62 



TIMBER TRENDS EST THE UNITED STATES 



Some Implicit Allowances 

 Made for New Products 



No specific allowances have been made in the 

 projections for possible new uses of wood such as 

 the manufacture of wood-based chemicals or other 

 products that are as yet unknown. The projection 

 techniques used, however, do involve some implicit 

 allowances for new products and new uses. Pro- 

 jections for pulp and paper, for example, are based 

 essentially on past consumption trends which 

 reflect a long history of innovations of new prod- 

 ucts and uses, such as fiber containers, tissues, 

 industrial papers, photographic films, rayon, and 

 a wide variety of other items. 



Conversely, it is also possible that advancing 

 technology in the manufacture of products from 

 fossil fuels or other nonwood materials may con- 

 tinue as in the past to displace some wood-based 

 products that are now important in the U.S. 

 economy. 



Timber Products Supplied 

 Largely From Domestic Sources 



percent of the veneer logs, 81 percent of the pulp 

 and paper, and practically all of the miscellaneous 

 industrial wood and fuelwood consumed (table 

 43). 



Net imports of lumber and veneer products 

 have increased since 1952, whereas net imports of 

 pulpwood products have declined slightly. Recent 

 increases in lumber imports reflect some gain in 

 advantages held by Canadian lumber producers. 

 On the other hand, former Canadian advantages 

 in the production of pulp and paper appear to 

 have been offset by developing technology in the 

 U. S. pulp and paper industry. 



Some further increases in imports of lumber 

 have been assumed, as indicated previously (fig. 

 27). Increases in both imports and exports of 

 pulpwood products also are considered likely, with 

 an increase in the volume of net imports. The 

 relative importance of such net imports of pulp- 

 wood is projected to decline, however, from 19 

 percent of the total U.S. demand in 1962 to 11 

 percent in 2000. Considerable amounts of hard- 

 wood plywood and veneer are imported from 

 tropical countries and substantial further in- 

 creases in such hardwood imports also have been 

 assumed. 



Forests of the United States supplied about 89 

 percent of the saw logs consumed in 1962, 87 



NET IMPORTS & DOMESTIC 



PRODUCTION OF 



TIMBER PRODUCTS 



■■ Domestic Production 

 Saw Logs 



Net Imports 



Pulpwood 



Hardwood Plywood & Veneer 



1962 



2000 



I I L 



2 3 4 5 6 7 



billion cubic feet 

 Figure 27 



9 10 11 



Most Products From Roundwood, But 

 Use of Plant Byproducts Increasing 



Practically all of the domestic production of saw 

 logs and veneer logs has been from roundwood — • 

 logs and bolts. In the case of pulpwood, however, 

 roundwood accounted for only 78 percent of the 

 total domestic production in 1962, with 22 percent 

 from plant byproducts. Of the fuelwood used in 

 1962, about 56 percent came from roundwood and 

 44 percent from plant byproducts. 



The total volume of slabs, edgings, and other 

 plant byproducts used for pulpwood, fuel, or other 

 products in 1962 amounted to 1.5 billion cubic 

 feet (table 44). An additional 1.3 billion cubic 

 feet of plant residues, or the equivalent of nearly 

 17 million cords, was left unused at primary pro- 

 cessing plants in 1962. This included about 0.5 

 billion cubic feet of coarse residues suitable for 

 chipping, and 0.8 bilUon cubic feet of fine residues, 

 largely sawdust. About three-quarters of the 

 coarse residues were softwoods, located mainly in 

 the West and South. 



Expanding use of the coarse residues produced 

 at sawmills and other manufacturing plants is 

 expected as wood requirements rise in the pulp 

 and paper industry. In addition, the successful 

 experience of some pulp producers in using saw- 

 dust indicates the likelihood of a substantial ex- 

 pansion in use of fine residues. Some plant 



