United States Timber Risk Profile

Timber Risk Score: 100 / 100 in 2019. The Timber Legality Risk Assessment for the United States contains an evaluation of the risk of illegality in the United States for five categories and 21 sub-categories of law. We found:

• Specified risk for 0 sub-categories.
• Low risk for 20 sub-categories.
• No legal requirements for 1 sub-category.

This page provides an overview of the legality risks related to timber produced in the United States. 

33.8% (309.8 million ha) of the United States is covered by forests of which:

• About 24% is primary forest
• About 67% is naturally-regenerated forest
• About 9% is planted forest

Roundwood production totalled 413 million m³ in 2015. The forestry sector (including wood processing and pulp and paper) contributed USD 95.0 billion to the economy in 2011, which was nearly 0.6% of the GDP.

Risk may be present in US timber supply chains. The risks may relate to timber harvesting activities and trade and transport. If you are sourcing from the US you should take care to ensure the risks identified are not present in your supply chains, or have been sufficiently mitigated. 

This risk assessment was prepared between 2016-2018 according to the FSC-STD-40-005. The approved FSC Risk Assessment can be downloaded in the FSC Document Centre. ONLY Risk Assessments that have been formally reviewed and approved by FSC can be used by an FSC candidate or certified companies in risk assessments and will meet the FSC standards without further verification.