FIGURE 7. SALES OF COMMODITIES HANDLED BY RETAIL YARDS. 



from outlets specializing in paint products. No correlation may be noted 

 between yard size classes for paint sales, although a range exists from 81 

 to 95 percent. Hardware is universally sold by all size yards in all states. 

 Non-wood exterior siding is sold by 72 percent of the yards, with a range 

 from 89 percent in New Hampshire to 49 percent in Massachusetts. 

 Characteristics of markets and degree of competition in selling this 

 product probably account for these variations. Larger yards handle this 

 item more frequently than do the smaller ones. 



LUMBER PROCUREMENT 



Retailers showed substantial preference for western lumber regard- 

 less of the market from which it was purchased (Figure 8). Even pur- 

 chases from instate sources wore predominately of western species. Only 

 19.5 percent of all lumJ)er purchases are from producers; thus the main 

 sources of lumber for retail yards are firms acting as market inter- 

 mediaries. Some of these firms are vertically integrated, having pro- 

 ducer, wholesaler, and retail units. Retailers purcliase 35 percent of their 

 needs instate but only 19 percent of this volum<> is from local producers, 

 except for Maine, where sixty percent of retailer purchases are eastern 

 species and from producers. 



Instate Sources 



Analyzing instate - outstate lumber purchases presents difficul- 

 ties because Massachusetts and Pennsylvania are the main locations for 

 most market intermediaries dealing in lumber. In New Hampshire, Ver- 



14 



