Matthew Bumgardner

As wood products companies move past the pandemic, new challenges await. Supply chain disruptions and increased demand have caused woodworking manufacturers to seek out new investments in production and procurement capabilities. How is the industry faring in this unique business environment?

Industry 4.0, known for the digitization of manufacturing, enhanced automation, smart factories, and data-driven production systems, promises to bring rapid change to the forest products industry. Are woodworking manufacturers in the United States ready?

Demand for individually customized products, where customers are enabled to choose their own design features, is increasing in the broader U.S. economy. USDA Forest Service research analyzed this trend and found that it offers opportunities for the hardwood industry to enhance its global competitiveness if the associated manufacturing and supply chain challenges can be overcome.

Business investments are critical to the productivity and competitiveness of the U.S. woodworking industry. With employment and sales volume improving in many sectors of the industry, companies seem well-positioned to make investments to improve their capabilities. This notion was confirmed in a recent study.

Exports have become a critical market for higher-value hardwood lumber given the steep decline in domestic furniture manufacturing and the recent housing downturn; however, some hardwood-producing regions of the United States seemingly face greater barriers than others to participating in export markets.

Recent research has shown that woodworking firms in the United States attribute their success to actions they have taken and their lack of success to external forces largely beyond their control. Understanding this tendency helps researchers tailor programs that best meet practitioners’ needs “where they are” in terms of their relative performance within a given business environment. Enhanced technology transfer can help improve the competitiveness of the U.S. wood products industry.

Hardwood markets are increasingly global, and understanding the role U.S. hardwood lumber plays in worldwide consumption and trade is valuable to timber investors, the hardwood industry, resource planners, and market analysts. Forest Service scientists have recently assessed factors affecting regional hardwood lumber consumption on a global scale. They determined the U.S. position in each of these categories and analyzed factors potentially affecting global hardwood lumber consumption such as population and Gross Domestic Product.

Exports have become a vital lumber market for hardwood sawmills in the United States because of the loss of domestic furniture manufacturing and the steep downturn in U.S. housing construction. Strong export markets for hardwood logs also can benefit timberland owners. Given the importance of export markets to demand for U.S. hardwoods, recent research sought to determine the competitive position of the United States in international hardwood lumber and logs markets, assessing the U.S. trade balance in these products. The United States has maintained a positive trade balance for both hardwood logs and lumber since 1990, but the global sources and destinations for these products have changed, sometimes in dramatic fashion.

Despite the potential silvicultural advantages of removing some small-diameter trees during timber harvests, activities such as diameter-limit cutting remain somewhat common in hardwood forests. A lack of markets is often cited as a major cause, leading to research toward development of new production and marketing systems. But the absence of pre-harvest planning with involvement of a professional forester can play an important role in utilization as well. A recent study assessed the influence that markets and forest management were playing in a case setting where both were present to varying degrees.