Study of West Virginia wood industry roundwood consumption in 1999

Use of wood composite products has increased over the last decade in the market for construction material. Softwood species and soft hardwood species are the preferred forest resources for manufacturing these products. Reduction in available softwood forest resources from the Western states has forced a shift to use of more soft hardwood species in the Northeast. What impact this shift may have on the forest resources in the Northeast is not known.;The objective of this study was to canvass primary wood manufacturers in and around the forest of West Virginia and determine how roundwood consumption has changed since the shift occurred. Survey data is used to analyze the effect of new wood composite mills in West Virginia. Survey results show that sawlog products (61 million cubic feet) and wood composite products (43 million cubic feet) were the two leading products consuming roundwood in 1999