THE OUTLOOK FOR TIMBER DEMANDS 



43 



in effect that substitution of other materials for 

 lumber in housing, shipping, and other uses will 

 proceed at a slower pace in the future than in the 

 past, and that such displacement of lumber will be 

 more than offset by growth factors associated with 

 the projected major expansion of the Nation's 

 economy. 



Domestic Production Nearly 90 

 Percent of Consumption in 1962 



The domestic lumber industry supplied 89 per- 

 cent of the lumber consumed in 1962 and net 

 imports 11 percent. Net imports of 4.1 billion 

 board feet represented a peak in a trend that has 

 been rising fairly rapidly since World War II 

 (table 32 and fig. 19). 



Total imports in 1962 included 4.6 billion board 

 feet of softwoods and 0.3 billion board feet of 

 hardwoods, both obtained chiefly from Canada. 

 Lumber exports in 1962 included 0.6 billion board 

 feet of softwoods and 0.1 billion board feet of 

 hardwoods. 



Net imports have been projected to rise to 7 

 billion board feet by 2000^ — roughly the same 

 proportion of total consumption as in 1962. Pro- 

 duction of domestic lumber is projected from about 



33 billion board feet in 1962 to 46.5 billion board 

 feet by 2000. 



Softwoods Compose 83 Percent 

 of Total Lumber Consumption 



Softwoods accounted for 83 percent of the lum- 

 ber used in 1962 — about the same proportion that 

 has prevailed over the past 40 years (table 32). 

 Trends in lumber markets, as described in earlier 

 sections, indicate little prospective change in this 

 proportion. 



For some years after World War II, used lumber 

 was of considerable importance in urban areas of 

 the East and in farming areas, both for upkeep and 

 improvements and for new construction. Such 

 reuse of materials from demolished buildings has 

 declined sharply, however, largely as a result of 

 mechanized demolition. Projections of lumber 

 demand developed in this section are therefore 

 considered as applying to new lumber. 



Projected Per Capita Consumption 

 Drops 78 Percent by 2000 



Per capita consumption of lumber has dropped 

 materially in the past few decades from about 325 

 board feet in 1920 to 263 board feet in 1952 and 

 200 board feet in 1962 (table 31 and fig. 20). The 



Figure 20 



