Logging Workers

Some logging workers harvest trees using handheld equipment or large machinery. Others inspect, grade, or estimate the market value of harvested trees, which provide the raw material for consumer and industrial products.

Duties

Logging workers typically do the following:

• Cut down trees using mechanical equipment or chain saws
• Operate machinery that moves logs
• Shear trees and cut logs into desired lengths
• Separate logs by species and type of wood and load them onto trucks
• Grade logs according to characteristics such as knot size and straightness
• Inspect equipment for safety and perform basic maintenance, as needed

Logging crews cut down trees and prepare them for transportation and eventual commercial use. The following are examples of types of logging workers:

Fallers cut down trees with hand-held power chain saws. They assess where they want a tree to fall and then determine the position, dimension, and depth of cuts to make. After cutting down the tree, a faller may cut off the top using hand-held power chain saws or other tools. Fallers typically work as part of logging operations where the terrain is inaccessible to large logging equipment.

Logging equipment operators use tree harvesters, or feller bunchers, to fell trees, shear off tree limbs, and cut trees into desired lengths. They drive tractors and operate self-propelled machines called skidders or forwarders, which drag or otherwise transport logs to a loading area. They also operate log loaders to sort and load logs onto trucks for transportation offsite. In addition, they may tend machines that chip up logs.

Log graders and scalers inspect logs for defects and measure the logs to determine their volume. They also estimate the value of logs or pulpwood. These workers often use hand-held data collection devices into which they enter data about trees.

Other logging workers may set up cable systems to move felled trees or use hand-held power chain saws and other tools to remove branches or bark from trees.

Logging workers held about 44,300 jobs in 2024. Employment in the detailed occupations that make up logging workers was distributed as follows:

The largest employers of logging workers were as follows:

Log graders and scalers typically work in sawmills, wood product manufacturing settings, or lumber yards.

Logging is physically demanding and can be dangerous. Workers spend all of their time outdoors, sometimes in poor weather and often in isolated areas.

Logging work involves lifting, climbing, and other strenuous activities, although machinery has reduced some heavy labor.

Injuries and Illnesses

Despite the industry’s emphasis on safety, logging workers are sometimes injured on the job. Although fatalities are uncommon, logging workers experience one of the highest rates of occupational fatalities of all occupations. Most fatalities occur through contact with a machine or an object, such as a log.

Falling branches, vines, and rough terrain are constant hazards, as are risks associated with felling trees and handling logs. Chain saws and other power equipment also can be dangerous. Workers must take precautions and follow safety protocols, which often include wearing hardhats, safety glasses, and other personal protective equipment.

Work Schedules

Most logging workers are full time, and some work more than 40 hours per week. Work schedules may vary to include early mornings or extended shifts. Workers sometimes commute long distances between their homes and logging sites. Logging work may be seasonal in some regions of the country.

Logging workers typically need a high school diploma, although some jobs do not require a formal educational credential. These workers get on-the-job training to become familiar with forest environments and to learn how to operate logging machinery.

The median annual wage for logging workers was $49,540 in May 2024.

Overall employment of logging workers is projected to grow 2 percent from 2024 to 2034, decline.

About 6,000 openings for logging workers are projected each year, on average, over the decade. Many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.