Dec. 1939] Marketing of Farm Woodland Products 



19 



Another set of trucking charges applies to trucking sawed lumber. Be- 

 cause of reduction in bulk and elimination of weight, it becomes economi- 

 cal after a certain distance is reached to saw the logs and transport the 

 sawed product, rather than to locate a mill at a greater distance from 

 the raw material and transport round logs. Discussing this matter, H. H. 

 Chapman comments: "The reduction of weight in the products of green 

 logs, due to waste in manufacture and the effect of seasoning, approxi- 

 mates roughly an average of 50 per cent for all species. This is equiva- 

 lent to an equal reduction in freight charges. "^ 



Data secured from within the area suggest that the reduction in trans- 

 portation costs by processing may not be as great as 50 per cent, but 

 that it probably exceeds 35 per cent of the cost of hauling logs. 



Relation of Production to Market Outlets 



Having considered separately the annual growth of merchantable tim- 

 ber and the average annual cut in recent years in the area, it is now de- 

 sirable to bring these two together. Throughout the following discussion 

 it should be remembered that production is estimated on the basis of 

 sustained yield. This consideration does not take into account such un- 

 foreseen and unpredictable happenings as the 1938 hurricane, which for a 

 short time may require a large increase in plant facilities. 



Considering first estimates for the whole area, the following relation- 

 ships are found. Production estimates indicate an annual growth of mer- 

 chantable timber of about 5 million board feet. Typical annual cut by 

 wood-using industries in the area has been about 6 million board feet in 

 recent years. Therefore, the rate of cut in the area exceeds the rate of 

 gro^Hh of merchantable timber by about 1 million board feet. In con- 

 sidering these estimates it should be emphasized that we are dealing on- 

 ly with timber at present of merchantable size and not with the total 

 growing stock in the area. It must also be kept in mind that our data 

 refer to a period intennediate in length (2-25 years). 



In Table 10 the data have been classified according to the quantity of 

 each species. This classification shows that although the annual cut of 

 both pine and softwood has exceeded the annual gro-vvii.h in recent years, 



T\HLK 10. — Comparison of annual growth and typical annual cut oj mer- 

 chantable timber by mills operating within the area, by types 



^Chapman, H. H., Forest Management, p. 264, 1931. 



