The Lumb er Industry

By Paul E. Kendall Lons-Bell Lumber Sales Corporation Kansas City, Mo.

The lumber and secondary woodworking industries of the United States represent approximately 10 billion dollars of capital; $3,600,000,000 in value of annual product; 1,000,000 in number of employees. Biennial census figures for l9Z7 show "forest products" (lumber and its manufactures) as third on the list of 15 general industrial groups in number of wage earners, fourth in amount of wages paid, and sixth in the value of products. It is exceeded only by "textiles and their products" and "machinery" in number of wage earners and by the textile, iron and steel, and machinery groups in the amount of wages paid. In L9D "the forest products" industry was fourth in number of wage earners, fifth in amount of wages paid and ninth in value of products, based upon preliminary reports of the United States Census Bureau.

In L9D the amount of lumber cut is given as 36,872,132,000 feet as reported by 19,904 mills. One-third of this lumber is produced in two states, Washington and pregon. Washington is the greatest lumber-producing state. It alone in l9D cut one-fifth of the lumber oroduced. Onehalf of the total cut was produced in fivi states, Washington, Oregon, Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama. Fiftyfive per cent of it is represented in two species-Southern Pine and Douglas Fir; the first being 31.5 per cent, the second 23.6 per cent. 'Western pines represent 8.9 per cent, Hemlock 5.7 per cent, White Pine 3.4 p,er cent, making a total for the five woods narned of '73 per cent of the annual production.

Seventy years ago sourCes o{ lumber supply were mainly local or at comparatively short distances from the consuming markets. In 1914 the Forest Service estimated the average rail haul from the mill to the place of use was 360 miles; 1n 1924 that it was 725 miles, thus doubling in the ten years. Inbound lumber to the northeastern states travels an average distance over the railroad of 84O miles; to the lake states 91O miles; to the central states 1,515 miles. From the Pacific Northwest to the consuming markets of the east, the average rail haul is approximately 2,fi0 miles.

The water haul from the northwest to Atlantic Coast ports is about 6,000 miles.

ln 1924 lumber's freight bill (on lumber, timbers and sawed ties) was approximately $408,50O,00O, according to the U. S. Forest Service. Of this $3@,700,000 was for primary haul, i.e., not including charges for redistribution to consumers. It included 17 million dollars on imports of foreign lumber.

Where Does It Go?

Practically 50 per cent of all lumber produced goes into home building and farm buildings. The general classifications of use are as follows:

Home building .....11,500,000,000feet

Farmbuildings. ....5,500,000,000feet

Industrial construction .... 2,600,000,000feet

Fabricated industrial uses . 4,327,O0O,00O f.eet Wood boxes, crates and containers . 5,078,000,000 feet

Railway construction .... 2,700,00o,000feet

Highwayconstruction.... 1,00O,00O,00Ofeet

Federal government lumber uses . 800,00O,000 feet

Probably more than 4O per cent of the lumber production of the United States goes directly from the sawmill into general building and construction without passing through an intermediate mill-work or wood-working factory. This includes roofing and fencing. Planing mill products, including flooring, sash, doors and finish, are estimated to consume 25 per cent of the lumber production of the country-

There are more than 4,000 uses for wood and new ones are being discovered constantly. Five million trees a yeat go to maintain telegraph and telephone lines. Railroads purchase a total of a hundred million cross, switch and bridge ties annually. Mining operations call for 260,000,000 cubic feet of wood a year. The cooperage industry uses 250,000,000 cubic feet of wood annually. Production of rayon, the new textile made of wood fibre, has increased eight times in as rnany years.