County Analysis of the Differences in the Tennessee Primary Wood - Using Industry ( 1992 - 1996

The State of Tennessee consists of 95 counties endowed with abundant forest resources that encompass more than 13.3 million acres. The forest products industries in Tennessee consist of two major industries: the primary and secondary wood processing industries. This study examined if there are differences among counties in the primary wood processing industries as related to employment, payroll, hardwood and softwood sawtimber removals, and hardwood and softwood pulp production in Tennessee from 1992 to 1996. The primary wood processing industries in Tennessee include mills that manufacture hardwood and softwood lumber, wood chips, hardwood dimension and furniture parts, handle blanks, specialty products, hardwood veneer, log homes, and pulp mills. Cluster analysis was used to depict authentic grouping of counties. The position of the cluster ingroups indicated Cluster I was the largest group that consisted of 74% of the counties, cluster II represented about 6% of all counties, and cluster III represented about 20% of all counties. With respect to hardwood pulp production and low employment in Cluster I, future development and investment strategies need to be developed to attract high paying jobs in these counties. Value-added industries or manufacturing of wood household furniture frames and adapting to new technologies might change the nature of the primary wood processing industries in these 67 counties