Business cycles and forest products industries

This study examines the cyclical behavior of the U.S. forest products industries relative to the overall business cycle. The output and employment of the U.S. forest products sectors showed strong simultaneous comovements with business cycles. Moreover, the U.S. forest products sectors fluctuated much more than the general economy. Of the three forest products sectors, the lumber and wood products sector fluctuated most, and the paper and allied products sector varied least. The investment in the forest products sectors was less strongly procyclical, but more persistent, than their output and employment. Therefore, the output and employment in the forest products sectors were significantly affected by business cycles, but the investment in these sectors was influenced more by technology advances and other factors than by business cycles.