30 



TIMBER TRENDS IN THE UNITED STATES 



Table 18. — Lumber and plywood and veneer con- 

 sumed in farm structures,^ 1952-2000 





Lumber 



Plywood and veneer 



Year 



Volume 

 used 



Use per 



dollar - of 



expenditure 



Volume 

 used 



Use per 



dollar 2 of 



expenditure 



1952 



Million 

 board feet 

 4,500 

 2,000 



Board feet 

 2.47 

 1.41 



Million 



square feet 



Ys-inch 



basis 



Square feet 

 Ys-inch basis 



1962 



210 



0.15 



PROJECTIONS 



1970 



1,900 



1.25 



300 



0.20 



1980 



1,900 



1.15 



400 



.24 



1990 



1,900 



1.05 



500 



.27 



2000 



1,900 



.90 



600 



.29 



1 Includes farm service buildings and structures; ex- 

 cludes dwellings. 



2 1961 dollars. 



Changes in the type of farm structures built, as 

 illustrated by the trend from conventional to pole 

 type barns with metal roof and metal siding at- 

 tached to poles set in the ground, have also caused 

 some decrease in the use of lumber. The substi- 

 tution of plywood and nonwood building materials 

 has been another contributing factor. 



Projections Show Not Much Change in Demand 

 for Lumber — Increase for Plywood 



In view of trends in farm construction and oper- 

 ation, projected use of lumber per dollar of farm 

 construction expenditures in 2000 was reduced 

 about 40 percent from present levels (table 18). 

 Plywood, on the other hand, appeared likely to 

 find increasing use in farm structures and factors 

 for plywood used per dollar of construction were 

 consequently increased. 



Based on these assumed wood-use factors and 

 projections of farm construction expenditures, 

 projected demand for lumber on farms drops 

 slightly by 1970 to a level of about 1.9 billion board 

 feet a year. The projection for plywood shows a 

 threefold increase to 600 million square feet 

 annually by 2000. 



In addition to lumber and plywood an estimated 

 55 million square feet of hardboard O^-inch basis) 

 and about 5 million square feet of insulation board 

 ('/^-inch basis) was used on farms in 1962. Pro- 

 jected demands for these products are included 

 in the section on Demand for Pulpwood. 



Substantial numbers of wood poles and posts 

 are also used in construction and fencing on farms. 

 Allowances for these items are included in the 

 section on Demand for Miscellaneous Timber 

 Products. 



RAILROAD CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE 



Use of wood products by railroads has been 

 changing rapidly as a result of a reduction in rail- 

 way mileage, new railway operating methods, and 

 use of nonwood materials. However, fairly large 

 volumes of lumber plus significant quantities of 

 plywood are still used by railroads for ties, railway 

 cars, bridges, and a variety of other structures. 



Projected Use of Crossties 

 Estimated at 28 Million Annually 



Crossties represent the most important wood 

 product consumed by railroads. The total num- 

 ber of crossties used annually has dropped from an 

 average of about 96.4 million in the 1920's to an 

 average of 29.5 million in the 1950's and an 

 unusually low level of 16.1 million in the 1960-62 

 period (table 19 and fig. 14). 



