Between then and 1965 almost 1000 went out of business. These were, however, mainly the small mills consequently output did not change appreciably. Recently the biggest technological development in this industry has been in lumber handling, reducing the number of laborers required to move, sort, and handle a given quantity of material. Payrolls have, for the most part kept pace with all manufacturing industries in the state but have fallen way below payrolls in service sectors. This reflects the trend in New York away from manufacturing and more toward the tertiary, or service industries.
Lumber produced by the state's sawmills is used for many varied products.
Between 50 and 60 percent is probably exported to other states and other countries to be manufactured into furniture, cabinets, millwork, and other consumer products. The remainder goes to instate manufacture of furniture, pallets and other secondary manufacturers. These mills are located primarily where the industry has always been concentrated, around the fringes of the Adirondacks. New York's woodpulp and paper industry has, like other sectors of the forest-based economy, has been both dependable yet dynamic over the years. The start of the North American paper industry occurred in New York on the upper Hudson.