Product Demand
Oregon remains the top producer of softwood lumber and plywood in the country, and its forests will continue to be essential for supplying families and businesses across the U.S. with building materials.
While the forest products industry was resilient in the face of a reduction in timber supply in the 1990s, the number of mills has continued to decline since then, even as production of softwood lumber and plywood has been maintained.
A promising development for Oregon’s forest sector in recent years is the growing market for mass timber and other engineered wood products. Oregon has the largest number of engineered wood manufacturing plants in the U.S., and mass timber is an area of growth that’s attracted both public and private investment in the state.
In response to the rising number of mass timber construction projects in Oregon and elsewhere in the country, some companies have expanded or are expanding their capacity for manufacturing mass timber products in the state.
A 2025 regional market study by the Pacific Northwest Mass Timber Tech Hub notes that Oregon and Washington are home to more than 20 mass timber companies and that number continues to grow.
Housing starts
Since Oregon’s industry is driven by lumber, new construction of family homes nationally, along with repairs and remodels to existing housing stock, are an important use of Oregon wood. While authorized permits and housing starts in the U.S. spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic, they have yet to reach the level seen before the Great Recession and the housing bubble.
