Forest Service | November 2017

e-S c i e n c e U p d a t e S RS-1 2 5

Mississippi’s

Timber Industry—Timber Product Output and Use, 2015

1

Introduction

This science update contains the findings of a 2015 canvass of all 

primary wood-using plants in Mississippi, and presents changes in 

product output and residue use since 2013. It complements the 

Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) annual inventory of volume 

and removals from the State’s timberland. The canvass was 

conducted to determine the amount and source of wood receipts and 

annual timber product drain, by county, in 2015 and to determine 

interstate and cross-regional movement of industrial roundwood. 

Only primary wood-using mills were canvassed. Primary mills are 

those that process roundwood in log or bolt form or as chipped 

roundwood. Examples of industrial roundwood products are saw 

logs, pulpwood, veneer logs, poles, and logs used for composite 

board products. Mills producing products from residues generated at 

primary and secondary processors were not canvassed. Trees 

chipped in the woods were included in the estimate of timber drain 

only if they were delivered to a primary domestic manufacturer. 

A 100-percent canvass of all wood processors in Mississippi was 

conducted in 2016 to obtain information for 2015. In addition, 

roundwood from out-of-State mills known to be using logs or bolts 

harvested from Mississippi timberland was incorporated into 

Mississippi production estimates. Each mill was canvassed by mail 

or through personal contact at plant locations. Telephone contacts 

followed mailed questionnaire responses when additional 

information or clarification of a response was necessary. In the 

event of a nonresponse, data collected in previous surveys were 

used to update the current survey. Surveys for all timber products 

other than pulpwood began in 1948, and are currently conducted 

every 2 years.

Pulpwood production data were taken from an annual canvass of all 

southern pulpmills. Medium density fiberboard, insulating board, 

and hardboard plants were included in this survey.

The FIA Research Work Unit of the Forest Service, U.S. 

Department of Agriculture developed the Timber Product Output 

(TPO) Database Retrieval System to help customers answer 

questions about timber harvesting and use in the Southern region. 

This system acts as an interface to a standard set of consistently 

coded TPO data for each State and county in the region and Nation. 

The database is well documented and easy to use. The retrieval 

system allows the user to select the TPO variables of interest and 

generate a standard set of timber products, removals, and mill 

residue tables for the specified resource area, State, or region. The 

Excel® core tables and figures that complement this science update 

are available on the TPO database. The system is available through 

the FIA Web site: https://www.fs.usda.gov/srsfia/.

The SRS gratefully acknowledges the tremendous cooperation and 

assistance provided by the Mississippi Forestry Commission in 

collecting mill data. Appreciation is also extended to forest industry 

and mill managers for providing timber products information.

Product and

species group 2013 2015 Change Change

percent

 Softwood 184,044 221,587 37,543 20.4

 Hardwood 51,851 45,377 -6,474 -12.5

 Total 235,895 266,964 31,069 13.2

 Softwood 49,791 45,868 -3,923 -7.9

 Hardwood 4,294 2,751 -1,543 -35.9

 Total 54,085 48,619 -5,466 -10.1

 Softwood 355,587 360,048 4,461 1.3

 Hardwood 118,131 114,035 -4,096 -3.5

 Total 473,718 474,083 365 0.1

 Softwood 15,668 29,562 13,894 88.7

 Hardwood 6,767 4,953 -1,814 -26.8

 Total 22,435 34,515 12,080 53.8

 Softwood 21,502 14,442 -7,060 -32.8

 Hardwood 0 0 0 0.0

 Total 21,502 14,442 -7,060 -32.8

 Softwood 626,592 671,507 44,915 7.2

 Hardwood 181,043 167,116 -13,927 -7.7

 Total 807,635 838,623 30,988 3.8

Bioenergy

Other industrial

All industrial

Table 1—Output of industrial products by product and species group, Mississippi, 2013 and 2015 Year

 - - - - thousand cubic feet - - - - Saw logs

Veneer logs

Pulpwood
e-S c i e n c e U p d a t e S RS-1 2 5

2

All Products

Industrial timber product output from roundwood increased 31 

million cubic feet, or 4 percent, to 838.6 million cubic feet.

Output of industrial softwood roundwood products was up 7 

percent, to 671.5 million cubic feet, while output of industrial 

hardwood roundwood products decreased 8 percent to 167.1 million 

cubic feet (fig. 1).

Figure 1—Roundwood production for all products by 

species group and year, Mississippi.

Figure 2—Roundwood production by type of product, 

Mississippi, 2015.

Pulpwood and saw logs were the principal roundwood products 

in 2015. Combined output of these two products totaled 741 

million cubic feet and accounted for 89 percent of the State’s 

total industrial roundwood output (fig. 2).

Total receipts at Mississippi mills, which included roundwood 

harvested and retained in the State and roundwood imported from 

other States, were down 1 percent from 566.3 million cubic feet to 

558.3 million cubic feet.

At the same time, the number of primary roundwood-using plants 

in Mississippi decreased from 64 in 2013 to 60 in 2015 (fig. 3, see 

next page). 

Five pulp mill facilities were operating and receiving roundwood 

in Mississippi in 2015, the same since 2005. Total pulpwood receipts for these mills decreased to 254.9 million cubic feet, accounting for 46 percent of total receipts for all mills.

Fifty-one percent of roundwood cut for pulpwood was retained for 

processing at Mississippi pulpmills. Roundwood pulpwood accounted for 74 percent of total known exports and 39 percent of 

total imports. 

Figure 4—Roundwood pulpwood production by 

species group and year, Mississippi.

Pulpwood

Total pulpwood production increased < 1 percent to 474.1 million 

cubic feet and accounted for 57 percent of the State’s total roundwood TPO compared to 59 percent of total TPO in 2013. Softwood 

output was up 1 percent to 360 million cubic feet; hardwood output 

decreased 3 percent to 114 million cubic feet (fig. 4). 

Across all products, 63 percent of roundwood harvested was retained for processing at Mississippi mills. Exports of roundwood 

to other States amounted to 314.3 million cubic feet, while imports of roundwood amounted to 33.9 million cubic feet making 

the State a net exporter of roundwood. 

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

1966 1972 1976 1995 1999 2002 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015

Production (million cubic feet) 

Year

Softwood

Hardwood

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

1966 1972 1976 1995 1999 2002 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015

Production (million cubic feet)

Year

Softwood

Hardwood

Saw logs

32%

Other 

industrial

1%

Veneer 

logs

6%

Pulpwood

57% Bioenergy/

fuelwood

4%

Total 838 million cubic feet
3

e-S c i e n c e U p d a t e S RS-1 2 5

Figure 3—Primary wood-using mills, Mississippi, 

2015.
e-S c i e n c e U p d a t e S RS-1 2 5

4

The number of bioenergy mills operating in Mississippi in 2015 was 

5, one more than in 2013. Receipts for bioenergy increased 12 

percent to 16.1 million cubic feet in 2015.

Mississippi retained 44 percent of its bioenergy production for in 

State use, with bioenergy exports exceeding imports by 18.4 million 

cubic feet in 2015. 

Bioenergy includes products such as industrial and residential 

pellets and boiler/hog fuel used in creating heat, steam or for 

generating electricity.

Figure 6—Roundwood veneer-log production by 

species group and year, Mississippi.

Bioenergy

Roundwood harvested for bioenergy totaled 34.5 million cubic 

feet, a 54 percent increase since 2013, and accounted for 4 percent 

of the State’s total roundwood TPO volume (fig. 7).

Figure 7—Roundwood bioenergy production by 

species group and year, Mississippi.

Other Industrial Products

Roundwood harvested for other industrial uses such as poles, posts, 

mulch, residential firewood, logs for log homes, composite panels 

and all other industrial products totaled 14.4 million cubic feet. 

Softwood made up 100 percent of the other industrial products 

volume.

The number of plants producing other industrial products totaled 4 

in 2015. Combined receipts of other industrial products totaled 5.9 

million cubic feet. 

Veneer Logs

Output of veneer logs in 2015 totaled 48.6 million cubic feet, a 10 

percent decrease since 2013, and accounted for 6 percent of the 

State’s total roundwood TPO volume (fig. 6).

The number of veneer mills operating in Mississippi in 2015 was 

4, a decrease of 2 since 2013. Receipts of veneer logs decreased 

12 percent to 49.9 million cubic feet. 

In 2015, Mississippi had 41 sawmills, 6 less than in 2013. Total 

saw-log receipts were up 9.8 million cubic feet to 231.5 million 

cubic feet. Softwood saw-log receipts increased 12 percent to 

191.4 million cubic feet, while those of hardwoods were down 21 

percent to 40.1 million cubic feet. 

Mississippi retained 81 percent of its saw-log production for within State manufacture, with saw-log exports exceeding imports by 

35.5 million cubic feet in 2015. 

Figure 5—Roundwood saw-log production by species 

group and year, Mississippi. 

Saw Logs

Saw logs accounted for 32 percent of the State’s total roundwood 

products. Output of softwood saw logs increased 20 percent to 

221.6 million cubic feet, while that of hardwood saw logs was 

down 12 percent to 45.4 million cubic feet (fig. 5).

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

1966 1972 1976 1995 1999 2002 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015

Production (million cubic feet)

Year

Softwood

Hardwood

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

2013 2015

Production (million cubic feet)

Year

Softwood

Hardwood

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

1966 1972 1976 1995 1999 2002 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015

Production (million cubic feet)

Year

Softwood

Hardwood
5

e-S c i e n c e U p d a t e S RS-1 2 5

Ninety-seven percent, or 198.1 million cubic feet, of the wood and 

bark residues were used for a product. While 3 percent of the residues were not used for a product, 54 percent of the residues were 

used for industrial fuel and 38 percent were used for fiber products (fig. 10). Seventy-nine percent, or 86.7 million cubic feet, of 

residues used for industrial fuel were used on site, while 21 percent were used at other plants. More than 66.5 million cubic feet, 

or 86 percent, of the coarse residues were used for fiber products. 

Ninety-two percent of the bark was used for industrial fuel, while 

72 percent of the sawdust and shavings were used for industrial 

fuel.

Figure 9—Primary mill residue produced by 

roundwood type, Mississippi, 2015.

Figure 10—Disposal of residue by product, 

Mississippi, 2015.

Plant Byproducts

In 2015, processing of primary products in Mississippi mills generated 203.1 million cubic feet of wood and bark residues. Coarse 

residues from all primary products amounted to 77.3 million cubic 

feet, while bark volume totaled 64.3 million cubic feet. Collectively, sawdust and shavings made up 30 percent of total residues, or 

61.6 million cubic feet (fig. 8).

Figure 8—Primary mill residue by residue type, 

Mississippi, 2015.

The processing of saw logs generated 146 million cubic feet of 

mill residues, accounting for 72 percent of the total residues produced (fig. 9).

The published report is available online at https://treesearch.fs.fed.us

 How to Cite This Publication

 Gray, James A.; Bentley, James W.; Cooper, 

Jason A.; Wall, David J. 2017. Mississippi’s 

timber industry—timber product output and 

use, 2015. e-Science Update–SRS-125. 

Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture 

Forest Service, Southern Research Station. 5 p.

Contact Information

James A. Gray, Forester

Forest Inventory and Analysis

Southern Research Station, USDA Forest Service

4700 Old Kingston Pike

Knoxville, Tennessee 37919

Phone: 865-862-2008 / Fax: 865-862-0248

Email: jagray@fs.fed.us

Southern FIA: https://www.fs.usda.gov/srsfia/

National FIA: https://fia.fs.fed.us

James Bentley, Forester

Forest Inventory and Analysis

Southern Research Station, USDA Forest Service

4700 Old Kingston Pike

Knoxville, Tennessee 37919

Phone: 865-862-2056 / Fax: 865-862-0248

Email: jamesbentley@fs.fed.us

Southern FIA: https://www.fs.usda.gov/srsfia/

National FIA: https://fia.fs.fed.us

USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer

Sawdust

21%

Shavings

9%

Bark

32%

Coarse

38%

Total 203 million cubic feet

Bioenergy/

fuelwood

5%

Saw logs

72%

Veneer

9%

Pulpwood

13%

Other

industrial

<1%

Total 203 million cubic feet

Industrial

fuel

54%

Charcoal/

chemical

wood

1%

Fiber

products

38%

Not used

3%

Miscellaneous

< 1%

Bioenergy

pellets 1%

Mulch/soil

additive

2%

Animal 

bedding

1%

Total 203 million cubic feet