Of particular significance was the finding that 35 of the 130 firms con- 

 tacted sold two-thirds or more of their lumber to consumers. These firms, 

 who thus were essentially retailers, owned or contracted 49 sawmills. In 

 these cases, the retailer controlled the entire conversion process, logs to 

 lumber. Similarly, 12 manufacturers, owners who converted lumber into 

 some other form such as crating, owned or contracted an additional 26 

 mills. This pattern is indicated in Table 6. 



Table 6. White Pine Lumber Sales by Lumber Producers, Middlemen, 

 and Manufacturers Sampled, New England, 1956 



1 Lumber producers: Two-thirds or more of his sales volume is produced by his 

 contracted and/or owned saw-mills. Generally sells to lumber manufacturers and/or 

 distributors but retails (sells directly to consumers) one-third or less of his sales 

 volume. 



2 Seventy percent used in own plants; 13 sold to other manufacturers. 



3 Does not add to 100 percent, 4 percent unknown not included. 



Lumber, like most manufactured products, is traditionally purchased by 

 wholesalers from primary manufacturers (lumber producers) and then 

 distributed through retailers to the ultimate consumers. Each marketing 

 agent performs the necessary services of assembling, sorting, and standardiz- 

 ing the product. Deviations from this normal marketing pattern were found 

 in sales practices of both owners and distributors. 



The major manufacturing consumer of white pine lumber is the box 

 industry, which used over 90 percent of the 42 million board feet of round- 

 edge lumber produced by the sample sawmill owners. Part of their raw 

 material requirements are met by their own sawmills; the remainder is 

 almost entirely supplied by purchases directly from sawmill owners. Many 

 manufacturers of industrial goods throughout New England and New York 

 bought square-edge white pine from wholesalers. 



2. Factors Affecting Sales 



One-third of the sawmill owners sampled indicated that within limits 

 of 2 to 5 dollars per thousand board feet, a buyer's credit standing was more 

 important than the price offered. Lumber producers emphasized the im- 

 portance of the buyer's business reputation. Only 16 owners said that the 



