Timber harvested, because timber is the major forest commodity, and production levels directly influence forest condition. (Fig. 1)

Timber harvested by region of the United States, because regional shifts in production are a major aspect of how forests are used. (Fig. 2)

Timber harvested on public versus private lands. Decisions about the use of public lands have effects on both the lands immediately affected and on other private lands. (Fig. 3)

Per-capita use of wood, because demand for wood products by individuals is a key factor in overall demand. (Fig. 4)

How efficiently wood is used: recycling and production efficiency. Both recycling and production efficiency influence the demand for wood. (Fig. 5)

Total timber harvest and use of wood have increased over the past several decades, with much of the increase in pulpwood used to manufacture paper products. Use of wood for fuel increased after the oil price increases of the 1970s.

An increasing proportion of the Nation's timber harvest is coming from the South, with recent declines in the proportion from the West. Imports, mainly from Canada, have been an important source of supply for much of this century. The United States is a net importer of wood products

Harvest on private lands has been increasing since 1962. After a peak in the 1980s, harvest on public lands has declined slightly

The per-person use of wood for industrial products remained stable until the 1970s, when increases reflected the expanded use of paper products. The use of wood for fuel generally declined until the late 1970s, when it increased, then leveled off. Per-capita use of paper in the United States is the world's highest, about seven times higher than the global average

An increasing proportion of used paper is being recycled, and more usable products are being recovered from every tree that is harvested

Timber harvest and use (1) Technical Note	Regional timber harvest (2) Technical Note
Source: USDA Forest Service	Source: USDA Forest Service
As a reference, each 1 billion cubic feet of timber harvested in the United States in the 1990s was, on average, used for the following: 88,000 homes; 5 million tons of pulp, paper, and paperboard products; 25 million shipping pallets; 120 trillion British thermal units (BTUs) of energy; and nearly 4 million tons of miscellaneous uses such as furniture, fence posts and telephone poles, wood used in home remodeling, and exports.	Timber harvest on public & private lands (3) Technical Note
	Source: USDA Forest Service
Per capita use of wood (4) Technical Note
Source: USDA Forest Service
Industrial products include all uses of wood and wood fiber other than for fuel.

Efficiency of Wood Use: Industrial Wood Productivity & Use of Recycled Paper (5) Technical Note

Source: USDA Forest Service

Industrial wood productivity is the amount of wood product produced per ton of wood used as input. Inputs include trees, wood residues (chips, slabs, shavings) and recycled wood fiber. The recovered-paper utilization rate is a simple ratio of the amount of recycled paper used in manufacturing to the total amount of paper and board produced.