Economic contribution of ohio’s wood industry cluster: Identifying opportunities in the appalachian region

Abstract

Ohio’s wood industry cluster contributes nearly $25 billion and 116,321 jobs to the state’s economy, yet most of this value-added impact occurs outside of the heavily forested Appalachian Ohio region. This research, conducted as part of a Small Business Administration Regional Innovation Cluster grant, includes a multi-industry economic contribution analysis to document wood industry impacts to the entire State of Ohio and the 32-county Appalachian Ohio region. Findings indicated that Appalachian Ohio contained lower paying and lower on the value chain sectors compared to the state. This paper highlights these metrics and presents recommendations to improve investment and value-added industry opportunities in the wood industry cluster to support Appalachian Ohio.