Economic Benefits of Using Wood

 

Timber is one of the most economically important crops produced in the United States. Half of all the major industrial raw materials that we use in the United States come from our forests. The United States forest products industry contributed $123.78 billion to our Gross Domestic Product and 710,700 jobs overall in 2011. There were more than 350,000 direct jobs, with $12.0 billion in payroll in 2009. Increasing the amount of wood used provides additional revenue to forest land owners and gives them incentive to keep their lands forested. This conserves forest ecosystems which contribute to water purification, water flow regulation, erosion control, stream bank stabilization, carbon sequestration, biodiversity, as well as recreation.  The use of hard wood could increase by 50% without creating a negative impact on our forests; in fact, it would actually benefit the forests as they would become managed better.  Just think of the number of jobs as well as the impact on the economy that would be created: wood cutting, transportation, management positions, skilled labor, finishing, and the list can go on.

 

Although wood products may be more labor intensive to produce, many of them are still less expensive than products produced using other materials, in part because they require far less energy to manufacture.  For example a wood 2X4 stud is less expensive than a metal stud; the wood stud is also generally easier to work with as it does not require special tools.  Solid wood furniture is also more durable than furniture made from pressed wood / paper, or plastics; good quality hard wood furniture can last hundreds of years.  There are also intangible items to consider such as the look and feel of solid wood. Why use imitation wood when real wood is readily available?