The collapse of pulpwood markets in southeast Georgia is threatening the prospect of a fifth generation joining the Howard family’s timber business. Bill Howard’s family began cutting lumber in 1898 and now employs roughly 300 people across a sawmill, two other plants and three builder-supply yards. Georgia and the broader U.S. South have faced an historic run of pulp- and paper-mill closures as recycled boxes, cheaper imported pulp and more efficient packaging by e-commerce companies including Amazon weaken demand. The U.S. lost roughly 10% of its containerboard capacity last year; containerboard is the thick paper used to make shipping and moving boxes. Demand has also fallen for pulpwood, wood chips, sawdust and other mill byproducts.