240 A NATIONAL PLAN FOE AMERICAN FORESTRY 



RELATION OF FOREIGN SUPPLIES AND MARKETS 



Up to 1914 the trend of timber consumption was gradually upward 

 in most of the important timber-consuming countries outside of the 

 United States. (See following section, " Trends in World Wood Con- 

 sumption ".) Requirements for fuel wood tended to decrease, require- 

 ments for saw timber, and especially for pulpwood, to increase. When 

 normal activities were resumed after the World War, the same 

 tendencies continued until the beginning of the general economic 

 depression in 1929. Russia, the largest consuming country except 

 the United States and at the same time the possessor of the greatest 

 forest resource, had not yet reached the pre-war consumption level, 

 but her output of timber has been increasing rapidly and her plans 

 call for a large increase in consumption during the next few years, as 

 industrialization proceeds. Outside of Europe and North America, 

 very few countries are yet industralized, but the trend is in that 

 direction in many of them. Industrialization has always been accom- 

 panied by an increase in timber consumption particularly of timber 

 for construction, secondary manufacture, and pulp. Softwoods are 

 preferred to hardwoods for a majority of uses. This preference seems 

 likely to continue if softwoods are available. 



The world's softwood supplies are being depleted. The importing 

 countries and most of the exporting countries of Europe can increase 

 their production very little or not at all, because they are now cutting 

 up to the growth capacity of their forests. The only possible im- 

 portant sources of export supply are Russia, Canada, and the United 

 States. The depletion of Canadian forests has already gone so far 

 that no great increase in exports can be looked for. Russian forests 

 have also been seriously depleted during recent years, and the quantity 

 of timber economically available is believed to be insufficient to meet- 

 Russia's own requirements if the country develops according to plan. 



It is doubtful whether Russian timber exports will maintain perma- 

 nently a level as high as her pre-war exports. If supplies from Russia 

 are cut off or reduced, as seems likely to happen within a few years, 

 importing countries will have to turn to other sources. The southern 

 pine and Douglas fir regions of the United States are the logical places 

 to obtain these supplies. They are strategically located with respect 

 to water transportation, and they can grow softwood timber faster 

 than almost any other large region in the world. 



About one fourth of our timber consumption is hardwood. Tropical 

 hardwoods, particularly for special purposes, are now contributing to 

 a degree to this requirement, and they may be more of a factor in the 

 future. To place great reliance upon this source of supply would, 

 however, be to overlook certain definite obstacles. The tropical forests 

 in many regions have been depleted by centuries of misuse, burning, 

 and cutting, so that present stands are composed mostly of com- 

 paratively worthless trees. The extensive areas of relatively good 

 stands are characteristically composed of many species, only a few 

 of which have as yet become merchantable. Much study will be 

 required to determine the properties and uses, as well as suitable 

 methods of manufacture, for many of the most plentiful species. 



In brief, the indications are strongly that the United States can 

 rely permanently upon foreign sources in no important degree for 

 timber supplies. Beyond this there exists a situation of world con- 

 sumption of softwood in excess of growth. This cannot continue 



