Forest Service | September 2017

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

Florida’s

Timber Industry—Timber Product Output and Use, 2013

1

Introduction

This science update contains the findings of a 2013 canvass of all 

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

product output and residue use since 2011. 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 2013 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 Florida was 

conducted in 2014 to obtain information for 2013. In addition, 

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

harvested from Florida timberland was incorporated into Florida 

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 1958, 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 Forest Inventory and Analysis (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 system is available through the FIA Web site: https://

srsfia2.fs.fed.us/. The Excel®core tables and figures that 

complement this science update are available on the TPO database.

The SRS gratefully acknowledges the tremendous cooperation and 

assistance provided by the Florida Forest Service in collecting mill 

data. Appreciation is also extended to forest industry and mill 

managers for providing timber products information. 

Product and

species group 2011 2013 Change Change

percent

 Softwood 101,381 122,713 21,332 21.0

 Hardwood 2,035 2,038 3 0.1

 Total 103,416 124,751 21,335 20.6

 Softwood 264,871 284,374 19,503 7.4

 Hardwood 13,997 15,015 1,018 7.3

 Total 278,868 299,389 20,521 7.4

 Softwood 2,874 3,660 786 27.3

 Hardwood 0 0 0 0.0

 Total 2,874 3,660 786 0.0

 Softwood 78,635 78,405 -230 -0.3

 Hardwood 3,780 7,194 3,414 90.3

 Total 82,415 85,599 3,184 3.9

 Softwood 447,761 489,152 41,391 9.2

 Hardwood 19,812 24,247 4,435 22.4

 Total 467,573 513,399 45,826 9.8

Pulpwood

Post, poles, and pilings

Other industrial

All industrial

Table 1—Output of industrial products by product 

and species group, Florida, 2011 and 2013

Year

 - - - - thousand cubic feet - - - - 

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

2

All Products

Industrial timber product output from roundwood increased 45.8 

million cubic feet, or 10 percent, to 513.4 million cubic feet.

Output of industrial softwood roundwood products increased 9 

percent, to 489.1 million cubic feet, while output of industrial 

hardwood roundwood products increased 22 percent to 24.2 million 

cubic feet (fig. 1).

Pulpwood and saw logs were the principal roundwood products in 

2013. Combined output of these two products totaled 424.2 million 

cubic feet and accounted for 83 percent of the State's total industrial 

roundwood output (fig. 2).

Total receipts at Florida mills, which included roundwood harvested 

and retained in the State and roundwood imported from other States, 

was up 2 percent from 523.2 million cubic feet to 537.3 million 

cubic feet.

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

in Florida increased from 52 in 2011 to 53 in 2013. (fig. 3). 

Across all products, 84 percent of roundwood harvested was 

retained for processing at Florida mills. Exports of roundwood to 

other States amounted to 82.2 million cubic feet, while imports of 

roundwood amounted to 106.1 million cubic feet making the State 

a net importer of roundwood. 

Figure 1—Roundwood production for all products by species 

group and year, Florida, 2013. 

Figure 2— Roundwood production by type of product, Florida, 

2013. 

Figure 3—Primary wood-using mills, Florida, 2013. 
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e-S c i e n c e U p d a t e S RS-1 2 2

Saw Logs

Saw logs accounted for 24 percent of the State's total roundwood 

products. Output of softwood saw logs increased 21 percent to 122.7 

million cubic feet, while that of hardwood saw logs increased <1 

percent to 2 million cubic feet (fig. 5).

Other Industrial Products

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

mulch, residential firewood, industrial fuel, logs for log homes, 

composite panels, and all other industrial products totaled 81 million cubic feet. Softwood made up 93 percent of the other industrial 

products volume.

The number of plants producing other industrial products totaled 21 

in 2011. Combined receipts of other industrial products from softwood and hardwood totaled 43 million cubic feet. Industrial fuel 

accounted for 29.8 million cubic feet, or 69 percent, of receipt volume for this category.

Figure 4—Roundwood pulpwood production by species group 

and year, Florida, 2013.

Figure 5—Roundwood saw-log production by species group 

and year, Florida, 2013.

In 2013, Florida had 24 sawmills, same as 2011. Total saw-log receipts increased 19.1 million cubic feet to 119.4 million cubic feet. 

Softwood saw-log receipts increased 20 percent to 117.8 million 

cubic feet, while those of hardwoods had no change at 1.6 million 

cubic feet. 

Florida retained 87 percent of its saw-log production for within 

State manufacture, with saw-log exports exceeding imports by 400 

thousand cubic feet in 2013.

Pulpwood

Total pulpwood production increased 7 percent to 299.4 million 

cubic feet and accounted for 58 percent of the State's total roundwood TPO compared to 60 percent of total TPO in 2011. Softwood 

output increased 7 percent to 284.4 million cubic feet; hardwood 

output increased 7 percent to 15 million cubic feet (fig. 4). 

Six pulpmill facilities were operating and receiving roundwood in 

Florida in 2013, the same since 1999. Total pulpwood receipts for 

these mills increased to 338.9 million cubic feet, accounting for 63 

percent of total receipts for all mills.

Eighty-one percent of roundwood cut for pulpwood was retained 

for processing at Florida pulpmills. Roundwood pulpwood accounted for 55 percent of total known exports and 80 percent of total 

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

4

Plant Byproducts

In 2013, processing of primary products in Florida mills generated 

124.4 million cubic feet of wood and bark residues. Coarse residues 

from all primary products amounted to 41.8 million cubic feet, 

while bark volume totaled 49.1 million cubic feet. Collectively, 

sawdust and shavings made up 27 percent of total residues, or 33.6 

million cubic feet (fig. 6).

The processing of saw logs generated 78 million cubic feet of mill 

residues, accounting for 63 percent of the total residues produced 

(fig. 7).

Nearly 100 percent, or 124.4 million cubic feet, of the wood and 

bark residues were used for a product. While <1 percent of the 

residues were not used for a product, 47 percent of the residues were 

used for industrial fuel and 31 percent were used for fiber products 

(fig. 8). Eighty-seven percent, or 34.0 million cubic feet, of the 

coarse residues were used for fiber products. Seventy-eight percent 

of the bark was used for industrial fuel, while 73 percent of the 

sawdust and shavings were used for industrial fuel.

How to Cite This Publication

Wall, David J., Bentley, James W., Cooper, Jason 

A., Gray, James A. 2017. Florida’s timber 

industry—timber product output and use, 2013. 

e-Science Update–122. Asheville, NC: 

U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, 

Southern Research Station. 4 p.

Contact Information

David J Wall, Forester

Forest Inventory and Analysis

Southern Research Station, USDA Forest Service

4700 Old Kingston Pike

Knoxville, Tennessee 37919

Phone: 601-384-5876x160 / Fax: 865-862-0248

Email: djwall@fs.fed.us

Southern FIA: https://srsfia2.fs.fed.us

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

James W 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://srsfia2.fs.fed.us

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

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

USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer

Figure 6 — Primary mill residue by type, Florida, 2013.

Figure 7— Primary mill residue produced by roundwood type, 

Florida, 2013.

Figure 8— Disposal of residue by product, Florida, 2013.