scribner Decimal C Log Rule for the east side.

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

Private

National

forests

Timber harvest (million board feet, Scribner)

Year

1956

1961

1966

1971

1976

1981

1986

1991

1996

2001

Figure 3—California timber harvest on private and national forest lands, 1952-2001.
10

GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-615

 At the state level, growth exceeded harvest for every ownership class, with 

growth-to-harvest ratios ranging from 1.5:1 on industrial forest land and 1.6:1 on 

nonindustrial private, to 5.9:1 on national forests and 6.2:1 on other public lands 

(table 2). These statistics would seem to indicate substantial underutilization on 

public lands, but they do not describe growth-to-harvest differences that may exist 

within the >10-inch category (e.g., growth-to-harvest ratios for 11- to 12-inch trees 

versus 32- to 40-inch trees), nor do they reflect de facto reservations resulting from 

riparian rules and management overlays that guide or restrict harvest activities.

Harvest by Geographic Source 

California has historically been divided into two major wood-producing regions, 

Coastal and Interior, with the Coastal Region defined as counties lying west of the 

crest of the Coast Range from the Oregon border south to Monterey County (fig. 4), 

and the Interior Region consisting of all remaining counties (Barrette et al. 1970). 

The Coastal Region consists of two resource areas, the North Coast Resource Area 

and Central Coast Resource Area. The Interior Region is divided into four resource 

areas: Northern Interior, Sacramento, San Joaquin, and Southern California. The 

majority of California’s timber harvest consistently comes from the northern coastal 

and interior counties (Barrette et al. 1970; California State Board of Equalization 

1992-2001; Hiserote and Howard 1978; Howard 1974, 1984; Howard and Ward 

1988, 1991; Ward 1995, 1997).

Table 2—California’s timber harvest, standing volume, growth, and growth:harvest ratio by ownership class, 2000

 Percentage Percentage Percentage Growth:

Ownership Harvest of total Standing of total Growth of total harvest

MMBFa MMBFa MMBFa

Industrial 1,075.2 47.8 50,907.0 17.2 1,564.7 31.2 1.5

Nonindustrial private 800.7 35.6 50,116.0 17.0 1,245.9 24.9 1.6

National forest 337.1 15.0 184,409.3 62.4 1,986.2 39.6 5.9

Other public 26.8 1.2 6,930.0 2.3 165.0 3.3 6.2

Tribal 9.9 .4 3,194.0 1.1 50.7 1.0 5.1

Total 2,249.7 100.0 295,556.3 100.0 5,012.6 100.0 2.2

a

 Volume in Scribner Decimal C Log Rule for the east side. MMBF = million board feet.
11

California’s Forest Products Industry: A Descriptive Analysis

Figure 4—California’s forest resource areas.

Northern

Interior

Sacramento

San Joaquin

North

Coast

Central

Coast

Southern

California
12

GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-615

In 2000, five counties accounted for nearly 55 percent of the timber harvested 

in California, each having over 190 MMBF harvested (table 3). Humboldt County 

led timber harvest in 2000 with more than 435 MMBF; Siskiyou County’s harvest was nearly 210 MMBF, whereas Shasta, Plumas, and Mendocino Counties 

rounded out the top five with about 194 MMBF each. Historically, about 20 percent 

of California’s timber came from Humboldt County, which has been the leading 

timber-producing county in the state for over four decades (table 4). Five other 

northern counties also have continued to be top timber producers: Mendocino, 

Plumas, Shasta, Siskiyou, and Trinity (Barrette et al. 1970; Hiserote and Howard 

1978; Howard 1974, 1984; Howard and Ward 1988, 1991; Ward 1995, 1997). Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens (D. Don) Endl.), which only grows in the two coastal 

resource areas, accounted for about half (309 MMBF) of the timber harvested from 

Humboldt and Mendocino Counties in 2000. 

Growth exceeded harvest by a minimum of 70 percent in every resource area 

in 2000 (table 5), even ignoring the growth in trees 10 inches d.b.h. or less. With 

the exception of Southern California, which had no industrial timber harvest, the 

Central Coast Resource Area had the greatest growth-to-harvest ratio at 7.0:1. The 

Sacramento Resource Area, with about 31 percent of the harvest, had the lowest 

growth-to-harvest ratio of 1.7:1.

Harvest by Species 

Douglas-fir was the leading species harvested for timber in California during 2000. 

Douglas-fir accounted for 620.7 MMBF, or nearly 28 percent of the total, followed 

by true firs, ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Dougl. ex Laws.) and redwood, 

accounting for 19, 18, and 17 percent of the harvest, respectively (table 6). The 

remainder of the harvest was composed of sugar pine (Pinus lambertiana Dougl.), 

western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla (Raf.) Sarg.), incense-cedar (Calocedrus 

decurrens Torr. Florin), and other species and species groups, each accounting for 

less than 6 percent of the harvest. Hardwoods accounted for less than 0.5 percent 

of harvest.

Historically, the relative proportions of timber harvested by species and species groups have been similar to those of 2000 (table 7), with true firs, Douglas-fir, 

ponderosa pine, and redwood providing the largest share (Barrette et al. 1970; California State Board of Equalization 1992-2001; Hiserote and Howard 1978; Howard 

1974, 1984; Howard and Ward 1988, 1991; Ward 1995, 1997). With the exceptions 

of 1982 and 1992, when yellow pines and redwood, respectively, were the leading 

species harvested, Douglas-fir has been the most harvested species by volume. 
13

California’s Forest Products Industry: A Descriptive Analysis

Table 3—California’s timber harvest by county, 2000

County Volumea Percentage of total

Million board feet Percent

Amador 22.8 1.01

Butte 86.4 3.84

Calaveras 67.0 2.98

Del Norte 50.4 2.24

El Dorado 106.7 4.74

Fresno 19.8 .88

Glenn 24.7 1.10

Humboldt 435.3 19.35

Kern 3.6 .16

Lake 9.6 .43

Lassen 69.3 3.08

Madera 4.8 .22

Mariposa 3.6 .16

Mendocino 193.5 8.60

Merced .3 .01

Modoc 49.9 2.22

Nevada 59.6 2.65

Placer 40.4 1.80

Plumas 193.8 8.62

San Mateo 5.6 .25

Santa Clara 4.2 .19

Santa Cruz 19.6 .87

Shasta 194.3 8.63

Sierra 33.1 1.47

Siskiyou 209.7 9.32

Sonoma 28.1 1.25

Tehama 105.3 4.68

Trinity 99.6 4.43

Tulare 8.9 .40

Tuolumne 60.7 2.70

Yolo 2.6 .11

Yuba 36.9 1.64

Total 2,249.7 100.00

a

 Volume in Scribner Decimal C Log Rule for the east side.
14

GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-615

Table 4—Percentage of total harvest for California’s leading 

timber harvest counties, 1968-2000

County Total Percentage of total

1968

Humboldt 1,186.8 21.7

Mendocino 533.4 9.7

Siskiyou 502.6 9.2

Trinity 431.6 7.9

Shasta 381.1 7.0

Total county 3,035.5 55.5

California total 5,473.0 

1972

Humboldt 1,079.0 19.9

Mendocino 523.1 9.6

Siskiyou 518.7 9.5

Del Norte 354.5 6.5

Shasta 349.9 6.4

Total county 2,852.2 52.0

California total 5,435.2 

1976

Humboldt 1,073.3 22.7

Mendocino 489.2 10.3

Shasta 359.3 7.6

Siskiyou 337.1 7.1

Del Norte 236.4 5.0

Total county 2,495.3 52.7

California total 4,731.0 

1982

Humboldt 456.2 18.3

Mendocino 448.1 17.9

Plumas 164.7 6.6

Trinity 161.2 6.5

Tehama 148.3 5.9

Total county 1,378.6 55.2

California total 2,497.0 

1985

Humboldt 608.1 15.0

Mendocino 435.1 10.7

Shasta 204.1 5.0

Plumas 202.2 5.0

Siskiyou 201.8 5.0

Total county 1,651.3 40.7

California total 4,056.0
15

California’s Forest Products Industry: A Descriptive Analysis

County Total Percentage of total

1988

Humboldt 769.0 15.9

Mendocino 499.1 10.3

Siskiyou 295.6 6.1

Trinity 272.1 5.6

Plumas 271.5 5.6

Total county 2,107.3 43.5

California total 4,840.0 

1992

Humboldt 502.2 15.6

Mendocino 271.6 8.5

El Dorado 195.1 6.1

Lassen 158.8 4.9

Shasta 142.9 4.4

Total county 1,270.6 39.5

California total 3,214.0 

1994

Humboldt 559.6 19.7

Plumas 163.5 5.8

Shasta 147.5 5.2

Lassen 123.3 4.3

Trinity 117.2 4.1

Total county 1,111.1 39.1

California total 2,839.0 

2000

Humboldt 435.3 19.3

Siskiyou 209.7 9.3

Shasta 194.3 8.6

Plumas 193.8 8.6

Mendocino 193.5 8.6

Total county 1,226.6 54.5

California total 2,249.7
16

GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-615

Table 5—California’s timber harvest, standing volume, growth, and growth: 

harvest ratio by resource area, 2000

 Standing volume Growth Growth:

Resource area Harvesta (>10 inch d.b.h.) (>10 inch d.b.h.) harvest

 Million board feet

North Coast 707.2 60,157.2 1,655.6 2.3

Central Coast 29.4 10,824.4 207.6 7.0

North Interior 622.6 92,525.0 1,466.5 2.4

Sacramento 699.0 84,358.9 1,174.8 1.7

San Joaquin 191.4 44,340.3 472.2 2.5

Southern California — 3,346.0 36.3 b

Total 2,249.7 295,551.9 5,013.0 2.2

— = no wood harvested. a Volume in Scribner Decimal C Log Rule for the east side.

b

 With no harvest, growth:harvest ratio is undefined.

Table 6—California’s timber harvest by species, 2000

Species Volumea Percentage of total

Million board feet Percent

Douglas-fir 621 27.59

True firs 428 19.00

Ponderosa pine 407 18.10

Redwood 375 16.66

Sugar pine 128 5.70

Western hemlock 121 5.40

Incense-cedar 107 4.75

Other softwoods 52 2.32

Hardwoods 11 .48

All species 2,250 100.00

a Volume in Scribner Decimal C Log Rule for the east side.

Growth-to-harvest ratios by species ranged from 1.1:1 for true firs to 38.1:1 for 

hardwoods (table 8), indicating that nearly all net growth of true firs was captured 

by harvest, and that the hardwood resource was minimally utilized. Hardwood 

harvest made up only 0.5 percent of statewide harvest but accounted for over 9 

percent of statewide standing volume and over 8 percent of statewide growth. 

Statewide, redwood accounted for 8 percent of standing volume but represented 

nearly 17 percent of harvest and over 15 percent of statewide growth. The growthto-harvest ratio of 2.1:1 for redwood suggests no lack of sustainability in aggregate. 

The 1.1:1 ratio for the comparatively slow-growing true firs was due to high mortality, particularly in the older and larger (>10 inches d.b.h.) trees. On a cubic-footvolume basis, 31 percent of the annual net growth in true fir volume occurred 
17

California’s Forest Products Industry: A Descriptive Analysis

in trees 10 inches d.b.h. or smaller and was thus not accounted for in the stated 

growth-to-harvest ratio.

Harvest by Product Type 

Timber used in the direct manufacture of products is the focus of this report. Products directly manufactured from timber, also referred to as “primary products,” 

include lumber, plywood, veneer, posts and poles, pilings and timbers, and cedar 

shakes and shingles. Products made from chipping or grinding timber, as well as 

from the residues (e.g., bark, sawdust, and planer shavings) generated in the production of primary products, also are included. These “reconstituted” primary products 

include pulp and paper, particleboard, medium-density fiberboard, hardboard, and 

Table 7—Percentage of California’s timber harvest by species, 1968-2000

Species 1968 1972 1976 1982 1985 1988 1992 1994 2000

 Percent

Douglas-fir 32.2 26.9 27.4 22.9 24.1 26.5 23.2 26.7 27.6

True firs 22.4 21.8 19.9 21.1 22.0 23.0 22.9 25.6 19.0

Ponderosa and sugar pine 23.7 25.3 25.4 27.0 26.3 26.9 23.4 22.0 23.8

Redwood 18.2 18.7 19.5 24.3 22.6 18.2 24.9 21.9 16.7

Incense-cedar a

 4.1 4.1 3.9 3.0 3.7 4.3 2.4 4.7

Other softwoods b

 3.3 3.0 3.6 .5 1.4 1.3 1.3 1.3 7.7

Hardwoods .2 .2 .2 .4 .5 .5 c c .5

Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Harvest for years prior to 2000 does not include timber delivered to out-of-state mills.

a Included in “Other softwoods.”

b

 Other softwoods include western hemlock, lodgepole pine, spruces, and other coniferous species.

c

 Less than 0.05 percent.

Table 8—California’s timber harvest, standing volume, growth, and growth:harvest ratio by species, 2000

 Percentage Percentage Percentage Growth:

Species Harvesta of total Standinga of total Growtha of total harvest

 MMBFb

 MMBFb MMBFb 

Douglas-fir 620.7 27.6 85,418.2 28.9 1,674.6 33.4 2.7 

True firs 427.5 19.0 65,562.4 22.2 458.4 9.1 1.1 

Ponderosa pine 407.3 18.1 35,776.3 12.1 744.9 14.9 1.8 

Redwood 374.8 16.7 23,707.9 8.0 772.8 15.4 2.1 

Other softwoods 408.6 18.2 57,952.9 19.6 955.1 19.1 2.3 

Hardwoods 10.7 .5 27,138.7 9.2 406.8 8.1 38.1 

All species 2,249.7 100.0 295,556.3 100.0 5,012.6 100.0 2.2 

a Volume in Scribner Decimal C Log Rule for the east side.

b

MMBF = million board feet.
18

GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-615

energy. Derivative, or “secondary” products (goods made from primary products) 

such as window frames, doors, trusses, and furniture are not included in this report. 

The following section, “The Structure of California’s Forest Products Industry,” 

focuses on four general categories of primary products: saw logs (timber sawn to 

produce lumber), veneer logs (timber sliced or peeled to make veneer for plywood 

or laminated veneer lumber), bioenergy (timber burned industrially to generate 

electricity or steam for energy), and other products (timber used to manufacture 

pulp and paper, cedar shakes and shingles, and utility poles). Timber harvested for 

export is addressed under the “Timber Flow” section of this report.

Past studies of California’s wood products industry (Barrette et al. 1970; 

Hiserote and Howard 1978; Howard 1974, 1984; Howard and Ward 1988, 1991; 

Ward 1995, 1997) indicate that saw logs have consistently been the leading component of the state’s timber harvest and timber volume used by California mills, 

accounting for more than 85 percent of the total annually (table 9). From the late 

1940s until the late 1970s, logs harvested for plywood and veneer production composed about 11 percent of the harvest. However, since the 1980s, veneer logs have 

accounted for only 4 to 8 percent of California’s annual timber harvest. 

Timber harvested for products other than saw and veneer logs have typically 

represented very small portions of California’s total annual timber harvest. Because 

of the pulp and board sector’s extensive use of mill residues, timber for that sector 

has typically represented less than 2 percent of California’s timber harvest. Volumes of logs harvested for other products, including shakes and shingles, posts and 

poles, and international exports, have varied through the years but typically have 

accounted for less than 5 percent of annual harvest (table 9). 

Table 9—Percentage of California’s timber harvest by product type (excluding bioenergy), 1968-2000a

Product type 1968 1972 1976 1982 1985 1988 1992 1994 2000

 Percent

Sawlogs 86.0 86.0 86.0 91.2 92.0 92.5 99.3 92.9 92.0

Veneer logs 10.0 12.0 11.5 6.1 5.0 4.7 b

 5.2 7.6

Pulpwood 1.0 1.5 .1 1.1 .8 1.1 c

 c c

Other d 3.0 .5 2.4 1.6 2.2 1.7 .7 1.9 .4

Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

a Harvest for years prior to 2000 does not include timber delivered to out-of-state mills.

b Included in “Sawlogs.”

c

 Included in “Other.”

d

 Includes shakes and shingles, posts and poles, and log export; does not include bioenergy.
19

California’s Forest Products Industry: A Descriptive Analysis

In 2000, saw and veneer logs together accounted for 97.2 percent (2,186 

MMBF) of California’s timber harvest for commercial products (table 10). Saw logs 

composed 89.8 percent (2,019 MMBF) of the total timber harvest, and veneer logs 

made up 7.4 percent (167 MMBF) of the harvest. Bioenergy, a burgeoning user of 

California timber, accounted for 2.4 percent (54.6 MMBF) of timber harvested in 

California in 2000, and all other primary products accounted for the remaining 0.4 

percent (8.8 MMBF).

Product type by ownership class—

Timber harvest by product type and ownership source combined followed the same 

general trend as harvest by ownership source or product type alone. Private timberland provided the majority of volume for each product type, and saw logs were the 

leading product harvested from each ownership class (table 10). Private timberland 

supplied 84 percent (1,835.8 MMBF) of California’s 2000 saw and veneer log harvest, whereas public forest land provided 16 percent (350.5 MMBF). Timber from 

industrial timberland composed 1,029.5 MMBF of the private saw and veneer log 

harvest, and national forest was the primary public supplier of saw and veneer logs 

at 323.7 MMBF. Industry-owned land was also the primary source of timber used 

for bioenergy and other products, accounting for 68 and 99 percent of the timber 

delivered to these sectors, respectively. National forests provided 24 percent of the 

bioenergy harvest and 1 percent of timber for all other products. 

Table 10—California’s timber harvest by ownership class and product type, 2000

 Saw and Reconstituted Other

Ownership source veneer logs boarda Bioenergy productsb All products

 Million board feet c

Private timberlands: 

 Industrial 1,029.5 — 37.0 8.7 1,075.2

 Nonindustrial 796.4 — 4.3 <.05 800.7

 Tribal 9.9 — — — 9.9

Total, private timberlands 1,835.8 — 41.2 8.7 1,885.8

Public timberlands: 

 National forests 323.7 — 13.3 .1 337.1

 Other public 26.8 — — — 26.8

Total, public timberlands 350.5 — 13.3 .1 363.9

— = no timber harvested.

a No timber was harvested for production of reconstituted boards; only mill residues were used.

b

 Other product types include posts, poles and pilings, shakes and shingles, and pulp and paper. 

c

 Volume in Scribner Decimal C Log Rule for the east side.
20

GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-615

Because of flows of timber into and out of California, slight differences exist between California’s timber harvest and receipts of timber by California mills 

(tables 10 and 11). California’s sawmills and veneer plants received 2,217.4 MMBF 

of logs in 2000. Over 83 percent of that volume came from private lands (47 percent 

from industry lands, 36 percent from NIPF owners), 14 percent came from national 

forests, and less than 3 percent from all other lands. The bioenergy sector received 

54.9 MMBF of timber; over 67 percent came from industrial lands, 24 percent from 

national forests, and the remainder from NIPF. Over 98 percent of the 8.9 MMBF of 

timber used by other industry sectors in California came from industry lands. The 

reconstituted board sector, which manufactures medium-density fiberboard, particleboard, and hardboard, as well as decorative bark producers received no timber 

and used mill residues as their sole source of wood fiber.

Product type by species—

Product type varied more by species than by ownership source. Although Douglas-fir and true firs led harvest volumes among saw and veneer logs, true firs and 

ponderosa pine led the bioenergy harvest, and hardwoods dominated harvest volumes for “other products.” Douglas-fir accounted for 28.2 percent (615.8 MMBF) 

of the saw logs harvested from California in 2000 (table 12). True firs, ponderosa 

pine, and redwood were next with approximately 18 percent each. True firs filled 48 

Table 11—Timber products delivered to California’s forest industry sectors by ownership class, 2000

 Saw and Reconstituted Other

Ownership source veneer logs boarda Bioenergy productsb All products

 Million board feet

c

Private timberlands: 

 Industrial 1,052.6 — 37.0 8.7 1,098.4

 Nonindustrial 789.8 — 4.6 <.05 794.4

 Tribal 9.9 — — — 9.9

Total, private timberlands 1,852.3 — 41.6 8.8 1,902.6

Public timberlands: 

 National forests 313.1 — 13.3 .1 326.5

 Other public 31.5 — — — 31.5

Total, public timberlands 344.6 — 13.3 .1 358.0

Canada 20.5 — — <.05 20.6

Total 2,217.4 — 54.9 8.9 2,281.2

— = no timber harvested.

a No timber was harvested for production of reconstituted boards; only mill residues were used.

b

 Other product types include posts, poles and pilings, shakes and shingles, and pulp and paper.

c

 Volume in Scribner Decimal C Log Rule for the east side.
21

California’s Forest Products Industry: A Descriptive Analysis

percent of the bioenergy harvest volume, followed by ponderosa pine at 23 percent, 

and by incense-cedar and Douglas-fir at 8 and 7 percent, respectively. All other 

species combined accounted for about 14 percent of timber harvested for energy. 

Hardwoods composed 68 percent of the harvest for other products, followed by 

Douglas-fir and ponderosa pine, at 14 and 10 percent, respectively. Redwood accounted for about 6 percent and cedar for less than 1 percent of timber harvested for 

other products.

End Uses of California’s 2000 Timber Harvest 

This section traces California’s timber harvest through the various manufacturing sectors. Because both timber products and mill residues from manufacturing 

facilities are presented, volumes are expressed in cubic feet rather than in board feet 

Scribner. To account for all the wood fiber harvested and used, both bole wood and 

bark are included. On average, 85 percent of the wood fiber in the timber harvested 

was bole wood, and 15 percent was bark. Timber harvest volumes of bole wood 

were generally reported in board feet Scribner Decimal C Log Rule for the east 

side. Differences in conversion factors were due to size and quality differences in 

logs mills reported receiving. The following conversion factors were used to convert bole volume to cubic-foot volume: 

• 5.2 board feet per cubic foot for saw and veneer logs 

• 1.0 board feet per cubic foot for bioenergy logs 

• 3.0 board feet per cubic foot for other products 

Table 12—California’s timber harvest by species and product type, 2000

 Saw and Reconstituted Other

Ownership source veneer logs boarda Bioenergy productsb All products

 Million board feet

c

Douglas-fir 615.8 — 3.7 1.2 620.7 

True firs 401.3 — 26.2 — 427.5 

Ponderosa pine 393.9 — 12.5 .9 407.3 

Redwood 374.3 — — .6 374.8 

Sugar pine 127.0 — 1.3 — 128.3 

Western hemlock 119.4 — 2.1 — 121.5 

Incense-cedar 102.5 — 4.3 <.05 106.8 

Other softwoods 50.3 — 1.7 .1 52.1 

Hardwoods 2.0 — 2.7 6.0 10.7 

All species 2,186.3 — 54.6 8.8 2,249.7

— = no timber harvested.

a No timber was harvested for production of medium-density fiberboard, hardboard, and particleboard; only mill residues were used.

b

 Other product types include posts, poles and pilings, shakes and shingles, and pulp and paper. 

c

 Volume in Scribner Decimal C Log Rule for the east side.
22

GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-615

The volume of bark was converted to cubic feet based on residue volumes reported 

in BDUs (2,400 pounds of ovendry wood) by using a conversion of 96 cubic feet 

per BDU. 

The following figures refer to California’s timber harvest and include timber 

products shipped to out-of-state mills. The figures do not include timber that was 

harvested in other states and processed in California. Figures for the pulp and board 

and other sectors were combined to avoid disclosing information on individual 

firms. Wood used for energy is displayed separately to distinguish internal use by 

sawmills and veneer plants versus wood used by other facilities to generate electricity, heat, or steam. 

In 2000, California’s timber harvest was approximately 558 million cubic feet 

(MMCF), 477 MMCF of bole volume and 81 MMCF of bark (fig. 5). Of this volume, 452 MMCF (80 percent) went as timber to sawmills; 37 MMCF (6 percent) 

Bark plants

Bole 0 MMCF

Bark 0 MMCF

Bioenergy

Bole 55 MMCF

Bark 10 MMCF

Veneer mills

Bole 32 MMCF

Bark 5 MMCF

Pulp, board, other

Bole 3 MMCF

Bark 1 MMCF

Sawmills

Bole 387 MMCF

Bark 65 MMCF

Total harvest

Bole 477 MMCF

Bark 81 MMCF

Internal

energy

55 MMCF

Miscellaneous

uses

14 MMCF

Unutilized

residue

5 MMCF

Lumber

shrinkage

12 MMCF

Bark products

21 MMCF

Bioenergy

130 MMCF

Finished plywood

and veneer

16 MMCF

Raw material for pulp 

and board products

101 MMCF

Finished dry lumber

201 MMCF

Bark

1 MMCF

Peeler cores

2 MMCF

Residue to pulp

and board

83 MMCF

Bark

20 MMCF

Residue to pulp

and board

14 MMCF

Residue to 

bioenergy

1 MMCF

Internal energy

3 MMCF

Residue to 

bioenergy

64 MMCF

Figure 5—Utilization of California’s timber harvest, 2000. MMCF = million cubic feet.
23

California’s Forest Products Industry: A Descriptive Analysis

went as timber to veneer and plywood plants; 4 MMCF went as timber to pulp, 

board, and miscellaneous other mills; and 65 MMCF went as timber to energy 

facilities. 

Of the 452 MMCF of timber and 2 MMCF of peeler cores delivered to sawmills, 201 MMCF (52 percent of bole volume and 44 percent of total volume) 

actually became finished lumber or another sawn product, 241 MMCF of wood 

fiber became mill residue, and 12 MMCF were lost from shrinkage of green lumber. 

About 83 MMCF of sawmill residue were sold as raw material to manufacturers 

of pulp and paper and particleboard, medium-density fiberboard, and hardboard in 

California and other states. Fifty-five (55) MMCF were used as fuel by the sawmill 

producing it, whereas 64 MMCF were sold to other facilities generating electricity 

or other forms of energy. Bark and mulch processors received about 20 MMCF, and 

14 MMCF were used for miscellaneous other purposes such as livestock bedding. 

About 5 MMCF of material went unused. 

Of the 37 MMCF of California’s timber harvest received by veneer plants in 

California and other states, 43 percent (16 MMCF) of total timber volume (50 percent of bole volume) became veneer, and 57 percent (21 MMCF) became residue. 

Of the 21 MMCF that became residue, about 14 MMCF was sold as raw material to 

pulp and paper and board manufacturers, 3 MMCF was used internally as fuel, 1 

MMCF was sold to other facilities generating electricity or other forms of energy, 2 

MMCF was peeler cores further processed by sawmills into lumber, and 1 MMCF 

in bark went to bark plants. 

About 4 MMCF of California’s timber harvest was in the form of other industrial wood products—mostly pulpwood that was chipped and used to manufacture 

pulp and paper. Less than 1 MMCF of this timber was used internally as a source 

of energy. Pulp, paper, and reconstituted board facilities received an additional 97 

MMCF of mill residues from sawmills and plywood plants for use as raw material.

About 130 MMCF of wood fiber from California’s timber harvest was purchased to generate electricity, heat, or steam. Half of this volume came from timber 

that was hogged or chipped specifically to generate electricity, and the other half 

came as mill residue from sawmills and veneer plants. 

In total, 558 MMCF of wood fiber, including bark, was harvested from California timberlands in 2000. Its uses were as follows: 

• 201 MMCF became finished lumber 

• 188 MMCF were used to generate energy, usually in the form of steam 

or electricity 

• 101 MMCF were used as raw material to produce pulp and paper or reconstituted board products such as particleboard or medium-density fiberboard
24

GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-615

• 21 MMCF were used by decorative bark/landscaping firms 

• 16 MMCF became veneer or plywood 

• 14 MMCF went to other uses such as animal bedding 

• 12 MMCF were lost in shrinkage from green to dry lumber

• 5 MMCF were unused.

Timber Flow 

This section briefly details the movement of timber among California’s woodproducing regions, resource areas, and individual counties, as well as between 

California and other states. California timber-processing mills received over 

2,281 MMBF of timber for processing in 2000. Slightly more than 151 MMBF 

(6.6 percent of timber processed in California) came from out of state, whereas 

slightly less than 120 MMBF (5.3 percent of California’s timber harvest) was 

exported for processing in Oregon, making California a net importer of about 31 

MMBF of timber in 2000 (table 13). Not surprisingly, practically all (99.7 percent) 

the timber imported into California and all the timber exported was saw and veneer 

logs. These export volumes do not include approximately 9 MMBF of logs exported 

internationally from California’s customs districts (WWPA 2000-2002).

Table 13—California’s timber imports and exports to other states, 2000

 Net imports

Timber products Imports Exports (net exports)

 Million board feet

a

Saw and veneer logs 150.7 (119.6) 31.1 

Bioenergy logs and pulpwood .4 — .4 

Other logsb <.05 — <.05

Total 151.1 (119.6) 31.5

a Volume in Scribner Decimal C Log Rule for the east side.

b

 Other logs include timber harvested for posts and poles and shakes and shingles.

Historical accounts of California’s forest products industry have focused solely 

on timber volumes received and used by mills in California (Barrette et al. 1970; 

Hiserote and Howard 1978; Howard 1974, 1984; Howard and Ward 1988, 1991; 

Ward 1995, 1997). In 2000, California’s figures for total timber harvested and total 

timber processed were different because of timber flows into and out of the state. 

The net difference between harvest and use volumes by ownership source and timber product type is relatively small, making these volumes proportionately identical 

(tables 10 and 11). 
25

California’s Forest Products Industry: A Descriptive Analysis

International and interstate timber flows—

In 2000, California was a net importer of foreign timber, a shift from historical 

trends. Past reports (Barrette et al. 1970; Hiserote and Howard 1978; Howard 1974; 

Howard and Ward 1988, 1991; Ward 1995) do not indicate any timber entering California from international sources, although timber entering California from other 

states increased dramatically from the late 1960s through the 1990s. International 

imports of timber came solely from Canada in 2000, and at 20.6 MMBF, accounted 

for 0.9 percent of the timber processed in California (table 14). 

Table 14—Ownership class of timber products received by 

California mills, 2000

Ownership source Volume Percentage of total

Million board feet a Percent

Private timberlands: 

 Industrial 1,098.4 48.1

 Nonindustrial 794.4 34.8

 Tribal 9.9 .4

Total, private timberlands 1,902.6 83.4

Public timberlands: 

 National forests 326.5 14.3

 Other 31.5 1.4

Total, public timberlands 358.0 15.7

Canada 20.6 .9

Total 2,281.2 100.0

a Volume in Scribner Decimal C Log Rule for the east side.

In 1968, out-of-state timber accounted for less than 0.2 percent of the timber 

processed in California. Imports of timber from other states for processing in California increased 110 percent from the late 1960s through the mid-1980s. Meanwhile 

in-state timber harvest decreased by 26 percent, and total timber volume processed 

in-state declined about 40 percent (fig. 6). The trends for in-state harvest and total 

volume processed reversed in the late 1980s, growing by 19 and 26 percent, respectively, as volumes of timber imported for processing declined by 37 percent. 

However, between 1988 and 2000, California timber harvest and processed volumes 

dropped off by 54 and 45 percent, respectively, and imports of timber for processing in California increased 995 percent. Thus, out-of-state timber has accounted for 

over 6 percent of the annual volume processed in California during recent years. 

These trends indicate that, more than ever, California’s mills are searching a larger 

geographic area for timber.
26

GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-615

International exports of timber from California ports averaged 9.3 MMBF 

from 1999 to 2001 (WWPA 2000-2002). This volume would represent less than 

0.5 percent of California’s annual timber harvest during the same period, although 

the reporting body does not indicate how much, if any, of the wood was actually 

harvested in California. The volume of timber exported from California to international destinations has decreased sharply over the last four decades (fig. 7). 

Likewise, the relative share of California’s timber harvest volume that is exported 

has decreased. In 1968, the peak year for California timber exports, 202.4 MMBF 

or about 4 percent of California’s timber harvest was exported, whereas in 1985, 64 

MMBF or 1.6 percent of the state’s harvest was exported (Barrette 1970, Howard 

and Ward 1988). Today it is estimated that less than 0.5 percent is exported. 

Overseas and domestic markets for wood products, as well as legal and policy 

restrictions, affect year-to-year changes in timber exports and have profound effects on timber export volumes. From 1926 to 1968, the federal government did not 

restrict the export of logs from any land ownership class in the United States, 

whereas from 1968 to 1990, timber exports from federally owned or managed 

lands in the Western United States were capped (Gorte and Thomas 1993). Because 

overseas markets (particularly in Japan and Asia) were strong from the mid-1960s 

through the 1980s, the peak in California’s total log exports in 1968 appears to be 

a direct response of log exporters to the cap, whereas a complete ban on the export 

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

1968 1972 1976 1982 1985 1988 1992 1994 2000

0

40,000

80,000

120,000

160,000

200,000

240,000

Processed Harvest Imports

Import volume (thousand board feet)

Harvest and processed volumes (million board feet)

Year

Figure 6—California timber volumes: harvested, processed, and imported.
27

California’s Forest Products Industry: A Descriptive Analysis

of western redcedar (Thuja plicata Donn ex D. Don) logs in 1979 appears to have 

contributed to a 50-percent decrease in California log exports between 1979 and 

1980. The 1990 Forest Resource Conservation and Shortage Relief Act (signed into 

law in 1993) banning log exports from Western federal lands (excluding Alaska) 

altogether, along with economic hardships in Japan and Asia (since the 1990s) have 

contributed to very low levels of log exports in recent years.

Intrastate timber flow—

This section briefly examines the flow of California timber harvested in 2000 to 

mills within the state. Because mill surveys capture actual county-to-county timber 

transfer volumes, the FIDACS was able to summarize the intercounty timber flow 

as well as the net difference between volumes processed and harvested in each 

county. However, numerous counties have too few timber-processing facilities to 

avoid disclosure of firm-level data, so individual county statistics are not reported 

for all counties. Instead, the Coastal and Interior wood-producing regions previously defined and several resource areas consisting of county groups within each 

region (Barrette et al. 1970) are discussed. 

Timber harvested and processed within California is moving further today than 

in the past. In 1968, 74 percent of the volume used by California mills was processed in the county where it was harvested, and 92 percent in the same resource 

area or county group (Barrette et al. 1970). The in-area proportion was 92 percent 

in 1976 and in 1988 (Hiserote and Howard 1978, Howard and Ward 1991). In 1992, 

0

50

100

150

200

250

Year

1961

1966

1971

1976

1981

1986

1991

1996

2001

Log exports (million board feet, Scribner)

Figure 7—California’s international log exports, 1961-2001 (WWPA 1964-2002).
28

GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-615

the in-area proportion was 87 percent (Ward 1995). In 2000, 11 California counties 

processed more timber than they harvested, making them net importers of timber. 

Meanwhile, twice as many counties (22) were net exporters of timber, with harvest 

volumes exceeding processed volumes. Only 50 percent of California’s 2000 timber 

harvest volume was processed in the county where it was harvested, and 82 percent 

in the resource area where it was harvested. 

In 2000, the majority of timber processed in each of California’s resource areas 

tended to originate in that area (table 15). Most of the volume not processed in-area 

tended to move to a more northerly or westerly resource area, or to Oregon. The 

Sacramento and Northern Interior Resource Areas shipped the largest volumes of 

timber to be processed out of area. The Sacramento Resource Area shipped nearly 

161 MMBF, primarily to the Northern Interior; and the Northern Interior Resource 

Area shipped 133 MMBF, primarily to Oregon.

Structure of California’s Forest Products Industry

The 2000 census identified 93 active primary forest products plants in California 

(table 16). These plants produce an array of products including lumber and other 

sawn products, medium-density fiberboard, particleboard, hardboard, bioenergy, 

pulp and paper, shakes and shingles, decorative bark and mulch, and posts, poles, 

and pilings. 

The slightly higher number of forest plants in 2000 versus the last survey in 

1994 (Ward 1997) was due primarily to the inclusion of the bioenergy and decorative bark sectors in the 2000 census, offsetting a decline in the number of sawmills 

and pulp and board facilities. Not reported in 1994, the bioenergy and decorative 

Table 15—California timber flow by resource area, 2000

 Processing area

North Coast and North Out of Total

Harvest area Central Coasta Interior Sacramento San Joaquin state harvest

 Million board feet Scribner

North Coast and Central Coasta

 694.3 26.5 2.2 — 13.7 736.7 

North Interior 18.2 489.2 16.9 — 98.2 622.6 

Sacramento 29.5 120.4 538.3 3.1 7.7 699.0 

San Joaquin .3 — 20.2 171.0 — 191.4 

Out of state 88.2 61.3 1.6 — NA 151.1 

Total processed 830.5 697.4 579.2 174.1 119.6 

— = no timber harvested/processed.

NA = not applicable.

a North Coast and Central Coast resource areas combined to avoid disclosure of firm-level data. 
29

California’s Forest Products Industry: A Descriptive Analysis

bark sectors included 25 and 10 facilities, respectively, in 2000. The number of sawmills dropped by 6, the number of veneer facilities dropped by 2, pulp and board 

facilities decreased by 5, and producers of other products dropped by 4 from 1994 

to 2000.

The number of active plants in recent years is in sharp contrast to the number of 

plants that have operated in California in the past (table 16). In 1956, 695 sawmills 

were in operation (Barrette et al. 1970); however, the last 50 years have witnessed 

extensive closures of smaller and less competitive mills, especially those unable to 

handle smaller logs, leading to the concentration of production capacity into larger, 

more efficient mills. Between 1988 and 2000, the continued reduction in the number of mills was due primarily to reduced timber availability, with a considerable 

number of larger mills closing. Since 2000, about a dozen primary wood products 

facilities have closed (Ehinger 2002, Spelter and Alderman 2002). 

Wood and paper product manufacturing facilities operated in 28 of California’s 

58 counties in calendar year 2000 (table 17). Humboldt County contained 15 active 

timber-processing facilities (including 12 sawmills and one bioenergy plant) in 

2000, followed by Shasta County with 14 facilities (including five mills and seven 

bioenergy plants). Only three other counties had more than five active facilities: 

Mendocino with eight (including six sawmills and one bioenergy plant), Sonoma 

with six (four sawmills and two bark plants), and Tuolumne with six (three sawmills, two bioenergy facilities, and one bark plant). 

Historical sales value figures for the output of California’s forest products industry are available on a consistent basis only for lumber. Based on reported lumber 

sales (WWPA 1964-2002), historical production data, and descriptions of other 

industry sectors in previous industry studies, the annual sales value of California’s 

primary forest products (free on board the producing mill) would have exceeded 

Table 16—Active California primary wood products facilities by sector, 1968-2000

Industry sector 1968 1972 1976 1982 1985 1988 1992 1994 2000

Sawmills 216 176 142 101 89 93 56 53 47

Veneer and Plywood 26 25 21 10 6 6 3 4 2

Pulp and board 17 18 7 10 11 11 9 12 7

Bioenergy

a — — — — — — — — 25

Decorative barka — — — — — — — — 10

Other

b 3 13 13 9 9 9 5 6 2

Total 262 232 183 130 115 119 73 75 93

a

data unavailable for bioenergy and decorative bark sectors for 1968-94.

b Other includes shake and shingle manufacturers as well as post, pole, and piling manufacturers. 
30

GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-615

$4 billion (in constant 2000 dollars) for a number of years in the 1960s and 1970s. 

As recently as 1988, sales value was approximately $4 billion. The total sales value 

of California’s primary forest products plants in 2000 was about $2.3 billion 

(table 18).

Table 17—Active California primary wood products facilities by county and sector, 2000

 Medium-density

 fiberboard and Decorative

County Sawmills Veneer particleboard Bioenergy bark Other a Total

Amador — — 1 1 — — 2

Butte — — — 1 — — 1

Del Norte — — 1 — — 1 2

El Dorado 2 — — — — — 2

Fresno — — — 2 — — 2

Glenn — — — — 1 — 1

Humboldt 12 — 1 1 — 1 15

Kern — — — 1 1 — 2

Lassen 2 — — 3 — — 5

Mendocino 6 — 1 1 — — 8

Nevada 1 — — - — — 1

Placer 1 — 1 2 — — 4

Plumas 2 — — 2 — — 4

Riverside — — — 1 — — 1

San Joaquin — — — — 2 — 2

Santa Clara 1 — — — — — 1

Santa Cruz 1 — — — — — 1

Shasta 5 — — 7 — 2 14

Sierra 1 — — — — — 1

Siskiyou 1 2 — — 1 — 4

Sonoma 4 — — — 2 — 6

Sutter 1 — — — — — 1

Tehama — — — — 1 — 1

Trinity 1 — — — — — 1

Tulare 1 — — — 1 — 2

Tuolomne 3 — — 2 1 — 6

Yolo — — — 1 — — 1

Yuba 2 — — — — — 2

All counties 47 2 5 25 10 4 93

a Other facilities include pulp and paper mills, shake and shingle manufacturers, and post, pole, and piling facilities. 
31

California’s Forest Products Industry: A Descriptive Analysis

Sawmill Sector 

Based on sales value (table 18) and amount of timber processed (table 11), sawmills 

remain the largest component of California’s forest products industry. California 

lumber production volume in the late 1950s peaked at 6.06 billion board feet (fig. 8), 

corresponding with high harvest levels and strong demand as part of the post-World 

War II housing boom. Production was at about 5 billion board feet annually through 

the 1960s and 1970s. Increased lumber recovery per million board feet of timber 

processed somewhat offset slightly lower harvest levels and increased use of timber 

by the plywood industry during the 1960s. 

With very strong markets throughout the 1970s, annual average lumber production exceeded 5 billion board feet (fig. 8), and annual sales value exceeded $3.5 

billion during 4 years of the decade (fig. 9). In late 1979, there was an abrupt and 

extreme downward shift in wood products markets brought on by the most severe 

recession of the post-World War II period. The early 1980s were a time of very low 

prices, and in the severe recession of 1982, lumber production fell to 2,987 MMBF, 

with sales of $1.4 billion. In 1988, California sawmills rebounded with lumber production of 5,671 MMBF and sales of $2.6 billion, owing to a strong national economy, a temporary abundance of timber, and continued increases in lumber recovery 

per unit of timber processed. 

Declining timber availability led to mill closures and declines in lumber production throughout the 1990s, whereas high prices supported a somewhat lesser 

decline in sales value (figs. 8 and 9). Weakening markets and continuing constraints 

on timber availability caused output to drop to 3.1 billion board feet in 2000 with a 

value of $1.4 billion and further declines to 2.7 billion board feet and sales of $1.2 

billion in 2001. In 2000, California’s 47 active sawmills produced just under 9 percent of U.S. production of softwood lumber, or nearly 6 percent of U.S. consumption (WWPA 2000-2002).

Table 18—Sales value of California’s primary wood products, 2000

Product 2000 sales

Thousand

U.S. Dollars

Lumber, timbers, and associated products 1,492,190

Residue-utilizing sector a 463,990

Energy and electric 260,235

Other primary wood products b 77,044

Total, primary wood products 2,293,459

a Residue-utilizing sector includes pulp, paper, and board manufacturers, and decorative bark. 

b

 Other products include veneer, shakes and shingles, and posts, poles, and pilings.
32

GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-615

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

Year

Lumber production (million board feet, lumber tally)

Softwood only

does not include

redwood region 1951

1956

1961

1966

1971

1976

1981

19861991

1996

2001

Figure 8—California’s lumber production, 1947-2001 (WPA 1954, WWPA 1964-2002).

$0

$500

$1,000

$1,500

$2,000

$2,500

$3,000

$3,500

$4,000

Year

1969

1971

1973

1975

1977

1979

1981

1983

1985

1987

1989

1991

1993

1995

1997

1999

2001

Lumber sales (million 2000 dollars)

Figure 9—California’s inflation-adjusted lumber sales, 1969-2001.
33

California’s Forest Products Industry: A Descriptive Analysis

Plywood and Veneer Sector 

California’s plywood and veneer sector rapidly emerged, climaxed, and has all but 

disappeared over the past 60 years. Plywood production grew steadily from the late 

1940s, peaking at 1.3 billion square feet in 1964 (fig. 10). Production then began 

a steady decline until 1992--the last year plywood production was reported for a 

California mill. 

A number of reasons appear to account for the decline and disappearance of 

California’s plywood industry. Howard (1974) indicates reduced availability of 

large-diameter Douglas-fir as a factor leading to subsequent decreases in plywood 

manufacture. Additionally, a spike in log exports in the late 1960s and early 1970s 

also potentially brought increased competition for logs. Longer term market conditions, in particular increasing competition with oriented strand board during the 

1980s, led to plywood plant closures, especially in the high-cost producing regions 

in the Western United States (Adams 2002). There are currently only two mills in 

California producing veneer for further manufacture into plywood by mills operating in Oregon. Additional detail about these facilities cannot be provided without 

disclosing firm-level data. 

0

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

1,400

Year

1951

1956

1961

1966

1971

1976

1981

1986

1991

1996

2001

Plywood production (million square feet)

Figure 10—California’s plywood production, 1947-2001.
34

GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-615

Bioenergy Sector 

California’s bioenergy sector in 2000 comprised plants ranging from cogeneration 

facilities at sawmills, producing steam and electricity, to stand-alone facilities using mixtures of urban, agricultural, and mill wastes, timber, and even geothermal 

energy to generate and sell electricity. Of the more than 30 bioenergy facilities operating in California in 2000, 25 were identified as using some type of wood fiber, 

including roundwood, forest chips (i.e., trees chipped in the forest), slash, and mill 

residues. Only two facilities operated solely on mill residues, six used a mixture of 

agricultural and urban wastes and mill residues but no forest chips, and 17 facilities 

used the full complement of biomass sources including mill residues, forest chips,

and agricultural and urban wastes. Other facilities using only urban or agricultural 

wastes (including rice hulls or walnut shells) were not included in this analysis. 

California’s bioenergy sector used almost 55 MMBF of timber in 2000, about 

2.4 percent of the state’s timber harvest. About 360,000 board feet (0.7 percent) 

of the timber used came from out of state. Of the timber harvested for bioenergy 

in California, 76 percent came from private lands and the remainder from national 

forests. True firs and ponderosa pine were the species most often harvested 

for bioenergy. 

Consuming almost half (1.4 million BDUs) of wood residues generated by 

California’s primary wood products industry, the bioenergy sector is quite important to the forest products industry, especially given recent declines in the state’s 

pulp, paper, and board sectors. Without these bioenergy facilities, sawmills would 

face disposal costs for residues that may otherwise go unused. Instead, the bioenergy sector purchases the residues and produces energy, providing the wood products 

industry with additional revenue. 

The total energy-producing capacity of the 25 wood-using bioenergy facilities 

operating in 2000 exceeded 470 MW: seven facilities rated at 10 MW or less, six 

between 10 and 20 MW, and 12 greater than 20 MW. These facilities generated and 

sold over 3.1 million megawatt hours (MWh) of power in 2000. One MWh represents one month’s power consumption for about 1,000 typical Californian homes 

(California Energy Commission 2003). Not surprisingly, nearly all the energy generated by the bioenergy facilities in 2000 was sold in California. Sales value of this 

energy totaled aproximately $260 million (table 18), or about $ 0.0825 per kilowatt 

hour (kWh) on average. During the energy crisis of 2000, spot market prices for 

electricity ranged from $0.03 to $0.30 per kWh. Current contract prices for electricity from bioenergy facilities range from $0.05 to $0.08 per kWh.
35

California’s Forest Products Industry: A Descriptive Analysis

Other Sectors 

Included in the “other sectors” category of the primary wood products industry 

in California are residue-utilizing manufacturers, bark and mulch processors, and 

other manufacturers who make shakes, shingles, and utility poles from timber. 

Relatively small volumes of timber were processed by these other sector firms in 

2000, but they utilized much of the mill residues generated by sawmills and other 

timber processors. Additional detail on the volumes of residues used by these firms 

can be found in the “End Uses of California’s 2000 Timber Harvest” and “Mill 

Residue” sections of this paper. Sales for the residue-utilizing and other primary 

wood products totaled nearly $541 million in 2000 (table 18). Sales values for some 

of the separate sectors are withheld to avoid disclosure of firm-level data. 

Residue-utilizing manufacturers—

The number of residue-utilizing manufacturers operating in California has generally been declining over the past four decades (table 16). In 1994, there were 12 

pulp and paper and board firms, whereas in 1972 there were 18 (9 pulp and paper 

mills and 9 board facilities). In 2000, California’s residue-utilizing manufacturers 

included three particleboard plants, one pulp mill, one pulp and paper mill, one medium-density fiberboard facility, and one hardboard manufacturer. Sales from these 

seven firms totaled about $418 million in 2000. Based on published annual and (8-

hour) shift capacities (Miller Freeman, Inc. 1999, Paperloop 2000, Random Lengths 

2001), annual capacity of the reconstituted board manufacturers totaled about 715 

million square feet in 2000, and capacity of the pulp and paper mills totaled 420 

thousand tons of pulp and paper in 2000. As of January 2003, the hardboard facility 

had closed, one pulp and paper mill had closed, and one particleboard plant was 

sold but is operating under new ownership.

Bark and mulch processors—

Prior to the early 1970s, the bark removed from timber during the production of 

lumber and other primary products was usually burned on site for fuel, buried in 

landfills, or burned as waste. A market developed by the nursery and gardening industry led to the establishment of 3 decorative bark mills by 1975; this number had 

grown to 10 by 2000. Sales from these producers totaled about $46 million. Bark 

and mulch manufacturers produced a variety of products from the raw material, including decorative bark, landscape bark, utility chips, and mulch, sold in both bulk 

and bagged form. Sales from these bark and mulch facilities have continued to grow 

and exceeded $63 million in 2002. 
36

GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-615

Other manufacturers—

The remaining primary wood products manufacturers surveyed in 2000 included 

one shake and shingle manufacturer and a utility pole producer. The number and 

variety of facilities composing California’s “other” (wood product) manufacturers 

have varied throughout the years (table 16). Surveys have not always been successful at determining the total number of facilities operating, and cooperation, as well 

as production, by many of these smaller timber users has been sporadic. These 

producers typically are very small, family-run operations that come and go as local 

demand for their products waxes or wanes. Because of the limited number of facilities, no production data are reported for these firms in 2000. 

Plant Capacity

This section focuses on capacity to process timber—specifically sawtimber—from 

1988 through 2001 and the utilized proportion of that capacity. Sawtimber is timber 

of “sufficient size and quality to be suitable for conversion into lumber” (Random 

Lengths 1993). California’s sawtimber processing plants include sawmills, veneer 

mills, and utility pole plants. Capacity for 2000 was developed from this census 

of California’s forest products industry; capacity for previous years was estimated 

based on changes from the 2000 base by using reported mill closures (Ehinger 

2002, Spelter and McKeever 2002) and previous industry censuses, which provide 

some data on capacity in units of output such as board feet of lumber (Howard and 

Ward 1991, Ward 1995).

Sawtimber Processing Capacity 

Through the FIDACS census, California mills were asked for their 8-hour shift 

and annual production capacities, given sufficient supplies of raw materials and 

firm market demand for their products. Most mills estimated annual capacity equal 

to two 8- or 9-hour shifts daily for 220 to 260 days per year. Some of the larger 

mills expressed capacity comparable to three 8-hour shifts or 120 hours per week. 

Smaller mills generally reported annual capacity at only one shift per day, for not 

more than 240 days per year. 

Sawmill capacity was reported in thousand board feet, lumber tally. Veneer 

capacity was reported in thousands of square feet on a 3/8-inch basis, and utility 

pole capacity was reported in lineal feet of poles. To combine the capacity figures for the state’s sawtimber users and to estimate the industry’s total capacity to 

process sawtimber, capacity was expressed in units of raw material input (million 

board feet of timber Scribner Decimal C) and called processing capacity. Sawmill 

capacity figures were adjusted to million board feet of timber Scribner Decimal C
37

California’s Forest Products Industry: A Descriptive Analysis

log scale by dividing production capacity in lumber tally by each mill’s lumber 

recovery per board foot Scribner of timber processed. Veneer capacity figures were 

adjusted to million board feet Scribner by dividing production capacity in square 

feet of 3/8-inch veneer by each mill’s veneer recovery figure. Capacities for utility 

pole plants were adjusted to thousand board feet Scribner by multiplying capacity in 

lineal feet by an average Scribner board-foot volume per piece or per lineal foot. 

California’s capacity to process timber in 2000 was an estimated 2.68 billion 

board feet Scribner, of which 83 percent was utilized with mills processing just over 

2.2 billion board feet (fig. 11). Several mill closures in 2001 reduced capacity to 2.5 

billion board feet Scribner, processing about 1.9 billion board feet. In 2002, three 

additional sawmill closures were announced. Although this decline was somewhat 

offset by expansion at a number of existing facilities, it appears that in 2002, 

capacity to process sawtimber fell to about 2.4 billion board feet. 

Certainly the poor lumber markets of the last 3 years have contributed to these 

recent declines in timber-processing capacity, but they are a continuation of steady 

substantial declines since the late 1980s. Annual timber-processing capacity in 

California was an estimated 6 billion board feet Scribner in 1988, when the state’s 

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

7,000

1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001

Total capacity 

Capacity used

Year

Timber processing capacity (million board feet,Scribner)

Figure 11—California’s capacity for processing sawtimber, 1988-2001.
38

GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-615

sawtimber users processed over 4 billion board feet. With the impacts described 

earlier, but in particular because of declining federal timber offerings and increased 

state regulations, capacity dropped consistently through the 1990s, even in years 

with lumber prices (Random Lengths 1976-2001) at or near record-high levels.

Lumber Recovery Factor and Overrun 

Product recovery ratios, or the volume of output per unit of input, are reported for 

California’s sawmills as lumber recovery factors (LRFs) and overrun. The LRF is 

the lumber output (in thousand board feet lumber tally) divided by the timber input 

(thousand cubic feet). The volume of sawtimber used by California’s sawmills in 

2000 was approximately 400 MMCF, and lumber production was about 3.1 billion 

board feet (lumber tally). Thus the statewide LRF for California sawmills in 2000 

was 7.96 board feet of lumber per cubic foot of log input. 

Between 1968 and 1988, there was a 30-percent increase in overrun, the boardfoot volume of lumber produced per board foot (Scribner) of timber input. In 1988, 

California sawmills produced around 5,671 MMBF (lumber tally) by processing 

about 3,824 MMBF, Scribner Decimal C, of logs (Howard and Ward 1991) for an 

overrun of 1.48. This compares to overruns of 1.14 in 1968, 1.23 in 1972, 1.32 in 

1976, 1.27 in 1982, and 1.39 in 1985 (Barrette et al. 1970; Hiserote and Howard 

1978; Howard 1974, 1984; Howard and Ward 1988). Between 1988 and 2000, overrun increased another 3 percent. The volume-weighted statewide average overrun in 

2000 was 1.53 board feet of lumber per board foot of timber. 

Increases in overrun are attributable primarily to improvements in technology 

and smaller log sizes. Technological improvements have made California mills 

more efficient in numerous ways. Log size (diameter and length) sensing capabilities linked to computers determine the best sawing pattern for logs to recover either 

the greatest volume or greatest value from each log. Improved sawing accuracies 

have reduced the amount of size variation in sawn lumber increasing solid wood 

recovery. Thinner kerf saws reduce the proportion of the log that becomes sawdust. 

Additionally, the average log diameter has decreased over the past 50 years. As log 

diameters decrease, the Scribner log rule, which is used in California, underestimates by an increasing amount the volume of lumber that can be recovered from a 

log, thus increasing overrun. 

Lumber Production Capacity 

Capacity to produce lumber varies widely among California’s 47 sawmills, and the 

proportion of capacity utilized is highly correlated with mill size (table 19). Total 

lumber production during 2000 was 3,138 MMBF, whereas production capacity was 
39

California’s Forest Products Industry: A Descriptive Analysis

slightly over 3,878 MMBF lumber tally. Thus, approximately 81 percent of California’s total lumber-producing capacity was utilized. A majority, 2,259 MMBF (58.2 

percent) of lumber-producing capacity, was aggregated among the 16 mills with 

capacity greater than 100 MMBF of lumber output. These largest mills accounted 

for 60.7 percent (1,903 MMBF) of lumber production, and utilized on average 

84 percent of their lumber-producing capacity. Mills with capacities of 50 to 100 

MMBF accounted for 1,467 MMBF (37.8 percent) of total capacity, produced 1,134 

MMBF (36.1 percent) of the state’s lumber, and on average utilized slightly less, 

about 77 percent, of their capacity. The remaining 13 sawmills accounted for less 

than 4 percent (153 MMBF) of lumber-producing capacity and less than 4 percent 

(100 MMBF) of total production. These smallest mills utilized the smallest proportion (about 66 percent) of their available lumber-producing capacity.

Mill Residue: Quantity, Type, and Use 

As indicated earlier in this report, a substantial portion, about 60 percent, of the 

wood fiber (including bark) processed by primary forest products plants ends up as 

mill residue. Mill residue from primary wood products manufacturers can present 

difficult and expensive disposal problems, or it can be used to produce additional 

products and generate revenue. California’s substantial bioenergy industry is the 

largest consumer of residues generated in the state, whereas sawmills are the largest 

residue producers.

Three types of wood residues are typically created by California’s primary 

wood products industry: coarse or chippable residue consisting of slabs, edging, 

trim, log ends, and pieces of veneer; fine residue consisting primarily of planer 

shavings and sawdust; and bark. The 2000 census gathered information on volumes 

and uses of mill residue. Actual residue volumes, reported in BDUs, were obtained 

from facilities that sold all or most of their residues. All mills reported, on a percentage basis, how their residues were used. One BDU is the equivalent of 2,400 

pounds of ovendry wood.

Residue volume factors, which express mill residue generated per unit of 

lumber produced, were derived from production, and from residue output volumes 

provided by mills. California’s sawmill residue factors for 2000 are shown in table 

20 and represent statewide averages. Sawmills accounted for 94.9 percent of all 

mill residues generated in California in 2000. In 2000, California sawmills generated more than 2.8 million BDUs of mill residue; 98.1 percent of this residue was 

utilized (table 21). 

Other facilities produced 153,000 BDUs of residues, meaning all California

timber processors generated about 3 billion BDUs of residue in 2000 (table 22). 
40

GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-615

Table 20—California’s sawmill residue factors, 2000 Type of residue Bone-dry units a

Per thousand board feet lumber tally

Coarse 0.41Sawdust .15Planer shavings .13Bark .23Total .92a Bone dry units (2,400 pounds of ovendry wood) of the various residue types 

Table 

generated for every 1,000 board feet of lumber manufactured.

19—Number of active California swamills, capacity, production, and proportion of capacity utilized by capacity size class, 2000

Number of Percentage Average capacity Percentage of Average production Capacity

Capacity size class mills Capacity total capacity per mill Production total production per mill utilized

 MMBF a Percent MMBF a MMBF a Percent MMBF a Percent 

10 MMBF or less 6 11.6 0.3 1.9 7.3 0.2 1.2 62.9 

Over 10 to 50 MMBF 7 141.0 3.6 20.1 93.1 3.0 13.3 66.1 Over 50 to 100 MMBF 18 1,467.1 37.8 81.5 1,134.1 36.1 63.0 77.3 

Over 100 MMBF 16 2,258.8 58.2 141.2 1,903.2 60.7 119.0 84.3

Total 47 3,878.5 100.0 82.5 3,137.7 100.0 66.8 80.9

a MMBF = million board feet lumber tally.
41

California’s Forest Products Industry: A Descriptive Analysis

Coarse residue was the state’s largest wood products residue component (45.8 

percent of all residues). California’s primary wood products facilities produced 1.3 

million BDUs of coarse residue, of which only 26,000 BDU (2 percent) were not 

utilized for some purpose. About 65 percent of coarse residues was chipped and 

used by the pulp and paper industry and reconstituted board plants, 29 percent was 

burned by the bioenergy sector, and about 4 percent was sold and used for other 

products.

Fine residues—sawdust and planer shavings—made up the second largest 

component (28.7 percent) of residues, 868,000 BDUs in 2000 (table 22). Sawdust 

composed 54 percent and planer shavings 46 percent of fine residues. All but 8,000 

BDUs (1 percent) of fine residues were utilized in some fashion, primarily as fuel 

(437,000 BDUs) or in reconstituted products (328,000 BDUs). California facilities generated 771,000 BDUs of bark while processing timber in 2000—all but 3 

percent of which was used by other sectors. Seventy-two percent of bark (555,000 

BDUs) was used as hogfuel, and 25 percent (196,000 BDUs) was used as decorative 

bark or soil additives. 

Table 22—California’s production and disposition of wood products residues, 2000

 Total Reconstituted Other 

Type of residue utilized products Hogfuel uses Unused Total

 Bone-dry units

Coarsea

 1,359,053 902,537 395,681 60,835 26,000 1,385,053 

Fine:a

 Sawdust 461,362 105,590 319,783 35,989 7,762 469,124 

 Planer shavings 398,792 222,324 117,266 59,202 605 399,397 

Barka 750,742 — 555,065 195,677 19,873 770,615 

Total 2,969,949 1,230,451 1,387,795 351,703 54,240 3,024,189 

a Includes residue from the manufacture of post and poles, as well as lumber and plywood.

Table 21—Volume of wood residue generated by California’s sawmills, 2000

 Wood residue Percentage of type Percentage 

Residue type Used Unused Total Used Unused of total

------------ Bone-dry units ------------- ------------- Percent -------------

Coarse 1,265,090 26,000 1,291,090 98.0 2.0 45

Finea 852,956 8,367 861,323 99.0 1.0 30

Bark 699,029 19,873 718,902 97.2 2.8 25

Total 2,817,075 54,240 2,871,315 98.1 1.9 100

a Fine residue includes sawdust and planer shavings.
42

GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-615

Forest Product Sales, Employment, and 

Worker Earnings 

Product Markets and Sales Values 

Mills responding to the FIDACS survey summarized their calendar year 2000 shipments of finished wood products, providing information on volume, sales value, and 

geographic destination. Mills usually distributed their products either through their 

own distribution channels or through independent wholesalers and selling agents. 

Because of subsequent transactions, the geographic destination reported here may 

not reflect final delivery points of shipments. The map in figure 12 shows the regions where California’s manufactured wood products were distributed in 2000. 

The 2000 census collected market information by geographic destination and 

product type (table 23). California’s primary wood products sales, including 

bioenergy, totaled nearly $2.3 billion in 2000. Sales of lumber and sawn products 

accounted for 65 percent of total sales, slightly less than $1.5 billion. The residueutilizing sector accounted for 20 percent ($464 million) of sales, bioenergy sales 

made up 11 percent ($260 million), and other products made up the remaining 

4 percent ($77 million). 

AL AK

AZ

AR

CA CO 

GA

HI

ID IL IN

IA

KS

KY

LA

ME

MD

MA

MI

MN

MS

MO

MT

NE

NE NJ

NM

NY

NC

ND

OH

OK

OR

PA

RI

SC

SD

TN

TX

UT

VT

VA

WA

WV

WI

WY

5

6

1

4

2

3

2

NH

CT

DE

FL

Figure 12—Shipment destinations of California’s primary wood products. Regions are California (1), 

Far West (2), Rocky Mountain (3), North Central (4), South (5), and Northeast (6).
43

California’s Forest Products Industry: A Descriptive Analysis

Table 23—Destination and value of California’s primary wood products sales, 2000Product California Far West Rockies North Central Northeast South Canada Pacific Rim Total

 Thousands of dollars (2000 dollars)

Lumber, timbers, and 937,630 147,263 151,730 147,661 43,306 56,711 6,207 1,682 1,492,190 associated products

Residue-utilizing sector a 219,855 41,762 23,783 65,624 40,664 2,977 69,326 – 463,990 

Energy and electric 260,235 – – – – – – – 260,235 Other primary wood productsb 575 74,650 1,578 – 5 5 – 230 77,044 All primary wood products 1,418,295 263,675 177,091 213,285 83,975 59,693 75,533 1,912 2,293,459a Residue-utilizing sector includes facilities that use residues from the manufacture of lumber and other products, including pulp mills, board facilities, and bark plants. b Other products include veneer, shakes and shingles, and posts, poles, and pilings. 
44

GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-615

At $1.4 billion and 62 percent of total sales, California is its own largest market 

for wood and paper products. The majority (63 percent) of lumber remains in the 

state, whereas almost half (47 percent) of all products from the residue-utilizing 

sector are retained in-state. All energy and electricity produced by the bioenergy 

sector also are used in-state. “Other” primary wood products are sold in higher 

proportions out of state: California retains less than 1 percent while selling the 

majority (97 percent) of “other” products to the Far Western States. 

The Far Western States, other than California, make up the second largest 

market for primary wood products, at close to $264 million or 11 percent of 2000 

sales. Nearly 10 percent of all lumber is bought by users in these states, and lumber 

constitutes 56 percent of sales to the region. 

The North Central States accounted for 9 percent of California’s primary forest 

industry sales, the majority of it (69 percent) lumber. The Rocky Mountain states 

received 8 percent of total sales value, again most of it lumber (86 percent). Sales to 

the Northeast totaled close to $84 million, or 4 percent of total California primary 

wood product sales, while sales to the South approached $60 million, or almost 

3 percent. 

Exports constituted a small percentage of California’s total primary wood 

products sales in 2000. An estimated $75.5 million in products went to Canada, 

3.3 percent of total sales, the bulk of it from the residue-utilizing sector. An even 

smaller portion went to the Pacific Rim countries: $1.9 million, or less than 1 

percent. Almost all of this volume was lumber.

Employment and Worker Earnings in California’s Forest 

Products Industry 

For this section, employment data developed as part of the FIDACS census was 

used in conjunction with employment and earnings data from the U.S. Department 

of Commerce, Regional Economic Information System (REIS) to identify employment and labor income for California’s primary and secondary forest products industry. The primary forest products industry includes logging, processing logs into 

lumber and other wood products, processing wood residues from timber-processing 

plants into outputs such as paper or electricity, and private sector forest management services. The secondary industry, as defined in this report, includes the further processing of the outputs from the primary industry, although the outputs may 

be from California or elsewhere. 

Most of the primary and secondary industry is reported in three standard industrial classifications (SIC) as defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget: 

SIC 08—forestry services; SIC 24—lumber and wood products; and SIC 26—pulp, 
45

California’s Forest Products Industry: A Descriptive Analysis

paper, and allied products. These classifications were used to estimate total employment and income to workers (labor income) in California’s forest products industry. 

They provide a conservative representation of the wood and paper products industry, as they capture the majority of the primary and secondary activity. However, a 

number of activities, involving several thousand workers, are not included in these 

three classifications. These activities include the hauling of logs by independent 

truckers, hauling of finished products by truck, rail, or barge, and forest management activities related to timber production by government employees. Additionally, a portion of the secondary industry—wood furniture—is found in SIC 25, 

and thus is not included in this discussion. 

Based on these three SICs (08, 24, and 26), approximately 112,700 workers, 

earning $4.5 billion annually, were directly employed in the primary and secondary wood and paper products industry in California in 2000 (USDC Bureau of 

Economic Analysis 2003). Approximately 25,000 of these were employed in the 

harvesting and processing of timber or in private sector land management, earning 

approximately $900 million dollars in labor income. The remaining component of 

the industry can be classified as secondary and employed 87,700 workers in 2000, 

with worker earnings of approximately $3.6 billion. 

Total employment and inflation-adjusted labor income in California’s wood and 

paper products industry have both increased since 1969; however, recent levels are 

below the peaks reached in the late 1970s and late 1980s (figs. 13 and 14). Furthermore, the majority of the volatility in employment and labor income in the wood 

and paper products industry is due primarily to fluctuations in SIC 24—lumber and 

wood products. Although SIC 26—paper and allied products—has remained stable 

throughout the past three decades, SIC 24 has fluctuated greatly, showing several 

peaks and troughs with more extreme variation. This suggests that SIC 24 is more 

sensitive than SIC 26 to recessionary periods such as those experienced in the early 

1980s and early 1990s when declines in home construction reduced the demand for 

lumber and wood products (McWilliams and Goldman 1994). Additionally, labor 

income numbers have fluctuated more than employment numbers over the past 30 

years, generally because firms tend to reduce their workers’ hours rather than lay 

employees off should there be a drop in business. 

The long-term increases have been due almost entirely to gains in the secondary industry, whereas the declines are attributable to losses in California’s primary 

industry. For example, since the late 1980s, overall employment in California’s 

wood and paper products industry declined by 6.5 percent, from 120,600 to 112,700 

workers. Although there was growth in secondary manufacturing, primary industry 

employment went from over 40,000 workers in the late 1980s to about 25,000 in 
46

GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-615

50

75

100

125

150

Year

1969

1972

1975

1978

1981

1984

1987

1990

1993

1996

1999

Number of workers (thousands)

3,000

3,500

4,000

4,500

5,000

Year

1969

1972

1975

1978

1981

1984

1987

1990

1993

1996

1999

Labor income (millions of 2000 dollars

Figure 13—Employment in California’s wood and paper products industry 1969-2000.

Figure 14—Adjusted labor income in California’s wood and paper products industry, 1969-2000.
47

California’s Forest Products Industry: A Descriptive Analysis

2000, a decline of nearly 40 percent, primarily because of reduced timber availability. The primary industry employment in 2000 was distributed in the following 

sectors: 

• Logging and forest management 12,900 

• Sawmills 8,100 

• All other manufacturers 4,000

Forest Industry Labor Income in Northern California 

The REIS is the only employment data available that includes self-employed workers, a significant portion of the primary industry. However, these data are not available at the 2-digit SIC level for individual counties and can thus only be provided 

at the state level. Labor income data, on the other hand, are available at the 2-digit 

level for each county and are used as substitutes to represent the relative size of 

the industry in substate regions. The proportionate contribution of the industry is 

expressed as labor income to workers in the industry as a percentage of total labor 

income in a given area (fig. 15). Currently, the most recent REIS data are for 2000. 

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

1970 1980 1990 2000

Year

Northern

California

Central/Southern

California

Labor income (percent)

Figure 15—Labor income for wood and paper products industry as a percentage of all labor income 

in California.
48

GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-615

The primary segments of the California wood and paper products industry are 

concentrated in the state’s northern counties (i.e., Del Norte, Humboldt, Lassen, 

Mendocino, Modoc, Plumas, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Tehama, and Trinity). These 

11 northern counties are home to only 1.8 percent of the state’s population and 

about 1.0 percent of labor income. In 2000, 8.8 percent of the region’s total labor 

income, $688 million, was directly in the wood and paper products industry. When 

indirect industries, such as transportation and business services, and spending of 

industry workers are considered, the wood and paper products industry accounted 

for about 15 percent of total labor income in these counties in 2000. 

Historically, the industry has had a very substantial place in the economy of this 

region. In 1970, 24.3 percent of labor income was directly in the wood and paper 

products industry. When considering indirect and induced activities, the industry 

certainly provided over one-third of total labor income in these counties. However, 

with diversification of the region’s economy and declines in wood and paper products, direct labor income had fallen to just over 12 percent in 1990. 

Naturally, the industry has been more important in some counties than in others. Sierra County was and remains the most timber dependent. In 1970, the industry accounted for almost 73 percent of labor income in the least populated county 

in the northern region, indicating overwhelming dominance of the forest products 

industry in the county’s economy. Again, with growth in other sectors and declines 

in wood products, the industry’s relative proportion fell and now accounts for only 

16.6 percent. However, this constitutes a larger share than in any of the other northern counties. Likewise, in 1970, 27.2 percent of Humboldt County’s labor income 

was directly in the forest products industry. In 2000, this share had fallen to 12.7 

percent, still the second largest share in the region. In terms of total labor income 

and population, Humboldt County is the second largest county in the northern 

region, but it has experienced one of the region’s slowest growth rates for the past 

three decades, perhaps indicating the negative influence of a loss of over $100 

million in forest industry labor income. 

California Forest Products Leaders Survey and Outlook 

To better understand the general operating climate of California’s primary wood 

products industry, the BBER conducted an industry leaders survey in fall 2002 and 

spring 2003. The survey consisted of three sections and examined issues facing 

the industry at various times. The first section dealt with major issues affecting the 

forest products industry during the past 10 years. The second section considered 

current firm performance, comparing 2002 to 2001. The third section dealt with the 

industry outlook for the next 5 years. Approximately 40 individuals were identified 
49

California’s Forest Products Industry: A Descriptive Analysis

as industry leaders and received the survey electronically. Followup interviews of 

those who did not respond to the electronic survey were conducted via telephone. 

The final group of respondents included 32 mill managers, land managers, and 

other key executives. 

Past 10 Years

Respondents were asked to rank six issues in terms of importance to their firm’s 

operation during the past 10 years (table 24). Eighty-one percent of respondents 

ranked state of California regulations as the most important issue. Market conditions also ranked high, along with timber availability (all ownerships), and federal 

regulations. Improvements in harvesting and milling technology, as well as the 

availability of skilled labor, were indicated as less important to the industry over 

the past 10 years. 

 According to some industry leaders, stringent California regulations with 

respect to air and water quality, endangered species, and labor safety influenced 

factors such as timber availability, responsiveness to market conditions, and technological improvements. These industry leaders indicated that regulations hampered 

the competitiveness of the California forest products industry. 

Current Conditions

The second section of the survey considered firm performance in calendar year 

2002 relative to calendar year 2001, focusing on three different aspects: production 

(in units of output), gross sales, and profits (table 25). Thirty-one percent of respondents saw an increase in gross sales and profits, another 31 percent saw a decrease, 

and 38 percent saw no change in either variable. However, 37 percent experienced 

an increase in production, while 19 percent saw a decrease, and 44 percent saw 

production levels stay the same from 2001 to 2002. This reflected the very weak 

lumber markets in 2002, which caused some firms to increase production in the 

face of lower prices to show gross sales and profit levels about even with 2001. 

When asked about investment expenditures in 2002, 38 percent of the respondents said their firm had made major capital expenditures on facilities and equipment during the year, whereas 62 percent had not.

Five-Year Outlook

The third section of the survey dealt with the outlook for California’s forest 

products industry for the next 5 years. In terms of anticipated firm performance, 

most respondents expected an increase in the prices they receive for their products 

in the future (table 26). However, they also expect to have to pay more for their 

firm’s major inputs. Gross sales are expected to increase somewhat, as are profits. 
50

GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-615

 

Table 24—Issues important to California’s forest industry leaders, past 10 years

Very Mostly Slightly Slightly Mostly Very

Importance of following unimportant unimportant unimportant Neutral important important important

Rank issues over the last 10 years Mean -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3

 Percent

1 State of California regulations 2.56 3 0 9 0 0 6 81

2 Market conditions 1.91 3 0 6 6 13 22 50

3 Timber availability 1.66 13 6 3 0 3 9 664 Federal regulations 1.34 3 6 3 16 16 25 31

5 Harvesting/milling technology .75 3 6 9 19 31 19 13

6 Skilled labor availability .53 9 0 16 22 25 12 16

Table 25—Expectations of California’s forest industry leaders, 

calendar year 2002

Performance aspect Increase Stay same Decrease

Percent

Gross sales 31 38 31

Production 37 44 19

Profits 31 38 31

Table 26—Expectations of California’s forest industry leaders, 

next 5 years

Increase About Decrease

Performance aspect over 2002 same as 2002 from 2002

 Percent

Prices received for firm’s product 51 39 10

Cost of firm’s major inputs 45 52 3

Firm’s gross sales 55 23 23

Overall outlook for 2007 45 29 26

Firm’s profits 50 18 32

Firm’s production 40 37 23
51

California’s Forest Products Industry: A Descriptive Analysis

The overall outlook for the next 5 years is generally positive, and most respondents expect their firm to make major capital expenditures between 2002 and 2007. 

 Respondents were then asked to rank the importance of a list of issues expected 

to influence firm performance in the coming years (table 27). Energy costs emerged 

at the top of the list. Recalling the highly volatile energy markets of recent years, 

respondents indicated that these costs will be the most important issue in the years 

to come as they are faced with the risk of changing electricity costs and increases in 

the cost of sources of energy. 

 Clearly, the regulation issues that were important in the past 10 years continue to be major concerns to the industry. California regulations rank second in 

importance, followed by timber availability from private ownerships, the state of 

domestic finished product markets, and skilled labor availability. The availability of 

skilled labor has not been a major issue in the past 10 years; however, it is expected 

to become one in the next 5 years, likely on account of high retirement turnover. 

 Other items ranked as relatively important by forest products industry leaders

for the next 5 years include taxes (federal, state, and local) and the influence of 

environmental groups and urban societal values on natural resource management. 

Foreign competition ranked ninth, and the associated foreign finished products 

markets ranked 13th. Timber availability from federal lands ranked 10th, followed 

by labor costs and federal regulations. Of lesser importance for the next 5 years 

were domestic competition, harvesting and milling technology, and timber availability from ownerships other than federal or private. Quality of labor/management 

relations ranked last. 

The relatively low importance of timber availability from federal lands is likely 

a result of California’s large-scale mill closures in the 1990s. Many mills that did 

rely heavily on federal timber are no longer in business. Most current producers 

no longer consider federal lands a reliable source of timber, and instead plan their 

future operations based on timber from private land. However, several respondents 

clearly indicated that federal timber availability is important to their firms’ futures. 

One respondent stated that a “federal timber supply will be a critical factor in 

maintaining a log supply in the coming years,” and another volunteered that “if no 

federal timber [becomes] available, we will be out of business by [the] end of 2004.” 

 When prompted for additional comments regarding the major issues facing 

their firms over the next 5 years, several respondents addressed regulatory issues. 

In the words of one respondent, “Cost of regulation makes it difficult to compete 

with other states, let alone other countries.” Another respondent addressed the 

higher costs brought about by regulation, and others complained about increasing 

regulation and regulatory gridlock, as well as other problems associated with 
52

GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-615 Table 

2

7

—Issues important to California’s forest industry leaders, next 5 years.

Very Mostly Slightly Slightly Mostly Very

 unimportant unimportant unimportant Neutral important important important

Rank Issues Mean -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3

 Percent

1 Energy costs 1.71 0 0 6 7 29 29 292 California regulations 1.60 3 0 0 6 23 42 26

3 Timber availability—private land 1.45 0 0 10 21 17 17 35

4 Domestic finished product markets 1.39 0 10 3 16 16 19 365 Availability of skilled labor 1.38 3 3 0 18 28 17 31

6 Urban value influences  on resource mgmt. a 1.36 7 7 7 0 22 14 43

7 Environmental group influences 

on resource mgmt. a 1.36 7 0 0 7 36 29 21

8 Taxes (federal and/or state) 1.29 7 0 0 14 14 43 22

9 Foreign competition 1.26 19 0 3 3 7 23 4510 Timber availability—federal land 1.17 10 0 0 24 10 28 28

11 Labor costs a 1.14 14 7 0 7 7 29 36

12 Federal regulations 1.02 0 3 10 3 37 40 713 Foreign finished product markets .90 6 10 10 16 10 16 32

14 Domestic competition .61 6 10 6 10 45 7 16

15 Harvesting/milling technology .32 19 6 10 13 10 23 19

16 Timber availability—other ownerships .26 15 7 11 18 15 19 15

17 Labor/management relations .00 7 14 22 22 14 7 14

a Question only asked in online survey.
53

California’s Forest Products Industry: A Descriptive Analysis

compliance. On a related issue, one respondent noted, “The constant manpower and 

money drain required to deal with anti-timber legislation is increasing costs and 

making us noncompetitive.” 

Metric Equivalents

When you know: Multiply by: To get:

Inches 2.54 Centimeters

Acres .405 Hectares

Square feet .0929 Square meters

Cubic feet .0283 Cubic meters

Megawatts 859,845 Kilocalories per hour

Megawatt hours 859,845 Kilocalories

Kilowatt hours 859.845 Kilocalories

Pounds .4536 Kilograms

Tons .9072 Metric tonne

Bone-dry unit 1.2 Bone-dry ton (not metric)

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GENERAL TECHNICAL REPORT PNW-GTR-615

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Pacific Northwest Research Station

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