"Value-added lets Oregon's forest products workers bring it home... literally!"

As we mentioned in our discussion of exports, Oregon is the only state in the nation to ship over half of its production as unseasoned products. What does that mean to us? Well, it means that Oregon's economy gains the benefit of the raw product sales, but doesn't see the benefit from local mills working raw wood into finished products likes window frames, doors, and furniture.

The final steps associated with turning raw timber or unfinished lumber into finished products increases the value of the wood-- that's what we call" value-added". Value-added wood products typically require more Oregon wood products workers to produce them-- that means more jobs. They usually require more than one mill to complete the process-- that means more companies fueling Oregon's wood products economy. And the added work to each piece of wood means that the wood is worth more money once it hits the stores-- that means more money stays in Oregon!

For these reasons value-added wood products are an important link between the timber we wood products workers harvest from the forest and the wood products we consumers buy in stores.

Want to see Value-added manufacturing in action? Come with us on a tour!

More Information:

• Want to see how value-added works? Visit the value-added monitor to see an example.
• Interested in visiting a value-added manufacturing facility?