Employment- and Wage-Consumption Ratios for Montana's Forest Products Manufacturers

This article presents information on employment and payroll generated per unit volume of timber or wood fiber processed by the various manufacturing sectors of Montana's forest products industry for 19871989. Average employment ranged from a high of 117 workers per million cubic feet (mmcf) of wood fiber processed at house log plants, to a low of 12 workers per mmcf at stud mills. Employment-consumption ratios for cedar products plants and producers of utility poles and posts and small poles were 48, 47, and 34 workers per mmcf respectively. At sawmills, employment-consumption ratios ranged from 23 workers per mmcf or board mills to 12 workers per mmcf for stud mills. Plywood plants are slightly more labor intensive than board mills, employing 26 workers per mmcf of wood fiber processed. The processing of mill residue from sawmills and plywood plants by such users as the pulp and paper industry adds substantially to the employment per unit volume of timber processed. Because different components of the industry often use timber of different sizes, species, and quality, changes in the kind of timber available can have considerable influence on the structure of the industry and related employment. West. J. Appl. For. 8(2): 54-57. Mny factors influence employment and payroll levels in the forest products industry. These can include such general and local factors as business cycles, timber availability, and technological changes. The way in which timber is processed can also have a substantial impact on employment. Consequently, resource managers, planners, and others concerned with estimating employment associated with timber production eed to consider structural changes within the industry (Keegan and Jackson 1984, Keegan and Polzin 1987). Employment and wages per volume of timber processed (referred to as employmentandwage-consumption ratios) have been developed only for the entire forest products industry in a given area (Schuster 1978, Wall 1979). Unfortunately, these ratios are not available for individual sectors of the forest products industry. Impacts and potential impacts of structural changes are, therefore, difficult to identify. This paper presents employmentand wage-consumption ratios for the individual manufacturing sectors of Montana's forest products industry. These data assist in identifying and NOTE: Funding was provided by The USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station under Coop Agreement #PNW 90-675. evaluating the potential changes in industry employment that are driven by changes in industry structure. Volumes are presented both in board feet Scribner Decimal C log scale (Eastside Convention) and cubic feet of solid wood