452 



TIMBER RESOURCES FOR AMERICA'S FUTURE 



areas, greater use of modern heating equipment, 

 increased urbanization, and increased per capita 

 income. 



Use of wood for production of steam power in 

 primary wood-using plants is likewise expected to 

 decline considerably, partly because of greater use 

 of plant residues for fiber products rather than for 

 fuel, and partly because more and more small mills 

 are converting from steam power to internal com- 

 bustion engines. 



Fuelwood is rapidly becoming a byproduct of 

 timber cut for industrial- wood products. In 1952, 

 an estimated 58.6 million cords of wood were used 

 for fuel, including 31.4 million cords taken from 

 plant residues. In view of this situation and the 

 comparatively weak position of fuelwood in com- 

 petition with other energy materials, only a single 

 estimate is made for 1975 and also for 2000. These 

 serve in lieu of separate lower, medium, and upper 

 projections of demand: 



Projected demand 



195i 



consumption 1975 (mil- 2000 (mil- 

 Source: (.million cords) lion cords) lion cords) 



Mill residues 31.4 22.9 18.0 



Roundvvood 27.2 11.1 7.0 



Total 58.6 34.0 25.0 



It is estimated that by 1975 the demand for 

 fuelwood will have decreased by about 42 percent 

 below 1952 consumption and by 2000, 58 percent. 

 Residues account for an increasingly greater share 

 of the total ranging from 54 percent in 1952 to 

 67 percent in 1975 and 72 percent in 2000. More 

 than three-fourths of the roundwood is estimated 

 to be hardwoods, while three-fourths of the resi- 

 dues are estimated to be softwoods. 



UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL 

 TRADE IN TIMBER PRODUCTS 



Although the United States ranks first among 

 the nations of the world as a producer of timber 

 products, it is also one of the leading importers of 

 such products. The principal items imported 

 mclude lumber, pulpwood, woodpulp, newsprint 

 and other paper and paperboard, veneer, plywood, 

 and veneer logs and bolts. 



Various timber products such as poles, piling, 

 shingle bolts, hewTi ties, and many other items 

 regularly enter the mternational trade of the 

 United States. The quantities involved have 

 always been small and are not expected to become 

 important in the future. 



In terms of roundwood and roiuidwood-equiva- 

 lent volume, pulpwood and products of pulpwood 

 comprised about 74 percent of total imports in 

 1952 and about 64 percent in 1955. Lumber is 

 next in volume imported, comprising 23 percent 

 of total net imports in 1952 and 33 percent in 

 1955. 



About 91 percent of the lumber, 96 percent of 

 the paper and paperboard, 81 percent of the wood- 

 pulp, and a high percentage of the imports of other 

 timber products come from Canada (table 264). 



United States exports of timber products are 

 comparatively small, being only about one-fifth 

 as much as the volume imported. Exports consist 

 chiefly of lumber, woodpulp, and paper, and go to 

 all parts of the world, although Canada and 

 Mexico are the principal markets. 



Total trade in 1952 and 1955 measin-ed in 



Table 264. — United States im-ports of timber jiroducts by source, 1952 and 1955 





Standard unit of 

 measure 



1952 



1955 



Product 



Quan- 

 tity 



Percent 



from 

 Canada 



Percent 



from 



other 



countries 



Quan- 

 tity 



Percent 



from 

 Canada 



Percent 



from 



other 



countries 



Lumber 



Softwoods 



Million bd.-ft 



do 



2, 487 



2,267 



215 



2,310 



1,941 



5, 191 



86 



428 



191 



91 

 94 

 55 

 99 

 81 

 96 

 67 

 94 

 66 



9 

 6 

 1 45 

 --- 



5 



34 



6 



•34 



3, 599 



3,327 



266 



1,928 



2,213 



5, 383 



628 



765 



199 



93 

 97 

 47 

 99 

 84 

 96 

 16 

 88 

 46 



7 

 3 



Hardwoods _ _ _ 



___ .do _. 



153 



Pulpwood 



Woodpulp 



Paper and paperboard- _____ 



Thousand cords 



Thousand tons 



do 



16 

 4 



Plywood _ - -_-_ 



Million sq. ft 



do 



2 84 



Veneer . - _ - 



12 



Saw logs and veneer logs 



Million bd.-ft 



> 54 



' Includes the tropical hardwoods imported chiefly from 

 the Philippines, Latin America, and Africa. 



2 In 1955 Japan was the major source of plywood im- 

 ports — supplying 68 percent of the total. 



Source: \]. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the 

 Census. 



