FUTTJEE DEMAND FOR TIMBER 



379 



Table 211. — Apparent minimum annual net 

 replacement oj dwelling units in the United 

 States, 1950-55 



Year 



Estimated 

 total num- 

 ber of new 

 dwelling 

 units 

 built 1 



Net in- 

 crease of 

 house- 

 holds 



Apparent 



net re- 

 placement 

 of dwelling 

 units 



1950 



1951 



1952 



1953 



1954 



Thousand 

 1,564 

 1,263 

 1,301 

 1,261 

 1,369 

 1,472 

 1,351 

 1,371 



Thousand 

 1,372 

 1, 102 

 848 

 830 

 559 

 895 

 783 

 934 



Thousand 

 192 

 161 

 453 

 431 

 810 



1955 



1952-55 average 



1950-55 average 



577 

 568 

 437 



1 Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates of new permanent 

 nonfarm dwelling units started plus the estimated number 

 of new farm dwellings built. Estimates of farm dwellings 

 built are based on Census of Housing data for the period 

 1945-49, allocated to years by use of the Department of 

 Agriculture estimates of farm construction expenditures in 

 1947-49 dollars. Extrapolation from 1949 is based on the 

 construction expenditure estimates in 1947-49 dollars. 

 By this method, the estimates of number of farm dwellings 

 built are as follows: 



sar: 



Thousand 



Year: 



Thousand 



1945 



32 



1950 



168 



1946 



120 



1951 



172 



1947 



159 



1952 



174 



1948 



158 



1953 



157 



1949 



157 



1954 



149 







1955 



143 



The total for the period 1945-49, 626 million, is a reason- 

 ably reliable Census of Housing estimate. 



Source: U. S. Housing and Home Finance Agency. 

 Housing in the Economy, 1955, tables A-1 and A-64, pp. 

 16 and 64. Washington, D. C. 1956. Census of Housing, 

 1950, Bui. H-Al, p. 3. Expenditures for farm construc- 

 tion in 1947-49 dollars. Construction Review, February 

 1955 and August 1956; Department of Commerce, 

 National Income, pp. 216-217, 1954 Ed. 



Type and Size of Dwelling Unit Are Changing 



The use of lumber in residential construction is 

 influenced in part by changes in the type and size 

 of living quarters that people want. The trend 

 has been away from the two-family and multi- 

 family type of structure toward the single-family 

 house. Fifty years ago, about one-third of all 

 private nonfarm dwelling units being built were 

 in two-family and multi-family structures. In 

 1955, less than one-tenth of the number built were 

 of those types : ^^ 



^ U. S. Housing and Home Finance Agency. Housing 

 in the Economy 1955, table A-2, p. 17. Washington, D. C. 

 1956. 





Single- 





Multi- 





family 



Two-family 



family 



I ear: 



(percent) 



(percent) 



(percent) 



1900 



65 



16 



19 



1905 



66 



13 



21 



1910 - 



- . 65 



15 

 17 



20 



1915 



61 



22 



1920 



82 



10 



8 



1925 



61 



17 



22 



1930 



69 



9 



22 



1935 



84 



4 



12 



1940 



85 



5 



10 



1945 



89 



4 



7 



1950 



85 



3 



12 



1955 



91 



2 



7 



While the bulk of public housing built since the 

 1930's has been multi-family, farm housing has 

 been almost entirely single-family. Hence, the 

 upward trend in single-family structures since 1930 

 is somewhat greater than the private nonfarm 

 figures indicate. Housing has tended to move out 

 of the field of heavy construction, where concrete 

 and steel have strong competitive advantages, 

 toward the field of light construction where lumber 

 and other timber products have advantages. 



The average floor space per dwelling unit de- 

 creased by something like 25 percent between 

 1920 and 1950 but, since 1950, there apparently 

 has been some increase (table 212). Also, ceiling 

 heights have been getting lower, reducing the in- 

 ternal cubic-foot volume to a somewhat greater 

 extent than indicated by floor space measurements 

 alone. Stanford Research Institute has esti- 

 mated the 1920-53 trend in floor space, ceiling 

 height, and cubic-foot volume in terms of an index 

 based on 1920 average dimension: ^^ 



Ceiling Cubic 



Floor space height volume 



1920 100 100 100 



1930 86 99 86 



1940 82 96 79 



1950 75 92 69 



1953 76 90 68 



It is rather unlikely that there will be a further 

 decrease in the average size of dwelling unit. 

 More probable is some increase to accommodate 

 the larger number of children that the majority of 

 families are now having. This factor will, of 

 course, be offset to some extent by the concurrent 

 increase of older couples and single persons who 

 maintain separate homes. 



Changes in type and size of average dw^elling 

 unit have been accompanied by changes in archi- 

 tectural style. The single-story house has gained 

 in popularity over the two-story model, and this 

 trend has increased the area of roof surface re- 

 quired to cover a given square footage of floor 

 space. There has been a marked reduction in the 



" Stanford Research Institute. America's Demand for 

 Wood, 1929-1975, p. 30. Weyerhaeuser Timber Co., 

 Tacoma, Wash. 1954. 



