Douglas fir Mills Have Another Record Year

By Arthur \fl. Priaulx, Public Relations Director \West Coast Lumbermen's Associotion

Douglas fir sawmills of Western Washington and Oregon had their second largest postwar production year in 1949, according to H. V. Simpson, executive vice president of West Coast Lumbermen's Association. The 1675 mills of the region in 1948 cut 9.4 billion board feet, largest production since 1929's high cut of 10'3 billion feet. It is estimated the 1949 output in Douglas Fir Region of Oregon and Washington will be 9 billion feet, off about five percent from 1948.

"The demand for West Coast woods during 1949 has kept pace with our forecasts of a year ago," Simpson pointed out. "New home starts will reach one million in 1949, topping the 950,000 starts of the previous year'"

"America will need to build at or near the rate of the last two years for a number of years in the future," the lumber leader said, "if we are to meet the demands o{ an increasing population and expanding economy."

Pointing out that West Coast mills have the capacity and the forest lands to supply a large share of the nation's needs for lumber, Simpson said increasing investments by many operators in long-range forestry promised a perpetual florv of high-grade lumber from this region.

The growth of Tree Farms, now embracing more tharl 3 million acres of taxpaying timberlands in the Douglas fir region alone, and the adoption of scientific timber cropping policies by a large segment of the industry, is one of the outstanding industrial developments of the country. IJnder this program, private timberlands are being kept in full production, lands are being left after harvest so new crops r,l'ill come in rapidly from natural reseeding from seed trees and blocks of adjoining seed trees. All forests are being given excellent protection against fire, insects and disease. Improved utilization of forest resources, developed in the past decade, have greatiy increased the volume of usable material now brought from the forests. Mainly this has been possible because new markets have been opened up for the utility grades of lumber cut from this type of log. Expensive hancl planting programs have been adcpted by some o\\rners of forestlands and 6 to 7 million trees a year, grown by the Forest Industries Tree Nursery at Nisqually, Washington, are planted on.lands that will not restock naturally.

Simpson said tl-re West Coast lumber industry was preparing for a long-range demand for its products. He pointed out that the industry's national advertising program' rvhich during the past year has been so successful in acquainting lumber consumers with the importance of using the right grade of lumber for each job, had created a heavy demand for lou'er grades of lumber.

Their national advertising has two main purposes: to accluaint consumers with lumber's many uses and great flexibility and to aid retailers in selling all grades of lumber' Promotion during 1950 will be directed at three major lumber using groups: (1) new home builders, (2) remodeling and modernizing of older homes, and (3)to the farm industry, stressing both new homes and building and remcdeling.

The great increase in population in the nation will require construction during 1950 and the years ahead of homes and schools in tremendous volume, the West Coast lumber chief said.

Here on the West Coast particularly, Simpson said, an increase in population in the last decade of some 5O/o has caused a building boom of unprecedented proportions. This growth of the Pacific slope states has just begun. Industrial and business building will keep pace with home and school construction and all this means a ready market for lumber.

One of the great opportunities for retail lumbermen and lumber manufacturers during the next few years, Simpson believes, is in the field of home remodeling. During the year just ended, despite the heavy expenditures for new homes in a near record building year, Americans laid out $6/z b1|ition for new homes while remodeling took $7 billion. Of the nation's 37 million dwellings now in use, 21 million are said to be in good condition rvhile 16 million need to be replaced or rehabilitated. "IIere is a great potential market for lumber," Simpson urged, "rvhich both retailers and manufacturers should not overlook. Lumber lends itself readily to use in remodeling because of its great flexibility and versatility. Since most of the nation's homes are made entirely of wood or largely of u'ood, the use of lumber for modernizing and remodeling is axiomatic."

"We are putting our forest resources in shape for the long pull," the West Coast lumber leader pointed out. "We are taking steps nolv, while n'e still have many decades of supply of virgin timber, to provide continuing crops of timber for generations ahead. We have nearly licked the problem of fire protection. Now we are moving forward to obtain the maximum possible gror'vth of {orest crops on privately held timber land."

From the states of Oregon and Washington, we expect to continue to supply a large share of the nation's need for lumber and other forest products under a sound business program of permanent forest management, Simpson stated.

The West Coast lumber manufacturing industry is be- Wood is the only building material that grows again and coming increasingly promotion min<led, Si-p.on ot...rred. again. It is our only reproducible natural resourcc.