While many associate the Mountain State solely with the energy industry, its nickname conjures up a different image. West Virginia’s beautiful, forested mountains make it the second-leading hardwood state in the country, ranked third nationally by percentage of forested land. The forest products industry—which is made up of loggers, sawmills, dry kilns, veneer plants and furniture and rustic rail fence producers—generates $3.2 billion for the state economy every year and employs more than 30,000 people in highly skilled and technical positions. Companies such as AHF Products, Gat Creek, Weyerhaeuser and Columbia Forest Products, among others, make use of the state’s 12 million acres of forestland and 75 billion board feet of timber inventory in an industry that reaches all 55 counties.
While forest products are a significant and successful revenue producer and employer for West Virginia based on renewable resources, the industry is not without its challenges. As with every sector, wood and timber companies were negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent workforce shortages, supply chain issues, construction delays, rising material costs and interest rates, as well as more recent international trade barriers.
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