444 



TIMBER RESOURCES FOR AMERICA'S FUTURE 



Table 259. — Production of softwood plywood, 

 specified years, 1929-55 



[Million square feet, % inch basis] 



Year 



Quantity 

 produced 



Year 



Quantity 

 produced 



1929 



358 



305 



235 



200 



390 



384 



480 



700 



725 



650 



1,032 



1,200 



1, 805 



1,840 



1943 



1944 



1945 



1946 



1, 495 



1930 



1931 - ... 



1,485 

 1, 222 



1932 



1 436 



1933 



1947 - 



1, 700 



1934 . _. 



1948 



1949 



1950 



1951 



1952 



1953 



1954 



1, 954 



1935 



1, 977 



1936 



2, 676 



1937 



2, 995 



1938 



3, 178 



1939 



3, 848 



1940 



3, 989 



1941 __ _ 



1955 



5, 147 



1942 





Source: 1929-38 and 1940, The Timberman, January 

 1952, p. 57, based partlv on data published by Bureau of 

 the Census. 1939 and 1941-42, Business Sta'iistics, 1953, 

 p. 155. 1943-46, Statistical Abstract of the United States, 

 1954, p. 728. 1947-55, Facts for Industry, Softwood Ply- 

 wood and Veneer, 1955, p. 2. The last three named are 

 U. S. Department of Commerce publications. 



About One-Fourth of Softwood Ply- 

 wood Used in Manufacture and in 

 Shipping 



In 1948, 411 million square feet (/s inch basis) of 

 softwood plywood was used in the fabrication of 

 fixtures, furniture, truck and truck-trailer bodies, 

 and various other items. ^^^ Another 312 million 

 square feet was used in the manufacture of con- 

 tainers.'^" 



With allowance for more extensive use of ply- 

 wood in the fabrication of manufactured products 

 and the increased output of such products, and 

 assuming some increased use in shipping, the 

 quantity of softwood plywood consumed in these 

 uses in 1955 is estimated at about 1.3 billion 

 square feet.'^' This volume represents 24 percent 

 of the 5.4 billion square feet (/s inch basis, con- 

 tainer veneer included) of softwood plywood 

 produced in 1955. 



Softwood plywood and veneer are expected to 

 maintain their present position in manufacturing 

 and shipping and to make some gains at the ex- 

 pense of lumber. Allowing for a moderate expan- 

 sion in these uses, for the anticipated increases in 

 the output of manufactured products containing 



'<» U. S. Forest Service, Wood Used in Manufacture 1948, 

 p. 28. Washington, D. C, 1951. (Plywood volume con- 

 verted from square feet, 1 inch thick equivalent.) 



'5° No separate estimates of demand for softwood con- 

 tainer veneer are made, since it accounts for only 4 percent 

 of the softwood logs and bolts used in veneer production. 



'5' Includes the plywood equivalent (% inch basis) of 

 container veneer. 



wood, for some increased use in shipping, and for 

 stable relative prices, demand in 1975 may amount 

 to 2.2 billion square feet (% inch basis). "By 2000, 

 demand may increase to 3.4 billion square feet 

 or to 3.9 billion — depending on whether popula- 

 tion increases to 275 million or to 360 million. 

 These estimates represent increases of 69 percent 

 in the period 1955-75 and 162 percent or 200 per- 

 cent during the period 1955-2000. 



Softwood Plywood Mainly Used for 

 Construction 



Most softwood plywood used in construction 

 goes into housing. Plywood, since the early days 

 of its production, has been a popular material for 

 door panels and cabinets. It gradually came into 

 general use for interior wall panels, ceiling panels, 

 partitions, subflooring, and as sheathing in walls 

 and roofs. It is used cxtensivelj^ for prefabricated 

 and ready-cut dwellings and other buildings such 

 as garages, and in the construction of farm and 

 multifamily dwelling units. 



In the first three months of 1956, softwood ply- 

 wood was used for one purpose or another in 78 

 percent of all new nonfarm single-family houses 

 started : 



Percent 

 ofaU 

 Houses houses 

 innmber) started 



Total houses started 218.600 100 



Houses in which plywood was used in 



one or more components 171,500 78 



Roof sheathing 42,000 19 



Exterior-wall sheathing 26.000 12 



Exterior-wall facing 12.500 6 



Subflooring 121,600 56 



Interior walls and ceilings 17, 400 8 



Builtins, partitions, and misc 70. 600 32 



Use not reported 1. 900 1 



Source: V. S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor 

 Statistics. Characteristics of A^ew Housing, First Quarter, 

 1956. Pt. II, Special Characteristics, Equipment and Ap- 

 pliances, p. 16. Washington, D. C 1956. 



On the average, 1 ,357 square feet (Ys inch basis) 

 per dwelling unit was used in this type of liousing. 

 Application of tliis factor to the estimated number 

 of nonfarm and farm single-familv houses built 

 in 1955 (1,340 thousand) indicates a total con- 

 sumption of about 1.8 billion square feet of soft- 

 wood plywood in all single-family dwellings built in 

 that year. Single-family dwellings accounted for 

 about 91 percent of all new residential construction 

 in 1955. Tlie total quantit}^ of softwood plywood 

 used in all types of housing is estimated at 2.0 

 billion square feet (?s inch basis). Allowing for 

 plywood used in the construction of garages and 

 otlier house accessories raises this estimate to 2.2 

 billion square feet for all new residential construc- 

 tion uses. 



If the average volume of softwood plywood used 

 per dwelling increases from about 1.200 square 



