AMOUNTS AND KINDS OF LUMBER USED IN THE 



MANUFACTURE OF BOXES IN THE 



UNITED STATES. 



BY 

 J. C. NELLIS, U. S. FOREST SERVICE. 



Box makers in the United States use 4,547,973,180 feet of 

 lumber annually, of which softwoods constitute 3,138,278,019 

 feet, or 69 per cent, and hardwoods 1,409,695,161 feet, or 31 per 

 cent of the total. Practically all of the wood used for boxes is 

 the product of the sawmill and therefore forms a part of the 

 annual lumber cut. Based on the production in 1912, the last 

 year for which figures are available, 11.6 per cent of all lumber 

 produced in the United States is converted into boxes. In fact, 

 the manufacture of packing boxes and shocks, crates, crating, 

 fruit and vegetable packages and baskets, is the second largest 

 wood-consuming industry of the United States. The manufac- 

 ture of lumber for construction and building purposes, planing 

 mill products, sash, doors, blinds, and general mill work, is, of 

 course, the leading wood-consuming industry, taking over two- 

 thirds of the annual lumber cut. 



This paper presents for the first time statistics showing how 

 much of each kind of wood is used by the box industry and the 

 amount consumed by box makers in each of the important regions 

 and States. These statistics are a part of those secured by the 

 Forest Service through its studies of all the wood-using industries.* 

 Investigations were conducted separately in each State. Reports 

 were secured from practically every wood-using plant showing 

 the amount of wood consumed annually, and the uses to which 

 each kind of wood is put, and the accompanying tables are based 

 upon reports secured from box factories during the respective 

 State studies. This information was first used in compiling State 

 reports which have been published for thirty States. This article 

 summarizes the statistical information regarding the box industry. 

 The collection and compilation of the figures, which was carried 

 out State by State, extended over a period of four years, but as 

 one full year was made the basis of statistics in each case the 

 figures shown here give a very clear idea of the quantity of each 



* Readers are referred to the various State wood-using 1 bulletins 

 for data as to the industry in each State. Further, this paper is but 

 a preliminary report of the Forest Service investigations of the box 

 industry; an extensive study has recently been undertaken which will 

 consider specifications for box lumber, methods of manufacturing- 

 boxes and shooks with particular attention to the reduction and use 

 of waste, costs of manufacture, marketing, and finally the use of 

 boxes by consumers with special reference to the correlation of con- 

 sumers' specifications as far as possible. 



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