Economic success rooted in forest products
- Heidi Brock / AF&A for Forests & People
- Oct 20
- 3 min read
Louisiana boasts a proud manufacturing legacy that has played a significant role in the state’s economic success. Almost half of Louisiana’s land is forest, and trees are the No. 1 crop and agricultural product in the state.
Its forest products industry — which is the
second-largest manufacturing employer and
accounts for more than 18,000 good-paying jobs — is a key contributor.
Interwoven into Louisiana’s economy is access to markets and robust relationships with key trading partners. Today, the link between manufacturers, their supply chains and the key markets supporting them is at the forefront of policy discussion in our nation’s capital.
It is encouraging that policymakers in both Baton Rouge and Washington, D.C., are looking closely at domestic manufacturers and ways that policies may affect — and even bolster — their operations. For decades, the U.S. forest products industry has strategically planned and invested to efficiently source and manufacture materials into products for American consumers.
In Louisiana, this translates to more than 60 facilities, a manufacturing output of more than $10 billion in products and $117 million in state and local taxes annually.
The strength of our industry is a reflection of the sector’s strength nationally. We are a key driver of America’s economy, supporting $435 billion per year in GDP and approximately 4.7 percent of the country’s manufacturing GDP. Across the country, U.S. pulp and paper mills are significant anchors in the rural communities where most of our facilities are located.
The forest products industry’s role in Louisiana’s economy was highlighted in 2023, when Georgia-Pacific announced more than $50 million in investments in its Port Hudson mill in Zachary. Additional mills across the state are key producers of products like containerboard.
However, in addition to our domestic supply chain and meeting U.S. customer demand, our industry’s robust economic contributions benefit from our ability to export products.
In 2023, $43.2 billion worth of goods, including forest products, were exported internationally from Louisiana, with 19.6 percent of products shipped to Canada and Mexico. For our industry,
$63 million in containerboard and $58 million in wood pulp exports flowed through the Port of New Orleans to these and other major trading partners.
Raw materials traveling through the state are often used to create corrugated containers — commonly known as cardboard boxes — which safely and affordably transport food products like produce, as well as auto parts. Additionally, our industry acquires and utilizes important unavailable inputs from international partners to produce American-made goods.
The American Forest & Paper Association works closely with policymakers to communicate our industry’s vital contributions to the American economy. For instance, trade policies that disrupt the efficient and cost-effective flow of our supply chain could result in longer term impacts felt by manufacturers and consumers in both Louisiana and across the country.
AF&PA members represent about 87 percent of pulp, paper, paper-based packaging and tissue capacity in the U.S. Preserving market access for our industry’s ability to export products and materials is critical to supporting American manufacturing jobs through trade.
This approach allows manufacturing industries like ours represented in rural Louisiana to remain globally competitive — which in turn supports good-paying jobs in a great forest products state.
(Heidi Brock is President and CEO of the American Forest & Paper Association. AF&PA serves to advance public policies that foster economic growth, job creation and global competitiveness for a vital sector that makes the essential paper and packaging products Americans use every day.)
