Research Brief #2

A Profile of the Louisiana Secondary Wood Products Industry
Louisiana Forest Products Development Center
Louisiana State University
Baton Rouge, LA

Research Objectives

A research initiative targeting the Louisiana secondary wood products industry is underway at the Louisiana Forest Products Laboratory on the Baton Rouge Campus of Louisiana State University. The broad goals of this research are to:

1. identify sources of competitive advantage and;
2. determine ways to encourage development and growth of this important industry sector.

Synopsis of Results

• The secondary wood products industry in Louisiana is fragmented and consists of many small establishments. Over 73 percent of companies surveyed have less than 10 employees and over 60 percent have 4 employees or less.
• Fifty-five percent of the companies surveyed plan to add new employees in the next five years. If these numbers are extrapolated to the entire Louisiana secondary wood products industry, 413 companies would add 1,941 new employees by 1999.
• In an industry estimated to have $485.2 million in annual sales in 1993, fifty percent of respondent companies had annual sales in 1993 of $150,000 or less with only 18 companies with sales over one million dollars.
• Louisiana secondary wood products manufacturers use a wide variety of species that originate from many states and countries. Red oak is the predominant hardwood species followed by cypress, white oak and poplar. Of the 26.2 million board feet of softwoods used by respondents in 1993, over 90 percent was Southern pine.
• Study results indicate that for all species used, respondent companies were supplied by out-of-state vendors 21.3 percent of the time. However, for the 78.7 percent of in state supply occurrences, it was not possible to identify origination source for the raw material within the scope of the study.
• There is a wide array of secondary wood products industry outreach needs. The top three categories are financial, marketing and production oriented, respectfully.

Conclusions

The Louisiana secondary wood products industry is primarily a group of small companies that produce a wide array of products. This study will be useful in tailoring outreach efforts by the Louisiana Forest Products Development Center.

Researchers

Richard P. Vlosky, Assistant Professor, Forest Products Marketing
Louisiana Forest Products Development Center

Dr. Victor Harding, Assistant Specialist
Louisiana Cooperative Extension Service
Louisiana Agricultural Center

Target Group

Louisiana secondary wood products manufacturers
Louisiana economic development and public policy officials

Methodology

Using a directory of Louisiana secondary wood products industries compiled by the Louisiana Forest Products Laboratory and Louisiana Cooperative Extension Service, 713 companies were surveyed. The surveys were conducted using structured mail questionnaires. One mailing was made with a resulting response rate of 26 percent (187 companies).