jection of annual expenditures rises to about $36 bil- 

 lion in 2030. This results in a small increase in average 

 annual expenditures per household. 



New nonresidential construction. — About 10 per- 

 cent of the lumber, plywood, and building board used 

 each year goes into new nonresidential construction. 

 This diverse market includes: (1) Commercial build- 

 ings (private offices, stores, warehouses, garages, and 

 restaurants); (2) other buildings (industrial, religious, 

 educational, hospital, and institutional buildings); 

 (3) public utilities (including sewer and water sys- 

 tems); (4) highways; and (5) all other (military, con- 

 servation, and development projects, and construc- 

 tion not included in other categories). The only 

 common unit for such a heterogeneous group is 

 expenditures measuring the dollar value of construc- 

 tion put in place. 



Expenditures for the various classes of construc- 

 tion have fluctuated rather widely in response to 

 changing economic conditions. However, the long- 

 run trend for all types combined has been strongly 

 upward, reaching a level near $75 billion (1972 dol- 

 lars) in the late 1960's and early 1970's. There has 

 been a fairly close relationship between changes in 

 expenditures for the major classes of nonresidential 

 constructions and changes in the gross national pro- 

 duct. Projections based on these relationships and the 

 assumed growth in gross national product show sub- 

 stantial increases for each class of construction 

 between 1976 and 2030, ranging from around 2.1 

 times for highways to around 3.9 times for commer- 

 cial buildings. 



Total projected expenditures for new nonresiden- 

 tial construction rise from late 1960's/early 1970's 

 level of around $75 billion (1972 dollars) to $165.7 

 billion in 2030 (medium projection). The rates of 

 growth underlying this projection decline throughout 

 the projection period. There is also a decline in new 

 nonresidential construction expenditures as a percent- 

 age of gross national product. This is consistent with 

 trends since the late 1960's and with estimates that the 

 service industries will account for a growing share of 

 the Nation's gross national product in the future. 



Manufacturing. — Almost a tenth of the lumber, 

 veneer, and plywood and nearly 40 percent of the 

 hardboard and particleboard consumed in the United 

 States in 1976 was used in the manufacture of a 

 wide range of products such as household furniture, 

 consumer goods, and commercial and industrial 

 equipment. 



Shipments of manufactured products increased 

 substantially between 1948 and 1976. During this 

 period there was close correlation between changes in 

 the value of shipments of certain groups of products 



and changes in gross national product and other meas- 

 ures of economic growth. 



Projections to 2030 based on these past relations, 

 and the assumed growth in economic activity and 

 income, range from over a threefold increase for com- 

 mercial and institutional furniture to a rise of about 

 2.3 times for products other than furniture. As in the 

 case of nonresidential construction, the rates of 

 increase in value of shipments for all groups of prod- 

 ucts, including household furniture, drop significantly 

 over the projection period. 



Shipping. — In 1976, about 16 percent of the 

 lumber and 4 percent of the plywood consumed was 

 used in the production of wood pallets, container 

 manufacture, and for dunnage, blocking, and brac- 

 ing. More than 70 percent of the lumber and over 

 one-half of the plywood consumed in shipping was 

 used for pallets. 



In the 1950's, 1960's, and the first half of the 1970's, 

 pallet production rose rapidly as new methods of 

 materials handling were introduced and as facilities 



Timber products are used in a wide range of manufactured goods 

 such as furniture, sporting goods, boats and signs and displays. 



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