TIMBER RESOURCES OF NORTH AMERICA AND TUB WORLD 



339 



exports accounted for 45 percent of all wood 

 utilized commercially. Approximately half of the 

 lumber produced in Canada is currently exported 

 and 75 percent of the paper and veneer; 10 to 12 

 percent of the plywood production is exported. 



The United States receives approximately three- 

 fourths of Canadian forest-products exports (table 

 189). It receives 99 percent of Canadian exports 

 of veneer, 90 percent of paper, 85 percent of ply- 

 wood, 82 percent of woodpulp, 80 percent of 

 pulpwood, and 67 percent of lumber. In general, 

 this is a mutual!}^ advantageous relationship. 

 The United States gets wood products, and Canada 

 gets foreign exchange with which to purchase in- 



dustrial and other products. Canada would, how- 

 ever, prefer to export completely processed wood, 

 such as finished paper and plywood. In the 

 future, Canadian exports of unprocessed round 

 wood — pulpwood, for example — may decrease in 

 order that greater quantities of pulpwood can be 

 processed in Canada and exported as paper or 

 woodpulp. 



Canada's imports of forest products account for 

 only 3 percent of its total imports. Varieties of 

 paper products not manufactured in Canada make 

 up a large part of these imports. Partially manu- 

 factured wood products, rosin, turpentine, gums, 

 resins, and cork are also imported. 



Table 189. — Production and export of principal Jorest products, Canada, 1952 



Item 



Lumber 



Pulpwood ' 



Woodpulp 



Paper 



Veneer ' ^ 



Plywood 



Production 



Total export 



Export to United States 



Relation of total export to production 



Relation of export to United States to total 

 export 



Million 

 bd.-ft. 

 6,808 

 3,340 

 2,252 



Million 

 CM. fl.^ 

 1, 280 

 244 

 196 



Thousand 



short tons 



8, 968 



1,941 



1,589 



Thousand 



short tons 



7,202 



5,526 



4,990 



Million 

 sq. ft. 

 551 

 408 

 402 



Percent 

 49 



67 



Percent 

 19 



80 



Percent 

 22 



82 



Percent 

 77 



90 



Percent 



14: 



99 



Million 

 sq. ft. 

 ^595 

 72 

 61 



Percent 



12 



85 



'1951 figures. 



2 J/^o-inch thickness basis. Does not include an un- 

 known footage produced by the furniture and other veneer- 

 using industries. 



3 Wood and bark. 



■• }^-inch thickness basis. 



Timber Utilization Could Be 

 Increased 



In 1952, Canadian forests supplied a cut of 

 about 3.6 million cubic feet for domestic use and 

 for export. They may ultimately be able to sup- 

 port a sustained cut of double this amount or 7.2 

 mUlion cubic feet annually when they are under 

 management and the old-growth forests have been 

 converted to more productive stands.^® This rep- 

 resents an increase in growth of from 50 to 60 

 percent above present levels. 



Canada, like the United States, has experienced 

 a rapid growth of its national economy in recent 

 years. It might not be unrealistic to assume that 

 the Canadian economy, due to expected increases 

 in population and to current developments in the 

 production of oil, electric power, and iron and 

 uranium ores, may expand even faster than that 

 of the United States during the next two decades. 

 Under these conditions, it is logical to expect that 

 Canada's timber supply will take on added im- 



5' Food and Agriculture Organization of the United 

 Nations. Report of the Preparatory Conference on World 

 Pulp Problems, Montreal, Canada, 25 April-4 May, 1949. 

 Canad. Pulp and Paper Assoc, June 1949. 



portance, particularly from the standpoint of 

 supplying its own domestic requirements. 



If growth is increased substantially, Canada 

 may ultimately be able to expand its timber 

 exports consisting primarily of softwoods in the 

 form of pulpwood, woodpulp, and paper, as well 

 as to support increased requirements resulting 

 from rapid expansioii of its own domestic economy. 

 In projecting United States domestic timber re- 

 quirements, an allowance is made for a conserva- 

 tive increase in imports chiefly from Canada from 

 the equivalent of 1.18 billion cubic feet of round- 

 wood in 1952 to 1.66 and 1.79 billion cubic feet in 

 1975 and 2000. Whether Canada will be able to 

 support any more than these amounts to the 

 United States will depend on its domestic growth, 

 export requirements to other countries, and the 

 rate at which the stands are brought under man- 

 agement and growth is increased. 



The outlook for increased imports from Canada 

 of softwood lumber of quality grades is not as 

 encouraging over the long run as for pulpwood 

 derived products. At present rates of cutting, 

 there appears to be a 25 to 50 years' supply of 

 old-growth Douglas-fir, which is perhaps the most 

 important source of high-quality lumber in Can- 

 ada. For this reason, it is believed unlikely that 



