Figure 20 — Number of houses started. 



In million 



1990 



1991 



1992 



1993 



2000 



2010 



2020 



2030 



1.015 



1.193 



1.2 



1.25 



1.304 



1.386 



1.549 



1.392 



2040 



1.252 



Includes single families and multiples 



tural panel industry. These panels can be made from almost any species of wood, 

 with the preference being soft hardwoods such as aspen. Consumption of structural 

 panels reached record levels in response to the strong markets of the mid-1 980's. 

 Future growth in demand for structural panels is expected to be strongest for fiber- 

 based panels . 



Consumption of wood in the manufacture of pulp, paper, and paperboard grew rapidly 

 in the decades following World War II. Growth was at a more modest pace in the 

 1970's and 1980's. This growth in demand was due to a corresponding growth in the 

 economy, which stimulated consumption of packaging and other pulp-based products. 

 Annual per capita paper and board consumption grew from 360 pounds in 1952 to 

 600 pounds in the early 1970's, and reached record levels of nearly 700 pounds by 

 the late 1980's. Woodpulp consumption for paper and board productioin in the United 

 States grew from 17 to more than 60 million tons over the same period. Much of the 

 increase in consumption of wood fiber during the 1960's and 1990's came from the 

 byproducts of lumber and plywood manufacture. 



In recent years, the use of hardwood roundwood has increased, a trend that is 

 expected to continue. The oil price shocks of the 1970's caused many structural shifts 

 in the U.S. economy. The major impact on timber demand in the United States was 

 the reversal of a long decline in the use of fuelwood. Rising costs for oil and natural 

 gas stimulated both commercial and noncommercial demand for wood as fuel. These 



31 



