14 



TIMBER RESOURCES FOR AMERICAS FUTURE 



Table 3. — Consumption of lumber and pulpwood 

 for specified years 





Lumber i 



Pulpwood - 



Year 



Total 



Per 

 capita 



Total 



Per 

 capita 



1900 



Billion 

 bd.-ft. 

 41. 

 42.4 

 43. 4 

 36. 7 

 34.6 

 40.2 

 30. 

 23.3 

 34.3 

 30. 6 

 40.7 

 39. 

 41.5 

 38.5 

 39. 4 

 41.0 



Bd.-ft. 

 539 

 506 

 470 

 365 

 325 

 347 

 244 

 183 

 260 

 219 

 268 

 253 

 264 

 241 

 243 

 248 



Million 

 cords 



Cords 



1905 



3.4 



4. 9 



0. 04 



1910 - 



. 05 



1915 





1920 



8.2 

 10. 8 

 13. 2 

 13.8 

 18. 

 23.0 

 33.7 

 36. 2 

 35.4 

 37.8 

 38.2 

 41. 6 



. 08 



1925 - 



.09 



1930 -- -.. . 



. 11 



1935 . 



. 11 



1940 _ 



. 14 



1945 



. 16 



1950.- _ 



. 22 



1951 .-- 



. 23 



1952 



. 23 



1953.- 



. 24 



1954 . _-. -_. 



. 24 



1955 --. 



.25 







' Estimates of apparent consumption based on esti- 

 mated production, less exports, plus imports. Adjust- 

 ments for changes in lumber stocks during period 1930-52. 



2 Includes net imports of pulpwood, also of woodpulp 

 and finished paper expressed in terms of pulpwood. 



no long-term trend estimates for all timber prod- 

 ucts in the United States because of the lack of 

 fuelwood information. In the early 1900's, it is 

 estimated that fuelwood consumption was about 

 100 million cords. It has since dropped to about 

 59 million cords in 1952. The per capita con- 

 sumption of fuelwood dropped from 1.3 cords to 

 0.4 cords during this period, or a 70-percent de- 

 crease. Although fuelwood at the turn of the 

 century represented a major fraction of all energy 

 materials consumed, by midcentury it accounted 

 for only a minor fraction because of the substitu- 

 tion of other fuels (fig. 6). It seems most likely 

 that the competitive position of wood as an energy 

 material will continue to weaken. 



In summary, there are several significant trends 

 that should be mentioned. 



1. The long-term trend of product composition 

 of industrial wood products is for a decrease in the 

 proportion that lumber makes of the total, in- 

 creases in the proportions of pulpwood and veneer 

 logs and bolts, and a decrease in minor industrial 

 wood products. Lumber, however, still makes 

 up well over half of the total consumption of 

 industrial wood products. 



2. There has been a decrease of about 70 per- 

 cent in the consumption of fuelwood since 1900. 

 Although fuelwood in 1952 still made up 16 per- 

 cent of the consumption of all timber products, 



100- 



1940 1950-52 



SOURCE: Bureau of Census 



