Established in the 1850’s Queensland’s timber processing industry transforms log timber into saleable products.
The industry delivers:
- $4 billion annual turnover
- $1.0 billion in value adding to State’s economy
- $215 million in exports
- Employs 20,000+ people direct, plus 1.3 full time equivalent jobs created
90% of Queensland’s forest industry workforce is employed in the processing sector. Our softwood processing industry supplies 87% of Queensland’s current softwood demand and almost quadruples value of the timber resource. The industry consists of twenty-six processing operations stretching from Ravenshoe in Far North Queensland to the outskirts of Brisbane and provides:
- 3150 jobs
- $89.2 million in wages and associated costs
- $95.5 million paid to contractors
Primary Processing
The primary processing segment of the industry transforms the raw log from harvesting into a saleable final or intermediate product eg structural timbers, panelling, flooring, plywood, particleboard, medium density fibreboard (MDF), and pulp.
Queensland’s primary processing plants process about 2 million cubic metres of log input each year and employ around 2,550 people.
The segment generates about $380 million in gross output and is an important contributor to Queensland’s economy, especially in regional Queensland.
Secondary Processing
Secondary processing transforms the output of the primary processing or milling sector into wood, furniture and paper-based products ready for sale.
Key secondary processing activities range from large-scale operations that require significant financial investment and use a range of processes to manufacture products e.g. prefabricated roof trusses, strip flooring and furniture, to relatively small-scale establishments, such as joineries, using processes that require large amounts of time and human effort to produce items e.g. kitchen cupboards and wooden containers.