3554 



Chapter 28 



Table 28-7. — Price per MSF paid by retailers at eight locations for '/2-inch CDX south- 

 ern pine three-ply sheathing plywood, based on average 1977 east Texas mill prices and 

 December 1977 freight rates 



Rail freight Price paid 



Retail per CWT from Fob East Texas by retailer 



location East Texas' Freight/MSF^ mill price-^ for sheathing 



-- Dollars 



Houston 0.44 6.71 222 229 



Kansas City 1 .05 16.01 222 238 



St. Louis 1 .04 15.86 222 238 



Chicago 1 .30 19.83 222 242 



Tampa 1 .35 20.59 222 243 



Mobile .86 13.12 222 235 



Pittsburgh 1 .75 26.69 222 249 



New York 2.13 32.48 222 254 



'Based on average shipment weight of 115,000 lb per car. 

 ^Based on 1 ,525 Ib/MSF. 



^Average for 1977; from this price retailer got only a 2-percent cash discount for payment in 10 

 days. 



THE RAW MATERIAL 



Hardwood species mix varies with location (chapter 2), but throughout the 

 South (except in northern Arkansas and southern Missouri) a mix of approxi- 

 mately 60 percent hard hardwoods and 40 percent softwoods and soft hardwoods 

 is available. From such a mix, a structural flakeboard can be fabricated to a 

 shipping weight of 47 to 50 pounds/cubic foot. 



In northern Arkansas and southern Missouri less than 10 percent of the 

 hardwood resource is soft hardwoods and southern pine is in limited supply. 

 Oaks and hickories, however, are plentiful. Flakeboards containing mostly oak 

 and hickory may have shipping weights of 50 to 54 pounds/cubic foot, slightly 

 higher than that of boards made with a mix containing softwoods and soft 

 hardwoods. In this analysis, flakeboards from all southern locations have been 

 assigned a shipping weight of 2,083 pounds/ 1 ,000 square feet of Vi-'inch. board, 

 or 50 pounds/cubic foot. 



Chapter 2, and numerous publications containing resource data indicate that 

 hardwood resources are adequate for flakeboard manufacturing operations at 

 many southern locations. Optimum sites at which to manufacture flakeboard are 

 not solely determined by wood supply, however. Price and freight structure in 

 eastern, southern, and midwestem plywood markets are also major factors. 



