The production of wood products fell 45 percent between 2005 and 2009, but the industry is gaining momentum, according to the American Wood Council Industry Progress Report
Between 2009 and 2015, production of wood products has increased 28 percent, the report said. Wood products companies’ sales, which bottomed out at a combined 82.4 billion in 2015.
The report also found that AWC member companies, representing 75 percent of the wood products industry, met more than 75 percent of their energy needs from renewable, carbon-neutral biomass energy in 2014.
The release of formaldehyde has decreased 57 percent from a high of almost 3 pounds per 1,000 cubic feet of production to around 1 pound per 1,000 cubic feet of the production, the report said.
“The report shows that there have been significant improvements over the last decade in the areas of environment, energy and safety, despite the economic downturn that caused a drop in wood products manufacturing in 2009,” said President and CEO Robert Glowinski in a statement.
The full report is available online.
