Projected demands for timber from domestic 

 forests (medium level and base level price trends) rise 

 from 12.1 billion cubic feet in 1976 to 25.1 billion 

 cubic feet by 2030 — an increase of 107 percent. 

 Associated demands for sawtimber rise from 60.7 to 

 102.5 billion board feet. 



In volume terms the projected rise in demand on 

 domestic forests between 1976 and 2030 is the same 

 for softwood and hardwood roundwood, some 6.5 

 billion cubic feet. In percentage terms, however, the 

 projected increases are much larger for hardwoods. 

 For example, demands on domestic forests for hard- 

 wood roundwood rise some 224 percent between 1976 

 and 2030, compared to 71 percent for softwoods. Pro- 

 jected demands for hardwood and softwood saw- 

 timber show roughly similar trends. 



Primary Timber Processing Industries 



Converting these projected increases in demand 

 into products usable by consumers will require a large 

 expansion in domestic primary timber processing 

 industries. 2' These industries include establishments 

 engaged in harvesting timber from the forest (log- 

 ging) and in manufacturing lumber, veneer and ply- 

 wood, wood pulp, and other products such as wood 

 containers, pallets, and a wide variety of turned and 

 shaped items. 



According to the most recent Census of Manufac- 

 tures, some 28,000 primary timber processing estab- 

 lishments were operating in the United States in 

 1972 (table 6.8). These establishments had 633,000 



2' The primary timber processing industries are composed of the 

 following industries as defined in the Standard Industrial Classifi- 

 cation Manual: 



— Lumber 1. Logging camps and contractors 

 manufacturing: (SIC 2411) 



2. Sawmills and planing mills 

 (SIC 242) 



— Plywood and 1. Hardwood veneer and plywood 

 veneer (SIC 2435) 

 manufacturing: 2. Softwood veneer and plywood 



(SIC 2436) 



— Woodpulp 1. Pulpmills (SIC 2611) 

 manufacturing: 2. Paper mills, except building paper 



integrated in a pulpmill 

 (SIC 2621-12) 



3. Paperboard mills, integrated with 

 a pulpmill (SIC 2631-12) 



4. Building paper and board mills, 

 integrated with a pulpmill 

 (SIC 2662-12) 



— Other primary 1. Wood containers, pallets, and 

 timber skids (SIC 244) 

 manufacturing: 2. Miscellaneous solid wood 



products (SIC 249) 

 For more complete definitions, see Executive Office of the Presi- 

 dent, Office of Management and Budget, Standard Industrial 

 Classification Manual. 615 p. 1972. 



employees and produced products valued at nearly 

 $24.7 billion. Nearly half of the establishments were 

 in the logging industry, i.e., logging camps and con- 

 tractors. Another third were sawmills and planing 

 mills. Most of the remainder were classified in other 

 primary manufacturing. Ahhough small in number, 

 the 2 percent of the establishments in the plywood 

 and veneer industry and the 1 percent in the wood- 

 pulp industry accounted for nearly half of the value 

 of shipments of all primary timber products. 



Almost all of the primary timber processing estab- 

 lishments are located near sources of timber. More- 

 over, timber species, tree size, and quality strongly 

 influence the type and size of processing establish- 

 ments. For example, the predominantly softwood 

 forests of the South supported a little over 13,000 

 primary timber processing establishments, 46 percent 

 of the Nation's total in 1972 (table 6.9). The majority 

 of these processors were comparatively small logging 

 contractors and sawmills and planing mills that can 

 efficiently harvest and process the timber produced 

 from the small forest ownerships characteristic of this 

 section of the country. 



The predominantly hardwood forests of the North, 

 with essentially the same ownership characteristics, 

 supported 9,000 primary timber processing estab- 

 lishments, nearly a third of the total number. As in 

 the South, the average processing establishment was 

 small. 



The softwood forests of the Pacific Coast where 

 trees are comparatively large, and to a lesser degree 

 those in the Rocky Mountains, provide timber for 

 fewer but bigger logging operations and processing 

 establishments. The Pacific Coast, with about 5,000 

 establishments or 17 percent of the total, produced 

 nearly a third of the value of shipments of all primary 

 timber processing industries in 1972. 



There have been some significant changes in the 

 primary timber processing industries in recent dec- 

 ades. For example, the number of establishments has 

 declined from close to 35,000 in 1958 to little more 

 than 28,000 in 1972 (table 6.10). There also was a 

 small drop in employment. In contrast, the value of 

 shipments, measured in constant 1972 dollars, nearly 

 doubled, rising from $12.8 billion to 24.8 billion. 



Single establishments, operating at a single geo- 

 graphic location, are the most common form in the 

 primary timber processing industries. ^'^ This is most 

 evident in the lumber manufacturing industry where 

 91 percent of the establishments operated at one loca- 

 tion. This also is characteristic of establishments in 



3" EUefson, Paul V. and Michael E. Chopp. Systematic analysis 

 of the economic structure of the wood-based industry. Univ. Min- 

 nesota, College of Forestry, Dept. Forest Resources. Staff Paper 

 No. 3. 1978. 



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