PRODUCTION OF LUMBER, LATH, AND SHINGLES IN 1918. 3 



all of the years are not directly comparable, since the intensiveness 

 of the individual annual canvass made must be taken into considera- 

 tion. In the enumerations for 1899 and 1909, field agents of the 

 Bureau of the Census were employed, which permitted the output of 

 nearly all, if not all, mills being recorded. The reported cut and the 

 estimated total cut for 1918 are the smallest for any one of the 

 years shown. 



LUMBER PRODUCTION BY CLASSES OF MILLS. 



As in previous years, the mills were arbitrarily divided into classes 

 according to the quantity reported cut. These classes are shown in 

 Table 2, with the computed 1 number of mills operating and the com- 

 puted total production for each of the last five years — 1914 to 1918, 

 inclusive. 



More than two-thirds of the aggregate output of the country's 

 sawmills was produced by 1,290 mills, or but 5.7 per cent of the 22,546, 

 or computed total number, in operation. The concentration of 

 production among the larger operations— mills cutting 10,000,000 

 feet and over annually — has increased materially during the last 

 decade. In 1909, this class of mills produced 43.09 per cent of the 

 total cut for the year, while in 1918 the same class of mills cut 59.49 

 per cent of the total. In 1918, the number of class 5 mills operating 

 was about 100 less than for the year before; a number of class 5 mills 

 in 1917 became class 4 mills in 1918 through their cut falling below 

 10,000,000 feet. 



Figures on sawmill capacity with relation to actual production, 

 arranged by classes of mills and by States, are contained in Table 3. 

 The compilation is based upon answers to a question on the lumber 

 cut schedule sent to the mills as to how much lumber the reporting mill 

 could produce in a 10-hour shift if demand and price were very favor- 

 able. While not all of the returns contained an answer, the number 

 of replies is sufficiently large to furnish an excellent basis for the 

 table. Local conditions of a wide variety, with climatic conditions 

 dominating, account for the considerable variation in the average 

 number of 10-hour days operated by the mills in different States, and 

 in the average yearly output per mill. The theory held generally by 

 operators that the larger mills, such as those falling into class 5, 

 operate closer to capacity than do the mills in the lower classes is 

 supported by the figures in the tabulation. A computed average 

 figure for the country as a whole is omitted, since there was no 

 logical common basis for it. 



i "Computed," as used in this bulletin, expresses results obtained by the extension of figures based on 

 actual returns so as to show totals for approximately all sawmills whether or not reports were received from 

 them. 



