Hardwood Plywood lnstitute Protests Flood of Cheap Foreign Plywood

Charging that a floocl of "cl-reap irnports" has caused serious clamage to the American hardwood plywood industry, the Hardwood Plywood Institute has advised the Senate Interior Committee that "unless immediate action is taken, the damage will be beyond repair," according to Charles E. Close, the Institute's executive secretary.

Imports of hardwood plywood for the first nine r.nonths of 1953 were more than 35 tirnes greater than for the year 1937, which was the peak year for plywood imports prior to World War II, the Institute asserted in a statement given the committee December 17 by its legal counsel, Robert N. Hawes.

Imports for the nine 1953 months totaled 161,216,0A0 square feet, an increase of 255 per cent over the total for 1950, the last year before the present reduced tariffs on hardwood plywood became effective, the committee was told.

Domstic prbduction of market plywood declined in each of the first three quarters of 1953, according to Institute figures. The third quarter was off 13.9 per cent from the seconcl quarter, while the second quarter was about 10 per cent under the first quarter. Imports, on the contrary, showed an increase each quarter. The total domestic production last year was 711 million square feet, 44 million less than in 1951. These figures do not include hardwood plywood made for further manufacture in the same plants or for crating.

This picture of rising imports and declining dornestic production is beginning to have an effect on employn-rent in the industry. The Institute's statement asserted that in many plywood plants, especially in the South, operations have been restricted to two or three days a week. The maxirnum work week is 40 hours.

In a breakdown of manufacturing processes in foreign countries and in the United States, Hawes showed that the only factor which dilTers greatly is the cost of labor. In Japan, the country with the largest plywood exports, a worker in the plywood industry receives an average wage of 11.4 cents per hour. In Finland, another large exporter, the average wage is 58.2 cents per hour. The American plywood worker receives an average of $1.25 an hour.

It is this disparity in labor costs which allows foreign nations to undersell American producers, Hau,es said. He submitted figures to show that it costs more than twice as rnuch per square foot for American plants tt-r make birch plywood as it does for Fir-urisl-r producers anrl also rnore than twice as rnuch for ,\nericans to manufactrlre guln plyrvoocl as it does for the Japanese to make lauan plywood. Clrrr.n ancl lauan plywoods have comparable uses.

Because current imports volumes are rvitl.rout historical precedence and because imported plywoods are being sold so cheaply as to foreclose competition of the domestic product, the industry believes it is entitled to the protection oi consress, its spokesman asserted.

The statement to the Interior Cor-nrnittee is the fourth protest filed with the government by the Institute. The first, lodged with the Randall Commission on foreign econornic policy, asked that quotas on imports be establishecl until such time as tariffs can be enacted to prevent unfair competition. Two complaints filed with the bureau of the budget of the treasury depatrment sought relief under the anti-dumping law of 1930. They asserted that Japanese and Finnish plywoods are being sold in the United States at lower prices than in the country of origin.

The Japanese, seeking a new supply of logs for lunrber and plywood, are negotiating with the encourager.nent of the United States state department for timber rights to national forests in Alaska ancl propose to build a saw mill in Alaska capable of producing 36,000,000 board feet of lunrber a year, Hawes related in his statement. If this deal is consur.nrrated, he said, Philippine logs now nsed for Japanese lumber r,vill be divertecl to make rnore plywood for export to the United States.

"We believe the entire concept of this deal is wrong ancl should be stopped now," Hawes asserted. He charged that the policy of the state department in fostering the project is inconsistent with clepartment's avowed policy of free trade.

"Apparently this free trade policy not only aclvocates a destruction of our protective tariff wall but also the turning over of our national resources to foreign nationals so that the foreign countries can ntanufacture products from our raw materials to undersell our domestically produced rnaterials," he said.

Hawes also called attention to a request from Taiw'an (Formosa) to the foreign operations administratiou for $200,000 to buy Philippine logs and $40,000 to purchase phenol adhesive for the use of the Taiwan plywood industry and said he had been aclvised the funds would be supplied. Taiwan does not have available logs to support a plywood industry, he said, and must import logs. The question, Hawes told the committee, is "rvhy build up a wholly unueeded new industry in Taiwan" that will increase imports to the Unitecl States, close the door to a marl<et for American plywood and contribute to the growing problern of r-rnemployment in our industry.

Western Pine Lumber Production Up for t953

Portlancl, Dec. 3i-The following report of the fourth quarter, 1953, production and shipments of Western Pine Region lumber products and estimate of probable first quarter 1954 shipments were released today by S. V. F-ullaway, Jr., Secretary-Manager of the Western Pine Association. The report covered Idaho White Pine, Ponderosa Pine, Sugar Pine ancl associated species. The statement in full:

"Lumber demand, during the second half of 1953, slowed somewhat from the pace set in the same 1952 period. Horvever, preliminary estimates indicate that total shiprnents from the Western Pine region for 1953 of 7486 million were off only two-tenths of one percent from the previous year's voltule. Only in 1950 and in 1952 did regional shiprnents exceetl those of the past year.

"Present estirnates place 1953 lumber production for the region at 7678 million. This increase of 3.5 percent over 1952 was due in large part to the unusually favorable operating conditions in the first quarter. Second half productior-r was down almost 6 percent from that period a year ago.

"Mill stocks in the Western Pine region on December 31, 1953 are now estimated at 1857 million board feet as cornpared to 1665 million at the beginning of the year.

"1953 r,n'as a record year for the construction industrl'. Housing starts are now estimated at nearly 1,100,000 units with November starts up 6 percent from October. Forecasts for 1954 indicate another big construction year. Residential construction is expected to be under the 1953 volume by 7 to 10 percent. C)n the other hand, home maintenance, and tlodernization should show a sharp increase and school aud conrrnercial constrrlction is predicted to exceed the 1953 volume. Tax reductions and more liberal financing terms shoukl bc helpful to the construction industry.

"Rased on such factors and all other available infonnation, it now seems probable that cluring the first qtlarter of 1954, shipments (consurnption) of lumber from the Western Pine region will approximate 1.500 million board feet. Although this volume is about 10 percent under that for the same 195.i periocl, it is approximately the same as in the first quarter of 1950 and exceeds shipments macle in the first three months of both 1951 and 1952."