Logging Business Challenges in the US South and Lake States

Logging businesses are the critical link between forest management and the forest products industry. Through analysis of data from logging business owner surveys, contacts with trade associations, and personal contacts, six challenges facing logging businesses in the US South and the Lake States were identified: logging business consolidation, demographics and labor availability, changing markets, rising costs, timber transportation, and impacts from COVID-19. The impact of each challenge was summarized using data from peer-reviewed journal articles, trade publications, and federal databases. Although loggers are accustomed to fluctuations in their business environment, overcoming all of these challenges may have a profound impact on the logging sector and thus the wood supply chain. Owners may not be able to address all of these challenges without support from forest industry as well as logging and forestry trade associations who may be positioned to develop programs and advocate for the sector as a whole. Study Implications: A vibrant logging sector is essential to ensure forest management prescriptions are implemented and forest products mills, important economic drivers in rural areas, receive a consistent supply of raw material. In the short term, it is essential for logging business owners and procurement foresters to better understand logging costs and be quicker to negotiate adjustments when costs rise rapidly, as they did during 2020–2023. In the long term, individual logging businesses, forestry and logging trade associations, and forest industry should collaborate to address labor challenges and advocate for any needed policy changes.