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682 Monodnock Bldg., Sqn Frqncisco 5

f 950-196O Wcrs q Boom Decqde for Lumber

Ten-Yeqr Spon Set Mony Records

ln Use of Wood Products

Washington-U,S. sawrnills produced a record-breaking volume of lumber in the decade just ended and wood products helped to build nearly 12 million new non-farm homes started during that period, according to the National Lumber Manufacturers Association.

Lumber also served a vital need in many other types of construction activity which, aU told, added an unprecedented 416 millions of dollars worth of new buildings and other projects to our national economy from 1950 to 1960.

Greatest home building: year on record for the number of units constructed was 1950, followed closely by the years 1959 and 1955. In terms of total floor area, 1959 probably ranks first.

With publication of the results of the Tfunber Resource Review during the 1950s, the federal government confirmed the fact that this nation's forests are gTowing: more wood each year than is being used. Thus the lumber industry and the consuming public received assurance that there is no danger of this country depleting its only renewable resource-a welcome change from earlier gloomy forecasts.

As the value of all new construction activity in the United States, plus maintenance and repairs, climbed to more than $?O-billion annually, the 1950 decade experienced less violent swings in annual lumber production volume. F rom the peak output of 38.9 billion board feet recorded in 1950 to the low of 34 billion reached in 1958 was a drop of only 13 per cent. By way of contrast, in the depression-torn decade of the 1930s when production fluctuated as much as 60 per cent from the peak to the valley, a century low of only 200 billion board feet was produced.

Accelerated g'rowth of many wood products occurred during the 1950 decade. Softwood plywood was a spectacular performer, with production tripling from 2.6 billion square feet in 1950 to an estimated 7.7 billion in 1959. F ir plywood is now rated as the nation's fastest growing non-defense industry. Exhibiting less spectacular but steady growth were the comparatively new board industries producing particle boards, hardboards, and insulation boards.

Lumber manufacturers during the years 1950 through 1959 achieved the most productive decade of the twentieth century. National production of lumber totaled 368 billion board feet over the ten-year period or an average of 36.8 billion board feet annually. This was accomplished despite the fact that no single year's output equaled the record annual volume of. 44.5 billion board feet recorded in 1909.

While chalking up all of these records, lumber has been able to register smaller increases in its wholesale price index since 1947 than shown in the index for nearly any other major construction material. Lumber is the only construction material that experi- enced six annual decreases in its average price index during this period. During the 1950 decade, corporations in lumber and wood products had a net profit rate averaging 8.2 per cent of invested capital, compared with an average of 8.8 per cent for all manuf acturing corporations.

At the same time, average weekly earnings by employees in the lumber industry have consistently outpaced rises in the cost of living during the past decade. Earnings have risen to a rate onefifth greater than the consumer price index.

T. T. Sneddon Nomed to New NRLDA post

Thomas T. Sneddon has been named administrative vice presi_ dent of the National Retail Lumber Dealers Association, according to Winfleld B. Oldham, NRLDA president. Mr. Sneddon will be directly responsible to H. R. ,,Cotton', Northup, the association's executive vice president.

Mr. Sneddon has resigrred as general manager of the Retail Sales Division of the Boise Cascade Corporation, Boise, Idaho, to assume his new duties on F.ebruary 1b.

Commenting on the selection of the new association officer, Mr. Oldham said that he would prove ..an extremely valuable asset to NRLDA because of his long and varied experience in operating successful lumber and building materials retail ouilets in cities and towns of nearly every classification.', The 10g yards managed by Mr. Sneddon for Boise Cascade ranged from imall rural yards to super market building material stores in major western cities. Combined, they produced annual sales in excess of $25,000,000.

Mr. Sneddon is also familiar with trade association work, having served on the Board of Directors and Elxecutive Committee of the Intermountain Lumber Dealers Association, and on committees of the Western Retail Lumbermen's Association. He has also served on management clinics sponsored by NRLDA at National Ex_ positions.

Mr. Sneddon entered the retail building materials industry in

1946 when he handled accounting and purchasing for the Tri-State Lumber Company in Salt Lake City, Utah. The following year he became advertising mara,ger of the company and remained in that position until the comp€rny was acquired by the Boise Payette Lumber Company (later renamed. Boise Cascade Corporation). In 1953 he became assistant vice president of Boise Cascade and successively held executive positions as director of public relations and personnel, and reg'ional manager of the Retail Sales Division.

Additionally, he served as a director and oftcer of the Construction Finance Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Boise Cascade, which g:ave him considerable experience in the home financing field. He also was responsible for development of a program to manufacture house components. Six plants are currently producing components under this program.

During World War II, Mr. Sneddon was a Lieutenant in the United States Navy, serving with the Navy's Amphibious E'orce in the Atlantic fleet. He participated in the invasions of North Africa, Sicily, Salerno and Normandy. Prior to World War l[, Mr. Sneddon was a teacher both at the secondary school and college levels. I{e graduated from the University of Utah with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1934, and has done graduate work at the University of Southern California, University of Utah, and Utah State College.