Increasing Potential of the New Brunswick Forestry Sector | UNB

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JDI Roundtable on Manufacturing Competitiveness in New Brunswick
JDI Roundtable

Increasing the potential of the N.B. forestry sector

Herb Emery and Gardner Pinfold/Forest NB have outlined key facts about the current state of the forestry sector in New Brunswick:

  • Industry characteristics:
    • Integrated
    • Export based on manufactured/processed goods
    • Modernized
  • 98% of forest material is processed into pulp and paper products (61%) and wood products (37%)
  • $1.7 billion is added to the economy yearly
  • 1 in 14 jobs in N.B. are linked to forestry
  • Forestry sector employment and value produced is spread all across the province
  • Productivity gains from 1997-2017 raised real value added by:
    • ~50% for forestry and logging (1.4% of GDP share)
    • ~45% for paper manufacturing (2% of GDP share)
    • ~10% for wood product manufacturing (1.4% of GDP share)
  • Producers can grow exports with government policies that improve competitiveness by improving access to:
    • Affordable and available transportation
    • Affordable wood/fibre
    • Affordable energy/electricity
    • Skills and labour supply to match producer needs

(Source: Herb Emery and Gardner Pinfold/Forest NB)

Increasing Potential of the NB Forestry Sector

This infographic was produced by Nihla Hussain, a 3rd-year bachelor of science student in biology-chemistry at UNB. Nihla’s experience as a data analyst in the Pathways to Professions program at UNB equipped her with the data analysis and interpretation skills to create impactful, story-telling visuals representing complex research data sets. 

Pathways to Professions (P2P) is a 13-week experiential learning program developed by the New Brunswick Institute for Research, Data and Training (NB-IRDT) with support from the Atlantic Institute for Policy Research (AIPR) and the Office of Experiential Education at UNB, as well as FutureReadyNB. This program provides post-secondary students with meaningful work experience by matching students with professionals in research fields to produce relevant, data-informed deliverables for community-based organizations.

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The JDI Roundtable on Manufacturing Competitiveness in New Brunswick is an independent research program made possible through the generosity of J.D. Irving, Ltd. The funding supports arms-length research conducted at UNB.

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