While the primary timber processing industries 

 have historically been composed of a relatively large 

 number of firms, a trend toward larger and fewer 

 firms is evident. In 1972, the four largest firms in the 

 pulpmills industry (SIC 261 1) produced 59 percent of 

 the value of shipments, compared with 46 percent in 

 1958.^' Similar changes have occurred in the other 

 industries. However, the concentration of production 

 is still fairly limited. About one-third of the value of 

 shipments in the plywood and veneer industry is pro- 

 duced by the four largest firms. In the sawmill and 

 planing mill sector, the four largest firms accounted 

 for only 18 percent of the value of shipments. 



Lumber Manufacturing 



In 1972, there were nearly 23,000 establishments in 

 the lumber manufacturing industry (table 6.8). There 

 were about 284,000 people employed in the industry 

 that year, and the value of the products shipped was 

 $9.7 billion. In general, the number of establishments 

 and employment in the industry declined between 

 1958 and 1976 (table 6.10). The value of shipments 

 measured in constant 1972 dollars, however, rose 

 from $5.3 biUion in 1958 to $9.2 bilUon in 1976. 



The number of logging establishments and the 

 number of logging employees has changed little since 

 1958. Most of the change that has occurred has been 

 in the sawmill and planing mill sector. The number of 

 establishments in this sector decreased steadily from 

 close to 17,000 in 1958, to a little over 9,000 in 1972. 

 Employment dropped from 282,000 to 204,000 in 

 1972, but rose slightly to 208,000 in 1976. The value 

 of shipments in constant 1972 dollars increased fairly 

 rapidly, moving up from $4.2 billion in 1958 to $6.3 

 billion in 1976. 



Over half of the Nation's lumber manufacturing 

 (including logging) establishments in 1972 were in the 

 South (table 6.11). These accounted for less than a 

 third of the value of industry shipments. The Pacific 

 Coast, where over 60 percent of the Nation's 

 softwood sawtimber is located, had just under 4,000 

 establishments, but they produced nearly half of the 

 industry's total value of shipments. The establish- 

 ments on the Pacific Coast were, of course, relatively 

 large, averaging more than 26 employees compared 

 to an average of less than 10 in the North and South. 



In 1976, about 36 billion board feet of lumber was 

 produced by sawmills. The largest part of this 

 volume, some 30 billion board feet, was softwoods. 

 About 70 percent of this came from forests in the 

 West, 26 percent from the South and 4 percent from 



31 Ibid. 



the North. Hardwood lumber production — about 

 6.4 billion board feet — was nearly equally divided 

 between the North and South. Only a negligible 

 volume came from the West. 



Plywood and Veneer Manufacturing 



There were 598 establishments in the plywood and 

 veneer industry in 1972 (table 6.10). Employment was 

 69,000 and the value of shipments $2.9 billion. The 

 available data shows that both the number of estab- 

 lishments and number of employees in the plywood 

 and veneer industry have not changed much since 

 1958. However, there have been large increases in the 

 value of shipments measured in constant 1972 dol- 

 lars, nearly all in the softwood veneer and plywood 

 sector. 



The 366 establishments producing hardwood ply- 

 wood and veneer composed about two-thirds of those 

 in the industry in 1972, but shipments and employ- 

 ment were largest in the softwood sector (table 6.10). 

 In 1976, the establishments producing softwood ply- 

 wood and veneer accounted for more than three- 

 quarters of the value of shipments and two-thirds of 

 the employment. 



There were 200 hardwood plywood and veneer 

 establishments in the South in 1972, with product 

 shipments valued at $429 million (table 6.12). These 

 numbers represent roughly half of all establishments 

 and industry shipments. There were 1 14 plants in the 

 North and 52 on the Pacific Coast. The Rocky Moun- 

 tain region did not have hardwood plywood and 

 veneer plants. 



The Pacific Coast had 156 or 70 percent of the 

 softwood plywood and veneer plants in the United 

 States in 1972 and accounted for 70 percent of the 

 value of shipments ($1.4 billion). The South had 57 

 plants which shipped products valued at $0.5 billion. 

 The remaining establishments were in the Rocky 

 Mountain region. 



The concentration of the softwood plywood indus- 

 try on the Pacific Coast reflects historical dependency 

 on the large size, high-quality timber available from 

 the old-growth forests of that region. In recent 

 decades, technical developments have made it feasible 

 to utilize the relatively small-size southern pine trees. 

 As a result of this, lower stumpage costs, and proxim- 

 ity to the major plywood markets in the east, most of 

 the growth in the softwood plywood industry since 

 the mid-1960's has been in the South. 



In 1976, softwood veneer log production from the 

 southern pine forests was 3 billion board feet. Most 

 of the remaining production — 5.2 billion board feet 

 — came from the Douglas-fir forests of the Pacific 



224 



