LANSING, Mich. — Michigan’s forest products industry generated $26.582 billion in 2022, an increase of $4 billion from 2019, according to newly released date by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

Michigan’s forest products industry contributed 40,449 direct jobs with an average annual salary of $80000 during 2022 and supported a total of 88,275 jobs, according to the report.

“Although the number of people directly employed in the industry decreased by 3.6%, all other economic indicators show significant growth,” said Jagdish Poudel, DNR forest economist. Those indicators include the average wage, labor income, output and industry productivity.

The report notes that the increase in total output can be attributed to a strong forest products industry and its links to other industries. Additionally, Arauco, the largest particleboard manufacturer in the world, opened its $450 million Grayling production facility in 2019. Arauco directly generates around 220 jobs, which in turn create additional indirect and induced effects in the economy.

Michigan’s forest products industry includes forestry and logging, wood furniture, pulp, paper, paperboard products and woody biomass power generation.

“Michigan’s forests provide a sustainable source for building materials, furniture and paper and cardboard products,” said Jeff Stampfly, chief of the DNR’s Forest Resources Division and the state forester. “We are always looking for ways to best support the industry and respond to the public’s increasing desire for sustainability.”

Michigan’s 20.2 million acres of forest cover about half the state and are concentrated in the Upper Peninsula and the northern Lower Peninsula. Nearly 4 million of those acres are DNR-managed state forest lands.

The Michigan DNR works with industry to support growth and expansion into new markets. Two of the segments that the DNR has partnered with industry are woody biomass power generation and mass timer construction. Woody biomass power, which utilizes low-value materials such as mill and manufacturer residues, directly generates about 120 jobs in Michigan. Teaming up with Michigan State University and Michigan Technological University, the DNR supports mass timber construction. Indeed, the DNR’s new customer service center in the eastern Upper Peninsula is currently under construction using mass timber materials made from Michigan red pine.