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Source:  Ag Source: www.mda.state.mi.us/mass/stats99/econ.htm#2
Forestry Source: Michigan Forest Economy, MSU, table 5a
Year 1994 is used because it was the latest available statistics for forest products

Most commonly, we think of sawlogs being sawn into lumber or peeled into veneer, and pulpwood being made into paper pulp.  These are primary wood-using mills, and there are about 367 of them in Michigan.  Secondary manufacturers will take the lumber, veneer, and pulp, and make them into the nearly 900 different products made in Michigan.  We have 1300 of these secondary manufacturers.

Wood-using mills are a valuable part of Michigan's forest industry and come in a wide variety of types.  They occur in each of Michigan's 83 counties.  A "primary" wood-using mill utilizes raw products from the forest (logs, chips, pulpsticks, etc.).   Examples would be a sawmill or pulp mill.  A "secondary" wood-using mill uses value-added products from primary wood-using mill.  Examples would be paper mills or furniture plants.  There can be several secondary mill links in a wood product "food chain".   Michigan has about 345 primary and over 1,300 secondary wood-using mills.  Additionally, there are over 850 producers that manufacture logs, pulpwood, and other raw wood products.

Some mills are very large, such as the pulp and paper mills owned by the Mead Corporation or International Paper.  They employ thousands of workers and consume large volumes of wood each year.  However, most mills are small, employing only a few workers.

Compared to Wisconsin and Minnesota, Michigan forests harvest less wood per acre.  This is part of the reason why Michigan's timber "surplus" is one of the highest in the nation.  The thought might be that we manage and harvest our forests less intensively than our sister states.  However, there are other possible explanations for this ranking.

Michigan also has a different composition of forest types.   Further west, average annual rainfall drops off and forest composition changes.    Wildfire had an increasingly larger role in forest ecology closer to the Great Plains, affecting forest composition. 

Uneven-aged forest types, such as northern hardwoods (maple-beech-yellow birch), occupy larger proportions of Michigan's forest scape than in Wisconsin or Minnesota.  These types are typically thinned on a regular basis rather than clearcut.  Thinning and selection harvesting produce less wood volume per acre within the time frame of a decade or so.  This is especially true of our largely middle-aged northern hardwoods being managed to create uneven-aged stands from even-aged stands left over from past logging practices.

Even-aged forest types, such as aspen, red pine, jack pine, oak-hickory, and paper birch, become more frequent as you move west.  Even-aged types tend to mature and decline in widespread "boom and bust" cycles.  So, when the "boom" comes, harvest is accelerated to minimize the "bust".  This boom-and-bust cycle has also been accentuated by our logging history and subsequent treatment of the land.   Much of our Lake States aspen, paper birch, and jack pine resources have reached maturity.