FUTURE DEMAND FOR TIMBER 



443 



Production of softwood veneer and plywood 

 and of hardwood veneer and plywood are gener- 

 ally considered as two industries. Their products 

 compete to some extent, but each has a market 

 domain in which its products are clearly dominant. 



Table 258. — Estimated volume of logs and bolts 

 consumed in manufacture of veneer and plywood 

 in specified years, 1906-55 



[Million 



board-feet, 



log scale] 





Year 



All species 



Softwood 



Hardwood 



1906 



329 



349 



383 



436 



577 



400 



646 



735 



962 



1, 113 



696 



700 



824 



1,114 



1, 194 



1,736 



1,594 



1, 533 



1, 404 



1, 570 



2,271 



2,467 



2,815 



1 2, 878 



' 3, 431 



52 



39 



51 



56 



93 



70 



151 



194 



290 



394 



228 



282 



340 



460 



544 



797 



659 



647 



546 



751 



1,232 



1, 548 



1,861 



' 1, 978 



2,431 



277 



1907 



310 



1908.-- 



332 



1909 



380 



1919 - 



484 



1921 



330 



1923 



495 



1925-- 



541 



1927 



672 



1929 - - 



719 



1931 



468 



1933 



1935 



418 

 484 



1937 



654 



1939..- - 



650 



1942 



939 



1943 - _ . 



935 



1944 



886 



1945 



858 



1947.- - 



819 



1951 



1, 039 



1952 



1953 



1954 



919 



954 



' 900 



1955 - 



' 1 , 000 







' Estimate. 



Source: 1906—33, U. S. Department of C'ommerce data 

 republished in Sowder, A. M., and Marquis, R. W., 

 Timber Requirements for Veneer and Plywood, Forest 

 Service, Washington, D. C, 1941, p. 8. 1935-47, Forest 

 Service, Materials Surrey, Washington, D. C, 1950, 

 table 48. 1951-53 and 1955, U. S. Department of Com- 

 merce, Facts for Industry, Softwood Plyivood and Veneer, 

 Summary for 1952, p. 6; Summary for 1953, p. 2; Summary 

 for 1955, p. 2; Facts for Industry, Hardwood Veneer 1952, 

 p. 3, Hardwood Veneer 1953. p. 3. Department of Com- 

 merce 1952 data adjusted to include log consumption 

 of "green veneer" mills. 



Softwood Plywood and Veneer 



The softwood veneer and plywood industry 

 includes about 120 mills located in the Pacific 

 Northwest and California. Production is based 

 chiefly on Douglas-fir, which comprises from 95 

 to 98 percent of all wood consumed. Other 

 species — used to a limited extent — include ponder- 

 osa pine and western hemlock. In 1955, 4 percent 

 of the softwood veneer '^^ produced was used for 



'■" Veneer, normally }i or yio inch thick, is the product 

 cut from the log. 



containers and 96 percent was used for plywood: 



Volume of logs and 

 bolls (log scale) 



Million 



Utilized for plywood: board-feet Percent 



Douglas-fir 2,236 92 



Ponderosa pine 40 2 



Other species 61 2 



Total 2,337 96 



Utilized for container veneer: 



Douglas-fir 66 3 



Ponderosa pine 1 



Other species 27 1 



Total 94 4 



Total volume processed: 



Douglas-fir 2,302 95 



Ponderosa pine 41 2 



Other species 88 3 



All species 2,431 100 



Source: U. S. Department of Commerce. Facts for 

 Industry, Softwood Plywood and Veneer, 1955, p. 2. Wash- 

 ington, D. C. 1957. 



The rapid expansion in uses of softwood plywood 

 in recent years can be attributed largely to the 

 development of moisture-resistant and water- 

 proof glues. Prior to World War I most of the 

 glues used in plywood production were not re- 

 sistant to moisture. In the 1920's moisture- 

 resistant glues were developed, and during the 

 mid-1930's several waterproof glues were intro- 

 duced. "Exterior grade" plywood, bonded with 

 these waterproof glues, can be used in exposed 

 locations without risk of glue faihu-e. In 1955, 

 about 1,250 million square feet (/s inch basis) — 24 

 percent of the softwood plywood manufactured — 

 was exterior-grade material. 



The trend in production (table 259) and con- 

 sumption of plywood '^^ has followed the trend of 

 log consumption. Between 1939 and 1955, the 

 period in which uses of softwood plywood have 

 been well cstablislied, consumption has increased 

 399 percent, or at an average annual rate of 10.6 

 percent. 



This rapid increase of softwood plywood con- 

 sumption reflects extensive substitution of ply- 

 wood for lumber. Softwood plywood sheathing 

 and subflooring, for example, provide an excellent 

 base for laying most types of roofing, siding, and 

 flooring. This, along with the fact that plywood 

 can be installed at the construction site with less 

 labor, has induced much of the substitution. 



'^^ Only limited data are available on actual consumption 

 of softwood plywood, but production closely approximates 

 consumption. There is a small volume of international 

 trade in softwood plywood, and stocks fluctuate from year 

 to year, but not to any large extent in comparison with 

 annual production. 



