ADSA lssu€s Annuol Survey of ;Ourlook for Molor lndustries

, The Departrrient of Commerce annual survey by its Business and Defense Services Administration discloses that maior in.,dustries, as a whole, look forward to 1958 operations with

Billion frees Plonred in 1957 Sets New U. S. Record

looking to natural growth to improve their position.

of the prospective defense program will exert a potent over-all influence, the industries in many instances are

The continued strengttr' in construction-building and highway-is one of the favorable indicators for the optimism. While it was evident that the size and new year, while a lower operating level is looked for in two other key industries-steel and autosr If the

, construction picture is as favorable as indicated, both the lurnber and cement industries will refect growth i also.

CONSTRUCTION: Outlavs for new construction in 1958 are expected to total $+9.0'tittion or five percent rnore than the record expenditure of. V7.2 billion estimated for compared with a $1 billion increase to 914.9 billion for public projects.

For the first time in history, the United States last year planted a billion forest trees, announced Secretary of Agriculture Ezra Tatt Benson. To celebrate th_is achievement, the tree selected to represent the billionth was planted December 18, at Macon, Ga. The year's record exceeds by approximately 200 million trees th_e previous high set in 1956, according to a Forest- Service compilation of reports from nurseries, state foresters.. and federal agencies responsible for tree planting. T,ast year f36/o of the tree flanting was on private lands and I4/o on public lands. Twenty years ago only 26/o was on private lands, while 74/o was on public land. Secretary Benson said that even at the rate of a billion trees a year, it will take more than 50 years to restore to trbe growth, land which must be planted to make it productive again. The greatest part of this planting will be on private lands, since three-fourths of all the commercial forestland in this country is in private ownership.

LUMBER INDUSTRY: The lumber industrv is exoect- ing a somewhat better year in 1958 than in 1957, provided current projections for construction, particularly new housing, materialize. The construction industry offers about the only_ hope for better conditions in the lumber industry. If residential construction attains a level of 1.1 million houses. lumber production may reach 36.0 billion board feet. Production in 1957 was around 34 billion board feet, as against 37.5 billion in 1956.

HARDWOOD PLYWOOD INDUSTRY: Shipments of the domestic hardwood plywood industry in 1957 amounted to approximately 78O million square feet, compared with 886 million in 1956 and 934 million in 1955. This downward trend is expected to continue through 1958.

SOFTWOOD PLYWOOD INDUSTRY: The softwood plywood industry is expected to establish its twelfth consecutive production record in 1958 with an output of approximately 5,900 million square feet, an increase of more than 5 percent above the 1957 level. No expansion in production facilities is anticipated. Weak prices which persisted throughout 1957 arc expected to improve.

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Byron

PORTLA.ND CEMENT: The industry experienced another good year in 1957 in both production and shiprrients. There were respective declines of six percent and four percent from the peak year 1956. This record was achieved despite a work stoppage that affected about one"half of the producing plants during part of June and July. It is estimated thar 1957 shipments will aggregate 300 ,rnillion barrels, valued at almost $1 billion at mill prices and approach the 1956 total of 312 million barrels. With a revbisal in trend projected for residential building in 1958 and practically all other segments of construction also slated to rise, there is a strong possibility that portland cement shipments in 1958 will exceed those of 1957.

Monterey, Calif.-The historic cypress and oak trees of virgin Carmel Hill have given way to an ultramodern, fivestory motel overlooking the historic adobes and the horses have been turned out of their corral surrounded bv new subdivisions in Seaside, once the cavalry parade gtound fot the Presidio of Monterev.

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