ble 4.3). Hardwood lumber production increases even more 
rapidly in the Northeast and North Central regions, where 
large hardwood inventories also exist (app. table 4.4). By 
2030, hardwood lumber production in the North is about 
equal to that in the South. 
Softwood plywood production rises in both southern 
regions, especially in the South Central region, where it 
goes up | billion square feet (3/8-inch basis). As with 
lumber, this rise in production reflects a comparatively fa- 
vorable resource and stumpage-cost situation. Softwood ply- 
wood production also increases in the Rocky Mountain 
section. In contrast, production drops in the Pacific North- 
west and by 2030 is 1.4 billion square feet under the 1984 
level. 
Projected domestic woodpulp production increases from 
57.7 million tons in 1984 to 100.9 million tons in 2030. 
Production in the South rises from 33.8 million tons now to 
60.3 million tons by 2030. Regional shares of woodpulp 
production (which in 1984 were 17, 18, and 65 percent for 
the West, North, and South, respectively) change by 2030 
to 12, 28, and 60 percent. 
The projected increases in consumption of softwood 
roundwood pulpwood are small in both southern regions, 
amounting to a little over 300 million cubic feet. The con- 
sumption of softwood plant byproducts goes up about 600 
million cubic feet. 
The projected increase in consumption of hardwood 
roundwood pulpwood is 1.1 billion cubic feet, with the in- 
crease about equally divided between the Southeast and 
South Central regions. The much larger rise in use com- 
pared to softwoods reflects the large inventories of hard- 
wood timber and associated lower stumpage and wood costs. 
It also reflects a shift to pulping technologies that can use 
larger volumes of hardwoods. Projected use of hardwood 
plant byproducts rises a little in the Southeast and declines 
by a smaller amount in the South Central region. 
Softwood Lumber Imports 
Projected softwood lumber imports, nearly all from 
Canada, drop from 14.1 billion board feet in 1984 to 11.7 
billion in 2030 (app. table 4.2). This decrease is due to 
changes in relative wood costs between the producing re- 
gions of the United States and Canada. Canadian produc- 
ers face the prospect of rapidly rising delivered wood costs 
as Canadian harvests come increasingly from the higher 
cost areas further north. Rising softwood timber inventories 
in the South after 2000 provide the resource base for an ex- 
pansion in southern lumber production that also acts to re- 
duce Canadian imports. Further, this expansion mitigates 
some of the decline in the U.S. Pacific coast regions. 
The projections showing that Canadian softwood timber 
harvests have reached a peak and that a falldown will take 
place are based on current expectations about the Canadian 
timber situation. However, because of data and analytical 
limitations, the Canadian timber situation has never been 
adequately assessed. Thus, the decline in harvests and the 
timing are largely matters of judgment. A falldown at some 
point does seem inevitable. But there is enough softwood 
timber in Canada to sustain current harvests for a few 
decades. 
As in the United States, there are many opportunities in 
Canada to increase and sustain softwood timber harvests. 
However, achieving this potential will require much larger 
investments in regeneration and other management practices, 
in research, and in education. It will also take time. There, 
as in the South, the forces that make a decline in timber har- 
vests inevitable are not easily or quickly changed. 
Employment and Wages and Salaries in the Forest 
Industries 
Employment in the forest industries shows large declines 
over the projection period (fig. 4.5, app. table 4.5). Be- 
In the highly competitive markets in which 
nearly all timber products are sold, rising 
prices constrain demands. As a result, 
projected timber harvests go up slowly in 
the South. The increases are too small to 
sustain employment in the forest industries, 
which by 2030 is some 85,000 people 
below the 1984 levels. 
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