Minnesota’s logging businesses: An assessment of the health and viability of the sector

With the closure of several mills within the state, industrial procurement managers became concerned about the status and trends of Minnesota’s logging sector. A mail survey and follow-up focus groups were conducted to assess the health and viability of the sector. Although there are many logging businesses producing up to 5,000 cords annually, those businesses produce a small percentage of the total annual volume harvested, have the oldest equipment, work during the winter, and are operating at the lowest level of their reported capacity. Over time, there has been a trend toward larger producers who harvest an increasing percentage of the total annual volume harvested. Business owners are keeping their equipment longer than in the past, which has both positive and negative effects. Although those small logging businesses will continue to have a niche with private landowners in the future, it is likely that their number will continue to decline and that there will be continued growth of producers harvesting 15,000 cords annually. To be successful in the future, the logging sector will need to help itself and will need assistance from public forest management agencies, procurement mills, and lending institutions.