Economic Impacts of an Infrastructure Bill on the Wood Products Value Chain

As part of his 2016 election campaign, President Trump pledged a $1 trillion investment in infrastructure. Now, almost one year into his term, and with 2017 tax reform efforts complete, the director of President Trump’s National Economic Council stated that the President will unveil his infrastructure plan prior to his January 30, 2018 State of the Union address.

FTI Consulting, on behalf of the Forest Landowners Association, considered how $1 trillion in infrastructure spending would impact the wood products value chain (WPVC), which includes the forestry and logging, wood products, paper products, and printing activities subsectors. The WPVC, which is a critical component of construction, contributed $406 billion to U.S. GDP and employed 1.46 million people in 2017.

FTI Consulting estimates that the $1 trillion infrastructure stimulus would increase the WPVC’s GDP by $12 billion and labor income by $8.4 billion over 10 years. In addition, FTI Consulting expects this stimulus to support an additional 14,000 new jobs, on average, across the WPVC.

FTI Consulting also analyzed the economic impact that the $1 trillion infrastructure stimulus would have in five states with a significant WPVC presence—Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Oregon, and Wisconsin. FTI Consulting’s analysis shows that the infrastructure investment will generate an average of $400 million in additional GDP for each of these states over the 10-year period, with Georgia receiving $520 million in additional GDP, the highest of the five states considered.