Forest Industries Based On ‘Timber 
239 
The timber-products industries constitute one 
of the main channels through which the forests 
contribute to the economic life of the Nation. It 
is important, therefore, to examine the problem 
of timber supply in relation to these industries. 
On the one hand we should have answers to such 
questions as these: Are the industries prepared to 
supply the Nation’s potential requirements for tim- 
ber products? What kind of timber do the indus- 
tries need? What are their raw-material supply 
problems? 
On the other hand we need to know how the 
pattern of industry development affects the timber 
resource and whether the industries are set up to 
provide economic outlets for what is being grown. 
The Lumber Industry 
Lumber manufacture is by far the largest of the 
wood-using industries. Its 39,000 establishments, 
employing an estimated 442,000 full-time equiva- 
lent workers and paying wages estimated at $774,- 
000,000, accounted for 70 percent of the saw-timber 
cut in 1944. 
There is an urgent demand for new housing. If 
we maintain a high-level economy there will be 
a large volume of other construction. The need 
for reconstruction abroad must also be considered. 
All together, real needs are likely to exceed the 
output of the lumber industry for many years. 
Although per capita consumption has declined 
over a 40-year period, lumber is still the most widely 
used building material. It is the unrivaled ma- 
terial for many shipping purposes and finds its 
way into thousands of fabricated products. 
Traditionally, the lumber industry has been 
migratory. ‘The first sawmills in a pioneer region 
generally were small and served local needs. Later, 
the virgin timber was opened up on a large scale 
in order to supply other sections of the country. 
Large blocks of timber were accumulated or ac- 
quired by grant and these became the basis for 
large-mill operations. Heavy investments were 
made in transportation and logging facilities. ‘The 
large mills tended to be clustered in strategic loca- 
tions such as harbors, rivers, and rail centers. Fi- 
nancial pressure incident to the large investments 
generally tended to maintain output at a high 
level as long as timber was available in quantity. 
As the virgin timber disappeared the large mills 
were forced to close down. Usually, however, 
small blocks of timber were left because of owner- 
ship or other reasons, especially around the periph- 
ery of operations. Second growth, which was 
commonly neglected by the large mills, assumed in- 
creasing importance. Such timber continued to 
support small mills. In fact, being better adapted 
to cutting small blocks, scattered stands, and smaller 
timber, the little mills then came into their own. 
Tractor logging and truck transportation have 
increased the flexibility of woods operations. “They 
have made possible the economic logging of small 
parcels and of selected species or classes of timber 
that could not be handled with railroad logging. 
Such equipment has fostered small operations, en- 
abling them to compete on more nearly equal 
terms. 
The greater flexibility and mobility of logging 
operations increase the opportunity for good forest 
management and for using timber now wasted. 
But if not directed toward these ends, greater 
flexibility and mobility may, and do, lead to more 
destructive cutting and more complete depletion of 
forest growing stock. 
Portable mills, most of which cut less than 1 — 
million board feet a year, present difficult prob- 
lems. Because they require little capital and are 
not exacting in log requirements, they open the 
lumber business to persons with little money and 
business experience. Equipment is often obsolete, 
poorly set up, or in need of repair. Manufacturing 
practice is commonly poor. Sawing for a restricted 
market, such as that for ties or dimension lumber, 
sometimes leads to excessive waste. Cost account- 
52 Miscellaneous Publication 668, U. 8. Department of Agriculture 
