Forest Industry Still Packs A Punch

In spite of all the well-publicized problems in the forest products industry, it remains a vital force in the Washington state economy, according to Seattle-based economist Richard S. Conway.

Conway, who spoke Thursday at a Spokane Rotary Luncheon, recently conducted a study on the economic impact of the forest products industry in the state. Based on 1992 figures he concluded that, despite losing 4,000 jobs between 1988 and 1992, the industry remains the state’s second-largest economic force, behind Boeing. Timber-related operations produce $9.4 billion, or about 8 percent, of the gross state product, he said.

The industry employed more than 58,000 and paid $2.2 billion in wages in 1992, Conway said.

He said the industry’s future is cloudy, depending on how restrictions of the harvest of timber from federal lands are sorted out. He said the restrictions as they now exist will cost Washington 1 percent of its employment base and a little more than 1 percent of its gross state product.