Media report on new Maine forest products industry study

Mainebiz and Maine Public reported on a new Maine forest products industry study conducted by Mindy Crandall, an assistant professor of forest landscape management and economics at the University of Maine. The report, which was presented at the Maine Forest Products Council’s annual meeting, shows the industry’s overall economic impact dropped by about $1 billion between 2014 and 2016, but is no worse off than it was in 2011, according to Maine Public. The study also found the industry supports more than 33,000 jobs and will contribute about $8.5 billion to the state’s economy in 2016, despite recent job losses and mill closures, Maine Public reported. Also at the council’s meeting, Stephen Shaler, director of the School of Forest Resources at UMaine, moderated a panel discussion on cross-laminated timber that highlighted the growing interest globally in using new types of wood products such as CLT, according to Mainebiz. “It should be technically possible to produce CLT in Maine,” Shaler wrote in his contribution to the report focusing on new uses for wood. “It’s made from softwood dimension lumber and Maine is the largest manufacturer of softwood lumber in the Northeast with close proximity to the huge New York-Boston market.”