More than 200 loggers from across the nation responded to Timber Harvesting’s 2025 Logger Survey, and the results show a battered but resilient logging industry, especially in the face of pulp-paper mill closures as that industry undergoes a transition to less roundwood consumption. And there are pockets of logger optimism around the country, especially with President Trump’s initiatives to boost timber production from national forests and increase overall domestic lumber output. But more loggers are describing a limit to holding on, that you can only break even or lose money or see stagnant business for so long.

Many contractors are like Alan Grow of Grow Timber Harvesting, who recently relocated his business from Pennsylvania to West Virginia for more consistent work. While he believes he’s in a better place with the move, he’s still very concerned about the industry overall.

“We’re very concerned about the potential for more mill closures in the Northeast, and very concerned about the rising costs of insurance,” Grow says. “We think Trump’s overall idea to grow the logging industry in America is good, but not enough attention is being paid to a constantly aging workforce in our industry and the loggers and mills going under.

“We have been holding on for better times for five years now,” Grow continues, “and you can only hold on for so long.”

These days, having a Plan B is key to staying in business. “It goes in big swings,” says David Hertel of Holzfaller Timber in Haines, AK. “Sometimes it’s going great, but when it rains it pours, and you better have some savings to cover the losses or you can be out of business faster than you can blink.”