28 



TIMBER TRENDS IN THE UNITED STATES 



and paneling. Smaller amounts were used for 

 cabinets, flooring, and forms. Plywood used in 

 nonresidential repairs went mostly into sheathing, 

 partitions, paneling, doors, and cabinets. 



In projecting future use of plywood in both 

 residential upkeep and improvements and non- 

 residential repairs, it was assumed that use per 

 dollar of expenditure would increase slightly as a 

 result of some further displacement of lumber, 

 then decline although at a slower rate than all 

 construction materials. These projected use fac- 

 tors, when multiplied by the estimated construc- 

 tion expenditures shown in tables 13 and 14, 

 indicate a potential demand of about 3.8 billion 

 square feet of plywood in 2000. 



About 625 Million Square Feet 

 of Building Boards Used in 1962 



Between 1952 and 1962, the volume of building 

 board used for upkeep and improvements approxi- 

 mately doubled. Further substantial increases in 

 potential future demand for these products are 

 projected, as indicated in a later section on 

 Demand for Pulpwood. 



FARM STRUCTURES 



Lumber, plywood, posts, poles, and other 

 timber products are used to build and maintain 

 farm structures such as barns, poultry houses, 

 fencing, and feedracks. Although still an impor- 

 tant market, striking changes in farming methods 

 and farm construction, and a decrease in the 

 number of farms from 6.5 million in 1929 to 3.7 

 million in 1959, have caused major changes in 

 farm use of lumber and other wood products. 



About 625 million square feet (^2-inch basis) of 

 building boards was used for upkeep and improve- 

 ments of residential and nonresidential structures 

 in 1962, according to recent studies in a number 

 of sample cities. This included about 400 million 

 square feet (M-inch basis) of insulation board, 360 

 million square feet (K-inch basis) of hardboard, 

 and 90 million square feet (^i-inch basis) of particle- 

 board. Roughly 85 percent of the total was used 

 for residential buildings, and about 15 percent for 

 nonresidential structures. 



Farm Gross National Product and Construction 

 Expected To Increase Moderately 



Farm output as measured by "gross farm 

 product," i.e., that part of the Nation's gross 

 national product contributed by farms, amounted 

 to an estimated $21.6 billion in 1962 (table 17). 

 Projections show a rise in gross farm product to 

 about $31.5 billion by 2000. 



Lumber, poles, posts, and other timber products are used in farm structures. 



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