THE CALIFOR}IIA

J. E. Martin

How lrumber lrooks

Portland, Oregon, January 14-Al1 lumber production records for the Douglas fir region were broken in 1951 as sawmills in western Oregon and Washington totaled up a booming 11.198 billion board feet output.

This topped 1950 by over half a billion feet, according to Harris E. Smith, secretary of the West Coast Lumbermen's Association. The 10.663 billion feet cut in 1950 had set a record for the l2S years of operation of the industry in the Douglas fir region. Previous high years were 1926 with 10.285 billion board feet and 1929 with IO.290 billion board feet.

Shipments in 1951, Smith said, also broke all previotts records with mills loading out frorn this region during 1951 a rousing 11.021 billion feet. This was more than 200 million feet over 1950, the best previous year.

C)rders for 1951 reached 10.494 billion feet, one <tf the largest years, but not equal to the record 1950 order file of 11.165 billion feet, Smith pointed out.

The weekly average of West Coast I-unrber production in l)ecember rvas 180,283,000 b.f. or I00.3/o of the 1946-1950 average. Orders averaged 181,939,000 b.f.; shipments 163,117,000 b.f. Weekly averag'es for November were: Prodr.rction 209,237,000 b.f. (116.1% of the 19.16-1950 average) ; orders 178,484,000 b.f.; shipments 207,935,0N b.l.

Fifty-trvo weeks of 1951 cumulative production 11,19u,459,000 b.f.; fifty-two rveeks of 1950, 10,663,898,000 b.f.; fifty-two weeks of 1919,9,870,297,000 b.f.

Orders for fif ty-trvo rveeks of 1951 breakckru'n as follon's: Rail & truck 7,202,432,M b.f.; domestic cargo, 2,--

Ol7 ,701,000 b.f ; export 646,416,000 b.f ' ; local 627 ,@6,000 b 'f ' ' Lunrber shipments of 505 mills reporting to the National Lumber Trade Barometer were 6.0 per cent belolv production for the rveek ended January 12, 1952. In the same r.n''eek new orders of these mills r,vere 10.1 per cent above production. Unfilled orders of the reporting mills amounted to 40 per cent of stocks. For the reporting softwood mills, trrrfillecl orders were ecluivalent to 24 days' productiorr at the current rate, and gross stocks were equivalent to 55 clays' production.

For the year-to-date, shipments of reporting identical rr.rills rvere 2.2 per cent belon' proclttctior-r ; orders rvere 16'6 per cent above production.

(Continued on Page 64)

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