The 2019 Statewide Economic Contribution of Maine’s Forest Products Sector

Maine’s forest products sector includes (but is not limited to) businesses, organizations, and individuals involved with logging and forestry, paper and related product manufacturing, sawmills and wood-product manufacturing, wood furniture manufacturing, the generation of biomass electricity, and the Maine Forest Service. The forest products sector contributes directly to the Maine economy through its day-to-day operations (e.g. direct sales, wages, employment of workers). In addition to these direct impacts, every dollar that is spent on local purchases by any business, organization or individual involved in the forest products sector circulates throughout Maine’s economy and is used by other businesses and organizations to pay their employees, taxes, and purchase more goods and services. This “multiplier effect” is a crucial component to consider when studying the total economic contribution of the forest products sector to the state of Maine. When considering these multiplier effects, Maine’s forest products sector contributed an estimated $8.1 billion in total output and over 31,000 full and part-time jobs to the state economy in 2019