Although the industrial base of individual States varies 
across the South, forest industries represent a leading sec- 
tor in nearly all States. In 1982, forest industries ranked 
fourth or higher in importance among major industry groups 
for all States in the South except Florida, Texas, and Okla- 
homa (fig. 1.8). 
Forest industries were the leading manufacturing industry in 
Mississippi and Arkansas, providing approximately 18 per- 
cent of all jobs and wages and salaries in those States. In 
Alabama, the apparel industry employed more people, but 
forest industries collectively had the highest payroll among 
manufacturing groups and generated $1 out of every $5 of 
value added by manufacturing in the State’s economy. 
In Georgia and North Carolina, textile mills were the 
leading manufacturing industry. Forest industries, however, 
outranked all other nontextile manufacturing in jobs, 
income, and value added, except for employment in apparel 
manufacturing in Georgia and the value added by tobacco 
products in North Carolina. 
In Virginia and Tennessee, chemical manufacturing is a ma- 
jor industry. In Virginia, however, forest industries were still 
the leading employer, and, in Tennessee as well as Virginia, 
only the chemical industry paid out more than forest indus- 
tries in wages and salaries. 
Forest industries were fourth in importance among the 
manufacturing sectors in the States of Louisiana and South 
Carolina. Louisiana is a major producer of transportation 
equipment, petroleum products, chemicals, and food 
products. South Carolina has large textile, apparel, chemical, 
and nonelectrical machinery industries. Forest industries, 
however, represented over 10 percent of all manufacturing 
employment and payrolls in Louisiana and approximately 
8 percent in South Carolina in 1982. 
Even in those States where timber represents a relatively 
smaller share of the total land area and manufacturing base, 
forest industries make a significant contribution to the 
economy, especially for those sections of a State where tim- 
berland is concentrated. In 1982, forest industries in Texas 
Figure 1.8—Ranking of forest industry wages and salaries with other manufacturing industries in the South, 1982 
