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Some Figures on Lumber Exports 



Beginning with the year 1912 the Department of Commerce en- 

 larged the scope of its statistics of export of forest products from 

 the United States. Before that time lumber generally went simply 

 as lumber without any subdivisions to show the kinds, as pine, oak, 

 spruce, etc. ; but last yeai- somebody awakened to a realization of the 

 fact that there are different kinds of woods passing out of the ports 

 of this country to enter those of foreign lands, and that the business 

 men of this country, and probably of others also, would be pleased to 

 receive a few more particulars. The result was tliat what formerly 

 had been lumped in as lumber is now separated into nine parts, as 

 shown in the export statistics of 1912. 



There were several subdivisions or classes recognized in the forest 

 products exports before that time, such as round logs, hewed logs, 

 sawed (square) logs, cooperage, and others; but plain lumber has long 

 been the leading item in these exports, and it was listed as though 

 it were a single species. Under the new arrangement this item ap- 

 pears in the 1912 report as follows, for the year closing June 30 : 



Species. Value. 



Longleaf pine (called "pitch pine") $15,85:i,:;31 



Oak 9,229,413 



Fir 7,640,938 



Gum 1,645,031 



Yellow poplai- 985,291 



Shoi-tleaf pine 824,300 



Spruce 510,097 



Other pine 6,580,689 



All others 7,493,538 



Total $52,060,694 



Tliis subdivision is an improvement, but it lacks much of being 

 complete. Yellow poplar is probably the only one on the list that is 

 a single wood. What is called oak is made up of a dozen or more 

 kinds of oak ; some are white oaks, others are in the red oak class, but 

 since lumbermen in this country do not pay much attention to the 

 different species of oak, it would be impossible to separate them when 

 they are presented for export to foreign countries. 



Longleaf pine is the chief species exported as ' ' pitch pine. ' ' That 

 is a general name and is applied to no fewer than six pines of the 

 United States. 



Shortleaf pine doubtless represents two or three kinds, including 

 loblolly. The name is used for a number of yellow pines. 



Fir is a name that may properly be applied to the lumber of 

 nearly a dozen different trees; but the fir listed for export is prac- 

 tically all Douglas fir cut in Oregon and Washington. 



Spruce lumber is cut from red, black and white spruce of the 

 northern and eastern part of the United States, and from Engel- 

 mann spruce of the Rocky Mountains, and Sitka spruce of the north- 

 ern Pacific coast. Most of the export spruce is the red and the 

 Sitka. 



in comparing the forest products exports of one period with those 

 of another, much care is necessary to make sure tliat the totals in each 

 period consist of similar and comparable items, otherwise the figures 

 will be misleading. Errors of this kind are apt to occur for the 

 reason that one table of imports will contain certain raw materials 

 or certain manufactured or partly manufactured articles which are 

 not included i^ other tables. The table which follows has been con- 

 structed to make the figures for the seven years comparable as nearly 

 as possible. Four kinds of material are included — hewed logs, sawed 

 logs and heavy timbers, lumber as the term is usually understood, 

 and joists and scantlings. For some reason the collectors of statistics 

 prefer to group tlie commodities in that way. This does not include 

 a number of forest products, like pulp, furniture, cooperage, shingles, 

 etc. Exports listed in the table may be compared for the seven years 

 covered by the statistics: 



Commodit.v. 1900. 1907. 1908. 1900. 



Hewed Timber .$ 877.776 ? 890,100 $1,316,403 $ 839,011 



Sawed timber 10,049.310 13,101,178 11,040,677 8,414.519 



Lumber 28,695,823 39,861,352 35,607,508 20,0.56.579 



Joist and scantling.. 501,711 752,152 581,718 378,914 



Tutal $50,724,620 $54,004,788 $48,546,368 $38,089,023 



Commodit.v. 1010. 1911. 1912. 



Hewed timber $ 825,192 $ 770,123 $ 044,129 



Sawed timber 9,852,027 11,476,177 10,292,792 



Lumber 36,774,219 43,756,177 52,060,094 



Joists and scantling 507,853 520,358 577,075 



Total $47,959,891 $50,522,835 $63,574,090 



The products represented in the above table ay3 distributed to all 

 the principal countries of the world. For example, the sawed timber 

 for the years 1908 and 1912 was shipped as follows: 



Destination. 1908. 1912. 



Europe $8,910,111 $8,847,471 



North America 1.448,022 1,460,274 



South America ." 188,308 124,281 



Asia 10,928 336 



Af"™ 105,310 260,330 



Oceania 377,399 



It is thus shown, for this item at least, that the trade is not subject 

 to much change. The four years from 1908 to 1912 did not greatly 

 increase or diminish the exports to the chief markets. The total 

 exports of forest products ("wood and manufactures of wood") for 

 the year ending June 30, 1912, is shown below: 



Europe $37,890,687 



North America 31,500,401 



South America 14.811.867 



Oceania 5,386,560 



-^fii<'a 1,842,437 



Asia 1,333,753 



Total $92,777,705 



The exports to North America include those to Canada, IVTexieo, 

 Central America, and the West Indies. Oceania is a general term 

 including the islands in the Pacific ocean, the most important of 

 which are Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, and Hawaii. Iklost 

 of the shipments to that region go from the Pacific coast. A list 

 showing the total exports to all countries for a number of years is of 

 interest for the purpose of comparison. While there has been a 

 general increase, such increase has not been steady. The table below 

 covers nine consecutive years: 



Value o( 

 Yea r — wood exports 



1904 $00,953,120 



1905 54,902,131 



1900 05,214,094 



1907 79,704,365 



1908 77,183,.539 



America has always been an important source of lumber for ex- 

 port. The trade began more than 300 years ago, but figures for 

 early periods are fragmentary. About one hundred years ago the 

 government began keeping systematic records, though the method of 

 keeping them has changed from time to time. In some instances 

 totals only are shown, while at other times many details are included, 

 such as the kinds of wood and the various destinations. Below is 

 given an abstract of the lumber exports, by decades, for a century — 

 that is, each tenth year, beginning with 1817, is given. Tlie exports 

 may not be entirely comparable in all cases, but they are generally so. 

 The main items are sawed and hewed lumber and timber. Round logs 

 are not usually included, though for some years they may be. Wholly 

 manufactured articles, largely or entirely of wood, such as furniture, 

 are not included in the follonnng totals: 



Value of Value of 



Year — wood exports. Year — Wood exports. 

 1817 $3,498,144 1867 $14,838,574 



Value of 

 Year — wood exports. 



1909 $64,540,573 



1910 74,920,958 



1911 87,701,832 



1912 92,867,764 



1827 . 2.273.112 



1837 3,226,662 



1847 3,938,201 



1857 11,033,217 



1877 17,884,156 



1887 18.613,656 



1897 35,679,694 



1907 79,704,365 



While the United States has always been an exporter of forest 

 products, it has been an importer also. Wood was imported into 

 .\merica about as early as it was exported. Common lumber was 

 shijiped to these shores from Europe long before the Revolution. 

 Boards and planks sawed by hand by the old pit-saw method came 

 to this country for house building at a time when every man here 



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