Is the forest products industry important to Mississippi's economy?
In a word "yes." Forestry and the forest products industry are economically important to Mississippi in several ways:
- About 65 percent of Mississippi's land is in forest. This is about 19.6 million acres according to the latest forest survey taken in 2006.
- The value of Mississippi’s timber harvest has exceeded $1 billion each year since 1993 and reached an all-time record of 1.45 billion in 2005.
Mississippi's forest products industry consists of four major sectors:
- Solid Wood Products, which includes pine and hardwood lumber, plywood, poles, oriented strand board, and other "composite" forest products.
- Pulp and Paper, which includes fine writing papers, "liner-board" used for cardboard boxes, tissue and absorbent papers, and market pulp.
- Wood furniture and related products, which consists mostly of upholstered wood furniture such as couches, love seats, and recliners.
- Timber harvesting, which includes the harvesting and transportation sector.
According to a 2008 study by James Henderson and Ian Munn of MSU:
- The total industry output of Mississippi's forest products industry generates an economic impact of nearly $17.4 billion annually.
- The forest products industry accounts for $7.1 billion annually in value added economic impact for the state.
- The Mississippi forest products industry contributes to 8.3% of all jobs in Mississippi. An estimated 123,659 full or part-time jobs have their "roots" in Mississippi's forest products industry. (This total includes direct, indirect, and induced employment).
- In terms of wages and salaries paid annually, Mississippi's forest products industry generates a statewide economic impact of $4.4 billion.
- In 2007, Mississippi's forest landowners, mostly private, non-industry owners, collected $630.8 million for their standing timber sold that year.
Timber is an important agricultural crop in the local economy of virtually every Mississippi County outside the Delta. In any year, timber will be among the top three most valuable agricultural crops in 65 to 70 counties out of 82 total counties in Mississippi.
Publications
News
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Business leaders looking to upgrade their social media marketing strategies can now get started by tuning in to a new podcast series.
Bricks-To-Clicks Marketing, a Mississippi State University Extension program, helps business leaders develop a digital marketing plan to bring in more customers and revenue. The program has launched an eight-episode marketing podcast centered around use of social media platforms to grow personal brands and businesses.
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Forestry is the third largest agricultural commodity in Mississippi for the second straight year with a production value of nearly $1.29 billion in 2021, up 5.7% over last year.
Curtis VanderSchaaf joined the Mississippi State University Extension Service in the southwest region as a forestry specialist with regional and statewide duties. He also is a faculty member in the MSU Department of Forestry.
Although construction costs are through the roof timber prices have not kept pace, and Mississippi forest landowners are waiting for improved markets. Shaun Tanger, a forestry economics specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said the recent increase in construction costs is a demand-side phenomena.
Mississippi’s timber industry was not excused from market volatility due to COVID-19 this year, but its final value should land just short of where it was at the end of 2019.