Home » Tree & Wood Facts

Tree & Wood Facts

Statistics – Expanded & Updated

U.S. and Canada | 2024-2025

These statistics are designed to demonstrate that forests ARE renewable and growing in North America. And wood is a climate solution when sustainably managed.

FOREST GROWTH & REGENERATION

UNITED STATES:

  • Since 2007, there are 119% more trees than there were in 2007, with two new trees for every one removed.
  • The U.S. contains nearly 1.4 trillion trees on forestland in the conterminous U.S., according to the most recent national forest inventory data.
  • Every year since the 1940s, total forest growth in North America has exceeded the amount harvested.
  • The United States plants approximately 1.7 billion trees annually.
  • The U.S. has capacity to plant 1.2 billion tree seedlings per year on forestland through federal, state, and private programs.
  • There are up to 133 million acres of opportunity in the United States to restore forest cover for climate mitigation.

CANADA:

  • Canada has 367 million hectares (Mha) of forest, comprising approximately 34.8% of Canada’s total land area—15 times larger than all the Great Lakes combined.
  • Canada is investing more than $3 billion over 10 years to plant 2 billion trees as part of its climate action commitment.
  • Approximately 45% of Canada’s forests are actively managed for forestry.
  • Canada is part of the Montréal Process, an international group of 14 nations committed to sustainable forest management covering 90% of the world’s boreal and temperate forests.

CARBON SEQUESTRATION & CLIMATE BENEFITS

UNITED STATES:

  • Forests and harvested wood products uptake the equivalent of more than 14% of economy-wide CO2 emissions in the United States annually.
  • U.S. forests have the potential to increase carbon sequestration capacity by approximately 20% (187.7 million metric tons of CO2 per year) by fully stocking all understocked productive forestland.
  • During one year, 100 trees can remove 53 tons of carbon dioxide and pull 430 pounds of other pollutants from the air.
  • When trees are harvested, they are harvested at the point they have absorbed as much carbon as they will absorb in their lifetime—meaning half the weight of dried wood is carbon captured forever.
  • U.S. urban forests alone produce $18.3 billion in annual value: $5.4 billion from air pollution removal, $5.4 billion from reduced building energy use, $4.8 billion from carbon sequestration, and $2.7 billion from avoided pollutant emissions.
  • One cubic meter of timber can store up to 1 tonne of CO₂, helping reduce a building’s overall carbon footprint.

CANADA:

  • Canada has committed to reducing forest carbon emissions and increasing removals through sustainable forest management practices and the Two Billion Tree initiative.
  • Regenerating forests transition from net carbon sources to net carbon sinks as trees grow—providing long-term climate mitigation benefits.
  • Canadian forests store significant amounts of carbon annually through growth and regeneration cycles, contributing to national climate goals.

WOOD VS. OTHER MATERIALS (Climate & Energy)

  • One kilogram of wood sourced from standing timber requires just 3-7 megajoules (MJ) to produce, or about 1/17 as much energy as plastic and 1/7 as much energy as steel from iron.
  • Producing one kilogram of plastic from crude oil requires 62-108 MJ—making it far more energy-intensive than wood.
  • Wood production emits less than 100 kg of CO2 per 1,000 kg produced, compared with over 300 kg for brick and over 2,000 kg for steel.
  • Harvested wood products (HWP) mitigate climate change through two mechanisms: storing carbon absorbed by forests AND replacing more energy-intensive, fossil-fuel-based materials.
  • Using wood substitutes could save 14-31% of global CO2 emissions and 12-19% of global fossil fuel consumption.
  • A wooden structure has significantly lower carbon footprint (~58.6 tons CO2-eq) compared to hybrid (steel/concrete) or all-steel structures.
  • Plastic pallets emit 50% more greenhouse gas emissions than wooden pallets to complete the same 100 trips (216 kg CO2-eq vs. 144 kg CO2-eq).

ENVIRONMENTAL & HEALTH BENEFITS

  • Yards with more trees can increase property values by up to 15%.
  • A single acre of forest can absorb 4.5 to 40.7 tons of CO2 annually.
  • A single acre of forest can release up to 4 tons of oxygen per year.
  • Forests provide habitat for 80% of terrestrial wildlife species on Earth.
  • North American forests are among the best managed in the world, with strict environmental regulations and certification standards (FSC, PEFC, SFI).
  • Wood is infinitely reusable—harvested wood products in residential structures will continue to increase carbon storage for the next 50 years, according to USDA Forest Service research.
  • More than 90% of new single-family homes in the U.S. are built with wood, contributing to long-term carbon storage in residential structures.

INDUSTRY SCALE & ECONOMIC IMPACT

UNITED STATES:

  • The U.S. forest products industry employs approximately 925,000-950,000 people.
  • The forest products sector ranks among the top 10 manufacturing sector employers in 45 states.
  • The forest products industry generates approximately $288 billion in annual output, representing about 4% of U.S. manufacturing GDP.
  • The sector generates approximately $64 billion in annual payroll.

CANADA:

  • Canada’s forest sector directly employs more than 200,000-212,000 people across all forest industries.
  • The forest sector generates annual revenues exceeding $87.2 billion.
  • Wood product manufacturing represents the largest subsector, employing approximately 48% of all forest sector workers.
  • Forestry and logging (narrow definition) employs approximately 42,400 people.

NORTH AMERICA COMBINED:

  • The wood and forest products industry employs approximately 1.1-1.15 million people across the United States and Canada.
  • This represents a critical sector for rural and regional economies across North America.

SUSTAINABLE FOREST MANAGEMENT

  • Sustainable forestry balances environmental, economic, and social needs through selective harvesting that allows younger trees to access sunlight and grow more efficiently.
  • When older trees are selectively harvested, younger trees absorb more carbon and release more oxygen than older trees, improving overall forest carbon sequestration.
  • Proper forest management prevents overstocking, which reduces the risk of catastrophic wildfires, disease outbreaks, and insect infestations.
  • Cutting down trees before they die and fall is environmentally important—during natural rotting, carbon trapped in trees is released back into the atmosphere.

WOOD PRODUCTS IN CONSTRUCTION

  • One kilogram of wood sourced from standing timber stores carbon for decades or centuries when used in long-lived products like building materials.
  • Wood-based construction materials provide superior environmental performance compared to concrete, steel, and aluminum when measured on a life-cycle basis.
  • Salvaging and recycling wood materials is increasingly viable, extending the carbon storage life of harvested wood products through cascading uses.
  • Wood has the lowest carbon footprint among major building materials (concrete: 635 kg embodied carbon per cubic meter; steel: 12,090 kg per cubic meter; wood: significantly lower).

KEY FACTS FOR EDUCATORS & YOUTH

  • Trees are renewable—unlike oil, natural gas, or minerals, forests naturally regenerate through proper management.
  • More than 5,000 everyday products come from trees and wood products—from pencils to medicines, furniture to construction materials.
  • The forest products industry offers fulfilling careers that don’t require excessive college debt: foresters, loggers, wood scientists, engineers, mill managers, and many more.
  • Sustainable forestry is a proven science with measurable outcomes, standards, and certifications (FSC, PEFC, SFI).
  • Young people who understand sustainable forestry and wood products will be part of solving climate change and building a sustainable future.

Softwoods

  • In 2020, Softwood Lumber board found that there were 73 board feet of softwood produced for every $1 invested.
  • In 2020, the carbon benefit for reported softwood projects was equivalent to taking 945,100 cars off the road for a year, or 4.5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide.
  • Due to responsible forest management, the softwood industry was able to plant 3 new trees for every 1 harvested in 2020.
  • In 2020, more than 115,700 hours of education about softwood were taken by pros, a 7% increase.
  • Since 2020, the softwood industry has supported more than 775,000 jobs, direct and indirect. These jobs are all a part of the lumber harvesting and manufacturing industry.

Thinkwood

https://www.thinkwood.com/sustainability

  • Wood is the only naturally renewable building material. Wood stores carbon and requires less energy throughout its life cycle. Demand for wood products helps ensure forested land remains forested.
  • North America has more certified forests than anywhere else in the world. Modern forestry standards ensure a continuous cycle of growing, harvesting and replanting.
  • Demand for forest products keeps forests as forests. Growth in demand for forest products has led to greater forest productivity and inventory for storing carbon.
  • Active forest management, or forest thinning, mitigates wildfires, cuts carbon emissions, replenishes area waterways, expands wildlife habitat, and creates jobs in rural areas.
  • Each year, the U.S. plants over 1 billion trees and Canada plants over 600 million trees. Both countries have spurred more than 50 consecutive years of net forest growth that exceeds annual forest harvests due to responsible forest management.
  • Just a 1% increase in annual demand for industrial wood products could drive 77,000 square miles of new sustainably managed working forests – roughly half the area of California state.
  • Foresters practice forest regeneration to ensure forests have enough natural seeds, seedlings, and tree sprouts to grow for the future and assist natural growth, after disturbances like wildfire. This increases biodiversity and decreases endangered species.

SOURCES & CITATIONS

  • U.S. Forest Service Research and Development – Carbon sequestration and forest inventory data (2024)
  • USDA Forest Service – Forest carbon data brief (2023)
  • Natural Resources Canada – State of Canada’s Forests Report (2024-2025)
  • U.S. Congress – Forest Carbon Data Summary (2023)
  • North American Forest Foundation – Energy comparison studies (2023)
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences – Tree planting and carbon sequestration (2020)
  • FAO – Forest Products Statistics (2024)
  • University of Florida – Forest productivity and climate change research (2024-2025)
  • Research.fs.usda.gov – Urban forest values and carbon sequestration (2024)
  • Natural Resources Canada – Forest carbon emissions and removals reporting (2024-2025)
Surprising list of things made from trees