Woodworking spans primary processing, panels, furniture, cabinets, millwork and related forest products. The figures below separate finished and processed categories from broader upstream measures, and identify observed data, estimates and forecasts by geography and period.
Key Woodworking Industry Statistics
The most broadly useful figures are:
- In 2024, global roundwood production reached 3,905 million m³, covering the world’s forest-products measure.
- In 2024, global industrial roundwood production reached 1,956 million m³, 2% above 2023 and 16% above 2000.
- In 2024, global sawnwood production was 445 million m³, 8% below 2020 and 14% above 2000.
- In 2024, global wood-based panel production reached 393 million m³, 5% above 2023 and 122% above 2000.
- In 2024, particle board, OSB and fibreboard production totaled 280 million m³ globally, 5% above 2023.
- In 2024, China produced 45% of global wood-based panels, while the United States produced 8%.
- In 2024, secondary processed wood products generated $132 billion in global export value, 13% above 2020.
- In 2024, wood-and-paper products generated $486 billion in global export value, 17% above 2020.
- In 2025, U.S. woodworker employment was 199,900, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- From 2025 to 2035, BLS projects about 18,100 U.S. woodworker openings annually, primarily from replacement needs.
- In May 2025, the U.S. woodworker median annual wage was $45,310.
- In May 2025, the highest-paid 10% of U.S. woodworkers earned above $60,240 annually.
- In 2021, China produced 337 million m³ of wood-based panels, up 8% from 2020.
- In 2021, China consumed 318 million m³ of wood-based panels, up 7.5% from 2020.
- In 2022, China imported 43.6 million m³ of logs, down 32% from 2021.
- In 2023, U.S. forest-products industries accounted for an estimated 1,013,550 jobs in an IMPLAN sector total.
Contents
- Global woodworking industry production and trade
- Panels, lumber and processed wood products
- U.S. woodworking employment, wages and outlook
- China woodworking and furniture manufacturing data
- Woodworking’s wider forest-products footprint
Global Woodworking Industry Production and Trade
FAO’s Forest Products Statistics database measures a broad forest-products system. Roundwood includes woodfuel as well as industrial roundwood, so it should not be read as finished woodworking output.
| Global measure | 2024 result | Change or share |
|---|---|---|
| Roundwood production | 3,905 million m³ | 1% above 2023; 12% above 2000 |
| Industrial roundwood production | 1,956 million m³ | 2% above 2023; 16% above 2000 |
| Roundwood exports | 99 million m³ | 2% below 2023; 16% below 2000 |
| Industrial roundwood exports | 93 million m³ | 1% below 2023; 19% below 2000 |
| Woodfuel production | 1,949 million m³ | 9% above 2000 |
Source: FAO Forest Products Statistics: Data. These are global production and trade measures, and woodfuel is included even though it is not primarily manufactured woodworking.
FAO also reports country shares for 2024. China produced 45% of global wood-based panels, compared with 8% for the United States; China held 15% of global wood-and-paper-product export value, compared with 7% for the United States.
The United States was the largest importer of wood-and-paper products by value in 2024, with 15% of global imports. That combined category is broader than woodworking and includes paper products.
Woodworking Industry Data on Panels, Lumber and Processed Products
Processed wood categories show different trajectories. Sawnwood is a primary processed material, while panels include plywood, laminated veneer lumber, particle board, oriented strand board and fibreboard.
| Product measure | 2024 global result | Comparison |
|---|---|---|
| Sawnwood production | 445 million m³ | 8% below 2020; 14% above 2000 |
| Sawnwood exports | 129 million m³ | 1% below 2023; 17% below 2020 |
| Wood-based panel production | 393 million m³ | 5% above 2023; 122% above 2000 |
| Wood-based panel exports | 90 million m³ | 5% above 2023; 71% above 2000 |
| Plywood and LVL production | 113 million m³ | 4% above 2023; 94% above 2000 |
| Particle board, OSB and fibreboard production | 280 million m³ | 5% above 2023; 136% above 2000 |
Source: FAO Forest Products Statistics: Data. The panel total includes the listed panel types, while plywood and LVL are reported as a combined category.
FAO recorded 52 million tonnes of global wood-pellet, briquette and other agglomerate production in 2024, up 2% from 2023 and 10% from 2020; exports were 34 million tonnes, up 5% from 2023 and 8% from 2020. These are fuel products, not conventional workshop output.
Global wood pulp production was 189 million tonnes in 2024, up 3% from 2023 and 11% from 2000. Pulp is an upstream forest-product input rather than a woodworking product.
Secondary processed wood products generated $132 billion in global export value in 2024, 13% above 2020 and 169% above 2000. This category includes products such as furniture, and the figure is export value rather than total production value.
The wider wood-and-paper category generated $486 billion in global export value in 2024, up 17% from 2020 and 114% from 2000. The broader category should not be treated as woodworking revenue.
U.S. Woodworking Employment, Wages and Outlook
The Bureau of Labor Statistics defines woodworkers occupationally, covering jobs such as cabinetmakers, bench carpenters, furniture finishers and machine operators. Its employment figures are not measures of industry revenue.
| U.S. woodworker measure | Period | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Total employment | 2025 | 199,900 workers |
| Projected employment | 2035 | 195,000 workers |
| Average annual openings | 2025–2035 | About 18,100 |
| Median annual wage | May 2025 | $45,310 |
| Lowest-paid 10% | May 2025 | Below $33,280 |
| Highest-paid 10% | May 2025 | Above $60,240 |
Source: BLS Woodworkers: Occupational Outlook Handbook. Employment values are rounded to the nearest 100, and projected openings are expected to arise from replacement needs rather than net growth.
BLS projects overall woodworker employment to decline 2% from 2025 to 2035, a forecast rather than an observed change. Within detailed occupations, cabinetmakers and bench carpenters are projected to fall from 81,800 workers in 2025 to 79,400 in 2035; furniture finishers from 15,900 to 15,300; and wood sawing machine setters, operators and tenders from 41,200 to 40,800.
Pay varies by detailed occupation and employing industry:
- Cabinetmakers and bench carpenters had a $46,680 median annual wage in May 2025.
- Furniture finishers had a $44,540 median annual wage in May 2025.
- Woodworking machine setters, operators and tenders except sawing had a $43,380 median annual wage in May 2025.
- Sawing machine setters, operators and tenders in wood had a $42,770 median annual wage in May 2025.
- Woodworker median pay was $47,590 in specialty trade contractors, $45,980 in furniture and related product manufacturing, and $42,630 in wood product manufacturing in May 2025.
China Woodworking and Furniture Manufacturing Data
China’s data combine official production series with industry estimates and enterprise coverage thresholds. Enterprises above designated size have annual main-business revenue of at least 20 million yuan, so many smaller firms are excluded.
China produced 337 million m³ of wood-based panels in 2021, up 8% from 2020, and consumed 318 million m³, up 7.5%. Industry estimates put annual panel production at 300 million m³ in a 2023 report, distinct from the reported 2021 output series.
| China panel measure | Period | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Plywood share of panel production | 2021 estimate | About 60% |
| Fibreboard share | 2021 estimate | About 20% |
| Particle board share | 2021 estimate | About 10% |
| Shandong, Jiangsu and Guangxi share | 2021 estimate | About 60% |
| Four broad consumption sectors | 2021 estimate | More than 80% |
Source: Solid Wood Products Annual 2023: China. The consumption estimate covers furniture, flooring, decoration, cabinets and doors, plus packaging, crafts and construction; categories may overlap in supply chains.
China’s wood furniture production by enterprises above designated size fell 16.5% year over year in 2022. The five largest wood-furniture-producing provinces accounted for about 65% of total furniture output in a 2022/2023 report, and China had 7,273 furniture enterprises above the designated-size threshold in 2022 versus an estimated 70,000 furniture enterprises overall.
Trade and raw-material figures show contraction in selected 2022–2023 measures:
- Logs and lumber represented about 80% of China’s wood-product imports by value in a 2023 report.
- Wood furniture and plywood together accounted for more than 60% of China’s wood-product exports by value in the 2023 report.
- China’s wood-product imports declined 15% in value in the first half of 2023 year over year.
- Occupancy rates at some major Chinese timber markets declined 8%–10% in 2023 visits; this was a selected-market observation, not a national average.
China imported 43.6 million m³ of logs in 2022, down 32% from 2021. Softwood log imports were 31.2 million m³, down 38%, with New Zealand supplying 57% of that volume; hardwood log imports were 12.4 million m³, down 10%, and tropical hardwood represented 58% of hardwood-log imports, down from 68% in 2021.
China imported 26.5 million m³ of lumber in 2022, down 7% from 2021, including 17.3 million m³ of softwood lumber, down 10%. These import measures cover raw materials and are not equivalent to finished furniture or workshop output.
Woodworking’s Wider Forest-Products Economic Footprint
USDA’s economic-impact report places woodworking within a wider U.S. forest-products system that includes wood products, paper and wood furniture. Its figures are modeled estimates, not audited national accounts.
| U.S. forest-products measure | Period | Estimate or forecast |
|---|---|---|
| Sector employment estimate | 2023 report | Approximately 1 million people |
| IMPLAN sector jobs | 2023 report | 1,013,550 |
| IMPLAN value added | 2023 report | $103.135 billion |
| Custom architectural woodwork and millwork jobs | 2023 report | 27,400 |
| Custom architectural woodwork and millwork value added | 2023 report | $1.648 billion |
Source: Economic Impact Analysis of the U.S. Biobased Products Industry. The IMPLAN total spans listed forest-product industries, and modeled value added is not sales.
The same USDA report cites an IBISWorld forecast that U.S. paperboard-container manufacturing revenue is expected to grow at a 2.0% CAGR to $90.3 billion over the next five years after the 2023 report. This is a related forest-products segment, not woodworking alone, and should be read as a forecast rather than an observed result.