In addition to the major end uses discussed above, 

 an estimated 4.8 billion board feet of lumber, 4.9 bil- 

 lion square feet (3/8-inch basis) of plywood, and 3.2 

 billion square feet (3/8-inch basis) of other wood- 

 based panel products were used in 1976 for other 

 purposes. These included upkeep and improvement 

 of nonresidential structures; roof supports and other 

 construction in mines; made-at-home products such 

 as furniture, boats, and picnic tables; and made-on- 

 the-job products such as advertising and display 

 structures. 



There are no historical data on the consumption of 

 timber products in these various uses. Accordingly, 

 use for these purposes in 1962, 1970, and 1976 was 

 estimated by subtracting volumes of timber products 

 consumed in the specific end uses discussed above 

 from the estimated total consumption of each prod- 

 uct. These residuals probably include some lumber, 

 plywood, and other panel products which properly 

 belong in the construction, manufacturing, or ship- 

 ping sectors. The "other use" categories also include 

 any statistical discrepancies associated with the esti- 

 mates of production, imports, and exports ,used in 

 estimating total consumption. 



Because of the lack of a statistical base for project- 

 ing these residuals, it was assumed that use for these 

 purposes would rise in line with projected demands in 

 the other markets, except new housing. New housing 

 was excluded because its demand is so strongly influ- 

 enced by the age distribution of the population. 



Lumber. — Lumber consumption in all uses in 

 1976 was 42.7 billion board feet, a volume about 10 

 percent above the average of the 1950's and 1960's. 

 Projected demand for lumber with base level price 

 trends shows a rather steep rise to a 1990 level of 58.0 

 billion board feet (table 6.2). This growth is attribut- 

 able largely to the rise in demands for new housing 

 and for pallets. After 1990, and primarily because of 

 the leveling off and subsequent decline in housing, 

 projected demand increases more slowly to 67.3 bil- 

 lion board feet in 2030. 



In recent decades, softwood species have composed 

 around four-fifths of the lumber consumed. How- 

 ever, over the projection period, an increase in 

 the proportion of hardwoods is expected because of 

 the more rapid relative growth in uses such as ship- 

 ping (pallets), manufacturing, and nonresidential 

 construction (railroad ties) where hardwoods are 

 predominant. 



The alternative assumptions on population and 

 economic growth discussed in the assumptions chap- 

 ter have substantial impacts on the demand for 

 lumber in all end uses (table 6.2). In 2030, projected 

 total demand at base level price trends ranges from 



59.8 billion board feet for the low projection to 77.8 

 billion board feet for the high projection. 



Plywood. — Plywood consumption in 1976 was 

 20.8 billion square feet (3/8-inch basis) — more than 

 twice the volume consumed in 1960 and about five 

 times that of 1950. With base level price trends, the 

 medium projection of demand rises to 34.1 billion 

 square feet in 2030 (table 6.3). This projection is 

 about double average consumption in the early 

 1970's. As in the case of lumber, the differing assump- 

 tions on growth in population and economic activity 

 have substantial impacts on demand, inducing a 

 range of about 9 billion square feet between the high 

 and low projections. 



Since the late 1950's, softwood plywood has com- 

 prised about four-fifths of the total plywood con- 

 sumption. Analysis of prospective growth in demand 

 by major uses indicates that this percentage is likely 

 to remain about the same through the projection 

 period. 



Board. — Board consumption, including insulation 

 board, hardboard, and particleboard, reached 13.5 

 billion square feet (3/8-inch basis) in 1976 — about 

 four times the volume consumed in 1950. Particle- 

 board (including medium-density fiberboards) ac- 

 counted for much of the increase, with consumption 

 rising from less than 50 million square feet in 1950 to 

 6.9 billion in 1976. Hardboard use increased fivefold. 

 Although consumption of insulation board has not 

 shown comparable growth, this product still ac- 

 counted for a third of the board consumed in 1976. 



Projections of demand for board at base level price 

 trends reaches 37.3 billion square feet (medium level) 

 by 2030 — 2.8 times the volume consumed in 1976 

 (table 6.4). Particleboard and hardboard are expected 

 to continue to show the largest increases. Much of the 

 particleboard growth is expected to be in structural 

 panels. Under the alternative assumptions on growth 

 in population and economic activity, projected total 

 demands in 2030 range from about 32.3 to 43.2 bil- 

 lion square feet. 



Projected Demand for Pulpwood 



Since 1920, pulpwood consumption in U.S. mills 

 has increased more than 12 times, rising from 6.1 

 million cords to 77.6 million cords' in 1977. As a 

 result of this growth and an increase in export 

 demand, about one-third of the timber harvested 

 from domestic forests is used as pulpwood. 



5 This included 45.7 million cords of roundwood and 31.8 mil- 

 lion cords of chips and sawdust obtained from slabs, edgings, 

 veneer cores, and other byproducts of primary manufacturing 

 plants. 



203 



