52 



THE OUTLOOK FOR TIMBER IN THE UNITED STATES 



Table 37. — Supplies of roundwood products from U.S. forests, by owner class and species group, 1952, 



1962, and 1970, with projections to 2020 



[Million cubic feet] 



Owner class and species group 



1952 



1962 



1970 



Projections 





1980 



1990 



2000 



2020 



National Forest: 



Softwoods -_ _ __ 



838 

 60 



1, 605 

 79 



1,926 

 90 



2, 309 

 210 



2,427 



287 



2,547 

 370 



2, 551 



Hardwoods _ _ _ ___. 



378 







Total. _ -____ - . ___ . 



898 



1,684 



2,016 



2,519 



2,714 



2,917 



2, 929 







Other public: 



Softwoods. ____ __ _ _ __ __ 



403 

 125 



547 

 125 



685 

 149 



812 

 318 



943 

 433 



1, 089 

 548 



1, 142 



Hardwoods ____ _____ 



547 







Total _-__-____ 



528 



672 



834 



1, 130 



1,376 



1,637 



1, 689 







Forest industry : 



Softwoods. -____- ____ 



2, 700 

 486 



2, 237 

 597 



2, 918 

 512 



2,759 

 619 



2,635 

 725 



2,805 

 836 



2, 993 



Hardwoods _____ ___ 



902 







Total _ _ - -__ 



3, 186 



2,834 



3,430 



3,378 



3,360 



3,641 



3,895 







Farm and miscellaneous private: 



Softwoods ____ _ _ _ 



3,445 

 2,688 



2,810 

 2, 179 



3,451 

 2,423 



4,230 

 4,061 



4,670 

 4,888 



5,043 

 5,611 



4, 936 



Hardwoods _ _____ 



5, 592 







Total __ _ -__ _ __ _ --_ 



6, 133 



4,989 



5,874 



8,291 



9,558 



10, 654 



10, 528 







Total United States: 



Softwoods. _____ _ __ ._ 



7,387 

 3,358 



7, 199 

 2,980 



8,981 

 3, 173 



10, 111 

 5,207 



10, 675 

 6,334 



11, 484 

 7,365 



11, 622 



Hardwoods .._. .. ___ 



7,418 



Total- __ _ __.._._- 



10, 745 



10, 179 



12, 154 



15, 318 



17, 009 



18, 849 



19, 040 







The projections of this chapter indicate that 

 relatively constant proportions of roundwood 

 harvests will be maintained from National Forests 

 and other public owners. The share of output from 

 forest industry lands is projected to drop about 

 7 percentage points, with farm and miscellaneous 

 owners sharing a corresponding increase. 



Timber Inventories 



Hardwood growing stock inventories increased 

 substantially from 1952 through 1970 at an 

 average annual rate of 1.45 percent for growing 

 stock and 1.06 percent for sawtimber (tables 32 

 and 33). 



Softwood growing stock inventories increased 

 more slowly at an average of 0.28 percent annually. 

 Softwood sawtimber inventories, on the other 

 hand, decreased 0.21 percent annually as a result 

 of relatively heavy cutting of this preferred raw 

 material and the limited growth obtained in 

 western old-growth stands. 



Under the management and related assumptions 

 adopted in this section, projected inventories of 

 softwood growing stock remain roughly constant, 

 while softwood sawtimber inventories drop about 



15 percent. Hardwood inventories in both cubic 

 feet and board feet continue to rise between 1970 

 and 2020, although at a considerably slower rate 

 than previously. 



As indicated earlier, alternative projections 

 related to different price assumptions are presented 

 later in this chapter. 



PROJECTIONS OF TIMBER SUPPLIES IN THE 

 SOUTH 



Harvesting of timber in the South increased 

 sharply in the 1960's along with rising timber 

 growth and inventories. Major construction of 

 new pulping and capacity, the rise of a major 

 softwood plywood industry, and expansion of a 

 modernized lumber industry led to more than a 

 25 percent increase in output of industrial wood 

 products. In 1970 the South accounted for 45 

 percent of the Nation's output of roundwood 

 products and net growth of timber. The outlook 

 for continued expansion of softwood timber 

 supplies and the potentials for intensification of 

 management emphasize the major importance of 

 this region, particularly for softwoods. 



