of higher quality reach the market, the main emphasis must be placed on 

 better manufacture and vigorous promotion of current products to main- 

 tain the competitive position of eastern white pine in the lumber market. 



IV. Summary and Conclusions 



White pine lumber is a major product from Maine and New Hampshire 

 forests. More than a thousand sawmills are used to produce this lumber. 

 Its value at retail lumber yards is estimated at 52 million dollars. Almost 

 half of this volume, however, falls into the lowest two standard grades, 

 No. 4 and 5 Common lumber. Selling this product presents a major prob- 

 lem to lumber dealers. The bulk of it goes into boxes and crating and rough 

 construction. The upper grades are in constant demand. Their sale is hind- 

 ered by a lack of volume, short lengths, and sometimes by poor manu- 

 facturing. These upper grades are used almost entirely in home construction 

 and repairs. 



The demand for the upper grades results in increasingly competitive 

 bidding for the better quality stumpage* and contributes to the general 

 rising pricef for white pine stumpage. An immediate result is higher raw 

 materials cost to producers and a need for more efficient production com- 

 bined with better marketing practices. 



Sawmill owners indicated that a lumber buyers credit standing or busi- 

 ness reputation is more important than price. Sales were not limited to 

 only one buyer but producers operating volumes under one million feet 

 spent very little time selling. Their time was occupied in procuring raw 

 materials and operating their sawmill. 



The competitive position of sawmill owners with respect to purchasing 

 the raw material and selling it as a manufactured product is indicated by 

 their classification as a marketing agency. Of the eleven sawmill owners 

 handling over 3 million board feet annually, eight performed at least the 

 wholesaling and some of the retailing functions. Altogether, about one- 

 third of the sawmill owners sampled were middlemen, and as such they may 

 be in a better competitive position for procuring their white pine raw 

 material (stumpage) and for selling their products. 



Only 30 percent of the volume included in this study was sold to whole- 

 salers. Eleven percent was sold by sawmill owners directly to retailers and 

 the main bulk, 59 percent, was sold directly to consumers — to manu- 

 facturers and for construction. 



New Hampshire is the major source of round-edge lumber. It is sold 

 to box plants and other industrial users throughout New England and New 

 York. Although the volume has declined in the last 20 years, there is a 

 continuing market for it. The price of round-edge lumber "on-the-sticks" 

 was quoted in the Boston Commercial Bulletin as being about 27 dollars 

 less than that for square-edge white pine. Ninety-six percent of the round- 



* Swain and Wallace, 1956. "Marketing Forest Products in New Hampshire", N. H. 

 Agr.. Exp. Sta. Bui. 420. 



Baker and Beyer, 1957. "Marketing Forest Products in Maine", Maine Agr. Exp. Sta. 

 Bui. 554. 



t Wallace, 0. P., 1957. "Changes in Stumpage and Lumiber Prices in New Hamp- 

 shire, 1937-1956", Forestry Dept. Mimeo., University of New Hampshire. 



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