Nebraska has 1.5 million acres of forest land that cover 3 percent of its land base, and most of this forest land can produce commercial timber. The majority, 89 percent, is privately owned; about 5 percent is managed by state and local government, and about 6 percent by the federal government.
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Key Findings of Forest Products Industries in Nebraska
- Provided almost 5,800 direct jobs and supported a total of 11,214 jobs in 2017.
- Had greater direct labor income, direct value-added, and output than commercial fishing, hunting, and trapping, and mining and oil and gas production.
- Accounted for 5.5 percent of Nebraska’s direct manufacturing jobs, and 9.1 percent of non-food manufacturing jobs.
- In Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri employed over 49,300 workers and accounted for $13.5 billion in direct output.
Economic Contributions
Direct Contributions by Industry Group, 2017 (in number of jobs, and thousands of dollars)
| Industry Group | Employment | Labor Income | Value-added | Output |
| Forestry* | 36 | $1,293 | $1,411 | $1,549 |
| Logging* | 197 | $885 | $5,434 | $9,768 |
| Primary solid wood products | 246 | $10,471 | $17,624 | $91,874 |
| Secondary solid wood products | 2,121 | $94,830 | $124,545 | $415,319 |
| Wood furniture | 1,649 | $73,162 | $107,901 | $296,447 |
| Pulp, paper, and paperboard mills | 17 | $1,263 | $2,402 | $12,454 |
| Secondary paperboard and other paper products | 1,534 | $101,311 | $145,659 | $707,147 |
| Total | 5,800 | $283,216 | $404,977 | $1,534,558 |
Total Contributions by Industry Group
Direct Contributions by Industry Group, 2017 (in number of jobs, and thousands of dollars)
| Industry Group | Employment | Labor Income | Value-added | Output |
| Forestry* | 23 | $623 | $563 | $242 |
| Logging* | 113 | $1,282 | $4,000 | $7,015 |
| Primary solid wood products | 610 | $27,815 | $48,145 | $136,563 |
| Secondary solid wood products | 3,802 | $181,542 | $269,770 | $674,092 |
| Wood furniture | 2,797 | $131,350 | $203,929 | $468,388 |
| Pulp, paper, and paperboard mills | 61 | $3,870 | $6,807 | $19,474 |
| Secondary paperboard and other paper products | 3,807 | $224,587 | $350,085 | $1,059,212 |
| Total | 11,214 | $571,068 | $883,299 | $2,364,985 |
*Forestry and Logging are reported in this table; but most of their contributions are as indirect inputs or intermediate inputs that are used in the production in the other five industry groups – part of their jobs is included in the estimates for the other groups.
Top 5 Industry Sectors by Direct Jobs
| Industry Sector | Employment |
| Paperboard container manufacturing | 1,259 |
| Showcase, partition, shelving, and locker manufacturing | 697 |
| Wood container and pallet manufacturing | 538 |
| Wood kitchen cabinet and countertop manufacturing | 508 |
| Engineered wood member and truss manufacturing | 451 |
Top 5 Industry Sectors by Value Added (Thousands)
| Industry Sector | Value Added |
| Paperboard container manufacturing | $112,170 |
| Showcase, partition, shelving, and locker manufacturing | $46,435 |
| Wood container and pallet manufacturing | $27,122 |
| Wood kitchen cabinet and countertop manufacturing | $25,318 |
| Engineered wood member and truss manufacturing | $25,289 |
Comparison with Neighboring States
| Forest Products Industries Direct Employment in Nebraska, Iowa, and Missouri, 2017 | |||
| Industry | Nebraska | Iowa | Missouri |
| Forestry* | 36 | 94 | 536 |
| Logging | 197 | 610 | 2,270 |
| Primary solid wood products | 246 | 590 | 3,053 |
| Secondary solid wood products | 2,121 | 9,038 | 5,989 |
| Wood furniture | 1,649 | 3,751 | 7,063 |
| Pulp, paper, and paperboard mills | 17 | 63 | 460 |
| Secondary paperboard and other paper products | 1,534 | 3,688 | 6,329 |
| Sum of Direct Contributions | 5,800 | 17,834 | 25,699 |
Forest Products Industries in Context to other Industries
Natural Resources and Agricultural Production Industries in Nebraska, 2017
| Manufacturing Industries | Employment | Labor Income (thousands) |
Value-added (thousands) |
Output (thousands) |
| Forest products | 5,800 | $283,216 | $404,977 | $1,534,558 |
| Commercial fishing, hunting, and trapping | 209 | $(10) | $1,899 | $2,081 |
| Mining and oil and gas production | 3,538 | $108,179 | $221,253 | $518,210 |
| Agricultural production (plant crop and animal) | 67,028 | $5,596,888 | $7,335,543 | $22,342,748 |
About this Bulletin
This bulletin summarizes the economic contributions of the forest products industry in Nebraska in 2017, as part of an analysis of the 20 Northeast and Midwest states supported by a U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service 2017 Landscape Scale Restoration Grant. Several measures of economic contribution are presented below; for more information see the full report at http://www.northeasternforests.org. This analysis used 2017 IMPLAN data for 32 industry sectors summarized in 7 industry groups.
Suggested citation: Public Sector Consultants and Adam Smith. 2020. Forest Products Industries’ Economic Contributions: Nebraska. Lansing: Public Sector Consultants.