4ondh Pfywood Number Celebrat es Cafifornia's Leadership in Plywood Consumption

This is the fourth annual Plywood Issue of THE CALIFORNIA LUMBER MERCHANT.

And the reason we make a specialty of it is simply to keep on driving home to the industry that California has alrn'ays been from the start, and will no doubt continue to the end, to be the champion plywood consuming state. More so now than ever.

We would like the plywood mills to understand that if it were not for California a whole lot of plywood mills would have no market for their product.

We want the plywood industry to knorv that not only does California consume more plywood than any other state, but that it consumes more plywood per capita than any other state, and also that it buys and uses a broader range of plywood mill produ,cts than any other state.

To make it short, California is far and away the most plywood minded portion of the country. And so, once every year on our birthday (July first is the 28th birthday of THE CALIFORNIA LUMBER MERCHANT) we devote the major part of orr rnagazine to doing a little bragging about California from a plywood standpoint.

Let us at this point acknowledge our gratitude to the Douglas Fir Plyrvood Association, and to Harold C. Dixon, its energetic and cooperative publicity man, for assistance in presenting the subject of plywood to our readers.

On another page we are presenting in full a table showing where every foot of Douglas Fir plywood went last year, giving the totals both in feet and in percentages. We think our readers generally will find these figures and facts interesting.

California leads the pack with a total consumption of 267,504,962 feet, or 14.94 per cent of the total plywood production.

New York, with its huge population and mighty building industries, was second with 148,708,744 feet, or 8.31 per cent of the total production. Washington, whose huge door plants are outstanding plywood users was third with 144,441,369 feet, or 8.07 per cent of total. Illinois was fourth with 136,532,647 feet, or 7.63 per cent of total. Pennsylvania vvas fifth with 91,546,292 feet, or 5.11 per cent. Indiana was sixth with 81,239,612 feet, or 4.53 per cent. Texas came seventh, leading the Southern states by a wide margin, using 72,498,303 feet, or 4.05 per cent of total, an increase of 40 million feet over 1948. Ohio was close behind Texas, then in close order followed Michigan, New Jersey, Oregon, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Missouri, and Florida.

Following 'Iexas in the South came Florida with 38,392,457 feet, while the two Carolinas combined consr.lmed 33,270.854 feet.

From Joe Weston, plywood authority, comes the statement that 'ivhile the average American consumes 12.4 square feet of plywood annually, California consumes 26.5 square feet per capita, and that furthermore California buys and uses all grades and kinds of plywood, not just certain items, the percentage of sales by plywood types and grades in California being very close to the industry production figures. In other words, California buys everything the plywood industrv makes. "Balanced sales" they call it.

In 1949 the San Francisco trading area had the largest per capita sales of plywood of any part of the state or country, 31.5 square feet per person.

Favorable lreight rates are, of course, partially responsible for California's continued huge consumption of Douglas Fir plywood. But the major idea is simply that California builds more beautifully and more variedly than any other part of the country, and the big and beautiful plywood boards lend themselves not only practically but enchantingly to such improved methods of building and building decorations.

California naturally likes plywood, and the things that can be done r,r'ith it. It r,r,'as California, beginning with the San Francisco Exposition in 1938 where eleven million feet of plywood r,vas used in building construction, that has taken the lead in the development of ways, means, and ideas for newer, better, and continually increasing use of plywood. With every year that passes this state devises and improvises more methods for ,cutting and sawing plyrvood into building shapes. Another outstanding factor is the fact that nowhere else is plywood distributed as well as in California. There are plywood storehouses and warehouses everylvhere, well stocked at all times with a variety o{ items for the building trade to select from. No lumber dealer is far arvay from a quick source of plywood supply. No other material is better merchandised.

The beauty, the versatility, the practicability, and the developing uses of the product, appeal to California, and California reciprocates.

Yes sir, California's claim to the plywood consuming championship is more outstanding today than ever before. To make the plywood industry understand the fact is the main object of this special issue.

Ptywood

Douglos Fir

Ponderosq Pine

Spruce

Redwood

Hardwood Ptywood

All Types

Doors

Hollow ond Solid Core

R.ezo

Generol

Homptonite

Trussed Core

Mulri-Plyd

Combincrtion

Spectat Ttems

Chopco Rezinized Hordboqrd

€rqveneer Boclrd

Upson Boqrd

Dowels

Nqils

Tennessee Cedqr lining

Cadwai1 Phitippaiiel

V-Joint q,nd 792 Pcltfern

Philippcnel Mqhogqny Mouldings

Philipponel Mqhogqny Siding

In tt is striking Ccrlifornia living room, the illusion oI linking indooroutdoor livingr crecs is heightened by extending the plywood ceiling out into the so{lii, unbroken by detrccting wcll or line. Douglcrs fii plywood ceiling is linished with cr plecsing light stein, plywood wqllg cre pcriuted in cool light blue-green.