A View of the Forest Products Industry From a
Wood Energy Perspective

Introduction

The Forest Products Industry comprises the forestry, lumber, wood product, and pulp and paper industries. The scope of operations of the Forest Products Industry includes forest management, timber harvesting and processing, construction materials, furniture manufacturing, and pulp and paper manu facturing. The Industry is central to providing raw material for manufacturing products such as transmission poles, boats, mobile homes, musical instruments, transport trailers, recrea tional vehicles, and sporting goods.

In order to understand the material presented in this article, it is essential to understand U.S. forest resources, their availability for fuel, and the ownership patterns of wood resources in varying regions of the United States. EIA has provided material on these topics in a prior issue of this publication. Chapter 6 of Renewable Energy Annual 19951 presents information on U.S. forest resources, timber harvests, forest residues, and waste wood resources. Specifically the following information is included:

• Net volume of timber (by region, species group, and timber class)
  
  
• Volume of roundwood2 harvested for pulpwood and fuelwood (by region, species group, and timber class)
  
  
• Weight and energy yield of roundwood harvested for fuelwood
  
  
• Wood supply from logging residues (and other removals from noncommercial growing stock)
  
  
• Bark and residue from primary wood-using mills used for fuel (by region, species type and material used for fuel).
  
  

Appendix E of the same report shows timber ownership patterns in the United States, as well as regional removals from growing stock and other sources. As will be discussed later, timber procurement in the United States does not follow uniform, well-established practices, compared with those in the coal and natural gas markets. Thus, the added complexities in biomass fuel procurement can pose a challenge to increased biomass energy output.

The goals of this article are to (1) define the Forest Products Industry, (2) establish the approximate size and character of Industry subgroups that are important from an energy perspective, (3) identify the factors that most influence the energy profiles of these subgroups, and (4) identify and characterize the most important manufacturing processes used by the subgroups in terms of their energy profiles, and how influencing factors are likely to change them. This article does not discuss electric utility use of biomass to generate power.

Many external information sources were investigated to support this analysis. Primary sources consisted of company annual reports, government studies, proposed and final government agency rules, industry investment analyses, trade and environmental association data and position papers, Census Bureau data, and personal communication with industry experts.

Contact:

Fred Mayes

fred.mayes@eia.doe.gov

Phone: (202) 287-1750