DEMAND FOR TIMBER PRODUCTS 



203 



Total consumption of these products amounted 

 to 424 million cubic feet in 1970. This was some- 

 what below the general level of the 1960's when 

 estimated consumption averaged about 500 mil- 

 lion cubic feet per year, and far below consumption 

 of more than 2 billion cubic feet annually in 

 the early 1900's. 



Additional volumes of plant byproducts such 

 as sawdust, slabs, and edgings used in the produc- 

 tion of products such as charcoal and chemical-, 

 amounted to 1S5 million cubic feet in 1970. 

 Thus, total wood consumption for miscellaneous 

 products in that year amounted to a little over 

 600 million cubic feet. International trade in 

 these products is small and consumption has 

 been roughly equal to production. 



The downward trend in consumption of mis- 

 cellaneous industrial roundwood products which 

 began around 1910 appears to have leveled off 

 in the past decade. For this report it was therefore 

 assumed that demand for these products will 

 remain close to 500 million cubic feet with all 

 price assumptions. However, individual products 

 are likely to show divergent trends as indicated 

 below. 



Cooperage Logs and Bolts 



In the early 1900's roundwood used in manu- 

 facture of barrels, kegs, pails, and tubs made of 

 wood staves totaled about 1.8 billion board 

 feet annually — about 40 percent in tight cooperage 

 and 60 percent in slack cooperage. Since then 

 new technology, changes in consumer buying 

 habits, and new packaging techniques have 

 sharply reduced demands for cooperage. 



By the 1960's consumption had dropped to 

 about 200 million board feet, of which about 70 

 percent was for tight cooperage and 30 percent 

 for slack cooperage. Over half of the tight coop- 

 erage was used in bourbon barrels, with the 

 remainder used for chemical and other containers. 

 The slack cooperage was mainly used for barrels 

 for food and hardware. Future demands for 

 cooperage logs and bolts are expected to continue 

 close to the level of recent years. 



Poles ana 1 Piling 



Use of wood poles in the construction and 

 maintenance of utility lines and other structures 

 has been relatively stable in recent years. In the 

 period 1962-70, for example, volume of poles 

 treated with preservatives averaged nearly 80 

 million cubic feet annually, or slightly more than 

 in the previous decade. Although there is a trend 

 away from use of poles in new residential areas, 

 anticipated expansion of demands for electric and 

 communication facilities, growing needs for pole 

 replacements, and the expanding use of poles in 

 construction are expected to result in some in- 

 crease in demand for poles over the projection 

 period. 



Treated wood piling used in construction of 

 docks, bridges, and buildings averaged about 17 

 million cubic feet a year in the period 1962-70. 

 In addition, an estimated 10 million cubic feet of 

 untreated piling was used annually in this period. 

 In view of projected increases in construction, a 

 modest increase in demand through the projection 

 period is considered likely. 



Fence Posts 



V<o of wood posts for farm fencing and other 

 purposes such as highway barricades and yard 

 enclosures dropped from an estimated 900 million 

 posts in 1920 to about 170 million in 1962 and 

 approximately 98 million (68 million cubic feet) 

 in 1970. This decline was a result of several factors, 

 including substitution of steel posts, increased use 

 of preservative-treated wood posts, and changes 

 in farm size and farming methods that involve 

 less use of fencing. These forces are expected to 

 result in further reduction in demands in future 

 decades. 



Other Industrial Wood 



Use of round, split, and hewn mine timbers 

 fell from an estimated 174 million cubic feet in 

 1923 to 48 million cubic feet ha 1962, and 32 

 million cubic feet in 1970. Projected increases in 

 production from underground mines, however, 

 sugge-t that thi> trend may be reversed. 



Consumption of wood for a wide variety of 

 products such as particleboard, charcoal and wood 

 distillation products, shingles, excelsior, hewn ties, 

 turnery products, and miscellaneous farm timbers 

 amounted to about 200 million cubic feet of 

 roundwood plus an estimated 184 million cubic 

 feet of plant byproducts in 1970. Wood consump- 

 tion for some of these products, especially particle- 

 board, has been rising, but there have been 

 offsetting declines in other uses. It has been 

 assumed that future use will continue about at 

 the 1970 level. 



DEMAND FOR FUELWOOD 



Fuelwood consumption in 1970 was estimated 

 at 16 million cords. This included approximately 

 314 million cubic feet of roundwood from growing 

 stock and 228 million cubic feet of roundwood 

 from other sources such as dead and cull trees, 

 plus 723 million cubic feet of primary plant 

 residues. Fuelwood cut from roundwood was 

 used almost entirely for domestic heating and 

 cooking. Plant residues were used both for 

 domestic purposes and for steam power in wood 

 processing plants. 



Fuelwood consumption dropped sharply in the 

 first five decades of the present century because 

 of the substitution of oil, gas. coal, and electricity 

 in home cooking, heating, and industrial uses. In 

 recent years, however, substantial markets have 



