Forest Industries and the Timber Supply 

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RAIN on.the forest is not only influenced by 
changes in economic conditions, but also by 
the make-up and character of the State’s forest 
industries. The kind and location of the industries, 
their size and number, the species, size, and quality of 
the timber they use, all have an important effect upon 
the amount of drain and its effect on forest productivity. 
Overcutting of certain species and sizes, sharp differ- 
ences in drain by locality, understocking, low timber 
quality, and shortages of certain sizes are often closely 
related to the nature of the forest industries and their 
associated drain pattern. For example, the recent develop- 
ment of the pulp and paper industry in South Carolina 
and adjoining States increased-drain on pole timber to 
the extent that growth is no longer sufficient to balance 
drain on this class of timber. 
LUMBER BIGGEST ITEM OF DRAIN 
Sawlogs for lumber production are the largest single 
item of drain in South Carolina. In 1946, they amounted 
to half the total drain on trees 5.0 inches and larger and 
two-thirds of the total saw-timber drain (fig. 50). In 
spite of the recent expansion in nonlumber uses of 
PRODUCT VOLUME 
a ee eae re es 
WME EEL 


















SAWLOGS 
PULPWOOD 
BOLTS 
FUEL WOOD 

VENEER LOGS 
AND BOLTS 




MISC. PRODUCTS L 
UZ, Board-Foot Drain 
CZ, Cubic-Foot Drain 

FENCE POST 
AND MISC. 
FARM USE 

30 40 
PERCENT 



so 


FIGURE 50.— Percent distribution of commodity drain, by 
product, 1946. 
LES 
) 
wood, notably pulpwood, sawlog drain has kept pace 
with the general rise in total drain. In 1936 as in 1946, 
it made up 50 percent of the total drain. 
Small Sawmills Cut Three-fourths of Lumber 
No institution is more typically a product of second- 
growth forests than the small sawmill. The rise of the 
small portable mill and the decline of the large per- 
manent types shows what sweeping changes in a forest 
industry can be caused by change in the nature of the 
timber supply. The large band mills, which were 
dominant in South Carolina in the early 1900's, were 
dependent upon heavy concentrations of virgin timber. 
By 1925, most of this timber was exhausted and the 
large mills were gradually replaced by small portable 
plants (fig. 51) especially adapted to operating small 
lightly stocked stands of second-growth timber. When 
the timber becomes too scarce in a certain locality, the 
small mill operator can either shut down or move 
on to other timbered areas. Likewise, when lumber 
prices are not to his liking, he can put his equipment 
in storage and not worry too much about fixed charges 
and depreciation. Conversely, when lumber prices are 
high, these idle mills can quickly come back into 
production. A widely scattered supply of poor-quality 
timber, the uncertainty of how long the supply will last, 
and vicissitude of lumber prices — all these operate to 
the distinct disadvantage of large permanent mills with 
heavy initial capital investment and high fixed charges. 
Currently and in the foreseeable future, small sawmills 
reign supreme in the second-growth forests of South 
Carolina (fig. 52). 
_ They have a significant effect upon the future timber 
supply, inasmuch as their cutting and utilization prac- 
tices are typically poor. 
Eighty percent of the mills reporting lumber produc- 
tion in 1946 cut, on the average, only 247 thousand 
board feet per year, yet their cut in the aggregate 
added up to 31 percent of the total lumber production 
in the State (table 10). 
40 Forest Resource Report No. 3, U. S. Department of Agriculture 

