This study presents an analysis of some factors of production, industrialization and marketing for sawmills and the veneer and plywood industry in the state of Amazonas during the years 1981 , 1983, and 1985. Data were collected by means of questionaires and interviews regarding the following topics: principal species utilized, average yield from conversion of raw material, transport, source of logs, average cost per cubic meter,problems related to timber supply, problems arising during production, labor and principal products and their marketing and export.
It was observed that a maximum of 45 species were used by sawmills. Jacareúba (Calophyllum brasiliense) and louro inhamui (Ocotea cymbarum) accounted for more than 50%of the total consumption.
About twenty species were used by the plywood and veneer industry. Ucuúba (Virola surinamensis), Copaiba (Copaifera multijuga), Muiratinga (Naucleopsis caloneura) and Sunaúma (Ceiba pentandra) accounted for more than 80% of the total consumption.
It was found that 75-80% of the sawn wood production and 10-15% of the plywood and veneer were locally consumed, the principal buyers being retailers and the construction industry.
From 1981 to 1985 the total consumption of logs, in cubic meters, dropped 50.9% for sawmills and 39.3% for the veneer and plywood industry.
The production of sawn wood in the state of Amazonas is less than 10% of the production of either Pará or Paraná States.