Chapter 6. — Timber 



This chapter contains information on: (1) Trends in 

 use and prices of timber and timber products with 

 projections of demands and prices to 2030; (2) inter- 

 national trade in timber products and the present and 

 prospective timber situation in the important trading 

 countries; (3) timber industries in the United States; 

 (4) recent changes in the area, ownership, and pro- 

 ductivity of domestic timber resources with projec- 

 tions of suppHes to 2030; (5) the economic, social, and 

 environmental implications of rising timber prices; 

 and (6) opportunities for increasing and extending 

 timber supplies. 



The material presented updates and revises that 

 published in 1977 in "The Nation's Renewable Re- 

 sources — an Assessment, 1975,"' and is based on 

 material prepared for a comprehensive report, "An 

 Analysis of the Timber Situation in the United States, 

 1952-2030"2 which is scheduled for publication in 

 1981. That report contains detailed statistics on the 

 extent, location, ownership, condition, and pro- 

 ductivity of the Nation's commercial timberland and 

 timber inventory. The report also contains detailed 

 historical information on production, trade, con- 

 sumption, and prices of timber products, and pro- 

 jections of timber demands, supplies, and prices to 

 2030 along with the supporting analyses. 



A number of studies were published in the 1970's 

 that are useful references on the timber situation. ^ 

 These publications supplement this summary and the 

 comprehensive Forest Service study in process. 



There are substantive differences among these 

 reports in content and objectives, but the major con- 

 clusions about the timber outlook are in general agree- 

 ment. For example, they showed that the Nation's 

 demands for timber products are likely to grow 

 rapidly in the decades ahead. This outlook of rising 

 timber demands is consistent with the trends in recent 

 decades. 



The Demand for Timber 



Consumption of industrial roundwood products 

 rose from slightly less than 10 billion cubic feet a year 

 in the early 1950's to the 1977 level of about 13 bilHon 



' U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. The Nation's 

 renewable resources — an assessment, 1975. Forest Res. Rep. 21. 

 243 p. 1977. 



- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. An analysis of 

 the timber situation in the United States, 1952-2030. In process. 



J President's Advisory Panel on Timber and the Environment. 

 Report of the Panel, 541 p. April 1973. 



U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. The outlook 

 for timber in the United States. Forest Res. Rep. 20., 367 p. 1973. 



Cliff, Edward P. Timber; The renewable material. Prepared for 

 the National Committee on Materials Policy, 151 p. August 1973. 



cubic feet. Although there were increases in consump- 

 tion for nearly all timber products, most of the 

 growth was in pulp products and plywood and 

 veneer. 



Trends in the Major 

 Timber Product Markets 



Future trends in demands for lumber and panel 

 products — plywood, particleboard, hardboard, and 

 insulation board — will be determined in part by 

 trends in the major timber product markets — 

 housing, nonresidential construction, manufacturing, 

 and shipping. 



Housing. — In terms of volumes consumed, resi- 

 dential construction has been the most important 

 market for most timber products. In recent years, 

 between one-third and one-half of the softwood 

 lumber and plywood, plus substantial volumes of 

 hardwood plywood, particleboard, and insulation 

 board have been used for the production, upkeep, 

 and improvement of housing. 



Housing production in the United States — con- 

 ventional units and mobile homes — averaged 1.6 

 million units per year during the 1950's and 1960's, 

 about double the yearly output in the 1920's and 

 1940's (table 6.1, fig. 6.1). Production moved up 

 again in the early 1970's and averaged 2.1 million 

 units a year from 1970 to 1977. 



Timber products, such as lumber and plywood, are basic materials 

 for construction of single-family housing units. 



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