by changes in timber ownership or a sharp reduc- 
tion in the cost of timber holding. General adoption 
of sustained-yield management would automati- 
cally cure most evils of overproduction. 
Transportation and Markets 
Lumber from this region is marketed in all parts 
of the world and forms the principal cargo shipped 
from its ports in both tonnage and value. Lumber 
is likewise the leading commodity shipped from the 
region by rail, in both tonnage and value. Water- 
borne shipments in 1935 from Oregon and Wash- 
ington ports amounted to 2.3 billion board feet, 
according to Pacific Lumber Inspection Bureau 
data. Practically all the lumber shipped by vessel 
from Oregon and Washington is produced in the 
Douglas-fir region; and very little comes from 
eastern Oregon and eastern Washington or from 
other States. Domestic shipments picked up from 
the low points of 1932 and 1934 (table 32 and fig. 
29) despite strike conditions in the shipping and 
lumber industries; but foreign shipments did not 
respond to improved economic conditions abroad. 
A large part of the lumber shipments were formerly 
consigned to Great Britain and possessions, but 
since the British Empire Trade Agreement of 1932 
British Columbia mills are getting more of this busi- 
ness. Partly offsetting this trend, Oregon and Wash- 
ington mills are getting a larger proportion of the 
domestic cargo business. 
It is estimated that in 1935 approximately 1 
billion board feet of lumber produced in the Doug- 
las-fir region was remanufactured or consumed 
locally, and 1.9 billion board feet was shipped by 
rail to various parts of the United States. The 
principal rail markets for forest products from this 
region are the Lake, Central, and Prairie States. 
Shipping costs practically prohibit rail shipments 
to States farther east, although lumber shipped by 
vessel to the Atlantic coast is reshipped by rail or 
trucked to interior points within short distances. 
Freight charges constitute from 35 to 50 percent of 
the average delivered price of Pacific coast lumber 
in midwestern and eastern markets. To overcome 
this handicap there has been increased local use of 
dry kilns in the last few years. 
The rail rate on lumber to Des Moines is 68 cents 
per hundredweight, to Chicago 72 cents, and to 
91 
| MILLIONS OF 
BOARD FEET 
3.500 
3,000 
| 2,500 
2,000 
1,500 
1,000 
500 
YEARS 
| qf UNITED STATES 
DOMESTIC 
{ BRITISH COLUMBIA 
| FOREIGN 
Sune STATES 7{ BRITISH COLUMBIA 
FOREIGN “4 TO UNITED STATES 
Ficure 29.—Water-borne lumber shipments from the United 
States (Oregon and Washington) and from British Columbia 
to domestic and foreign ports 
points eastward to the Atlantic coast 78 cents. 
Assuming an average shipping weight of 2,500 
pounds per M board feet, these rates amount to 
charges of $17, $18, and $19.50 per M feet. The 
cargo rates per M board feet from ports in this 
region to the Atlantic coast averaged $12 to $13 in 
the last few years, to California ports $5 to $7. 
Back haul costs by rail or truck from Atlantic coast 
ports mount up rapidly, and at points as distant 
from the east coast as Buffalo and Pittsburgh cargo 
rates plus rail back haul exceed the through rail 
rate. In striking contrast to the domestic cargo 
rates are the rates to foreign ports; for example, the 
rate to Japan is about $7 per M, to China about the 
same, and to Australia $8 to $9. Practically all ex- 
port shipments are carried in foreign bottoms, with 
operating costs lower than those of the American 
vessels that handle coastal and intercoastal trade. 
The great distance between mill and market has 
been a disadvantage in another way; it has been 
partly responsible for the development of a system 
of marketing through wholesalers and commission 
men. It is estimated that 70 percent of the lumber 
production of this region is sold through wholesale 
middlemen. This has weakened the control of the 
