Annuql R.edwood R.eport Reflecls lnduslty Heqlth

Again this year, forms were sent by the California Red.wood Association to each mill in the Redwood Region whose production was believed to be 25 M feet or more per day, asking for figures on production, shipments, orders, stocks and other incidental information, if information indicated that they were producing redwood lumber. Usable reports 'for 1956 were received from 38 companies, of whom 31 had also furnished figures for 1955. The attached table gives statistics for the 38 companies for 1956 and comparative fig-

.ures for 1956 and 1955 for the 31 companies. So few mills reported for more than two consecutive years that a com- for a longer period is not feasible.

Some of the figures were estimates rather than actual but

' are believed to be close enough to be included in this report. ; Figures on company use, factory waste and other disposals were supplied by 13 companies only. The computation of closing stocks on the basis of opening stocks adjusted for ppoduction, shipments, etc., do not check exactly with reported figures but neither individual mills nor the group as a whole show enough difference to affect the statistical usefulness of the figures.

The figures in the attached report are not directly com-

, parable with those shown for twelve months in the monthly mill report for December 1956, and the difference between the two sets of figures does not represent the production, ' shipments and stocks of the additional eleven companies.

The primary difference in the two sets of figures lies in the handling of inter-mill business.

The monthly reports are for a set group of mills whose identity is known in advance. Definite instructions are given for handling inter-mill transactions so that the volume of lumber moving between the reporting companies is excluded; but the volume of lumber purchased from producers not included in the group is included in both shipment and production figures. It is noted in the December 1956 report that the figures included 39 million feet of redwood not produced by the reporting companies in 1956 and 34 million feet in 1955.

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Since it cannot be known in advance u'hat companies will furnish the annual figures, this method cannot be used. The shipment figures shown are gross shipments less purchases from other mills. If reports were received from all redwood producers, this method would properly show the amount of redwood shipped by the industry to distributors and consumers. Since all mills do not report, the purchased lumber undoubtedly includes lumber from mills outside the group so that the combined shipments to distributors and con- the figure shown. The method does, however, properly indicate the volume of shipments that was made from the pro- duction of these reporting mills.

The chief other difference between the two reports is due to the fact that some companies report a gross production figure and a computed figure for factory waste on monthly reports but report a net production figure and no factory waste on annual reports. If the gross figure had been used it would have increased the 1956 redwood production figure by approximately fourteen million feet.

ANNUAL STATISTICS 1956 COMPARED WITH T955 (Sawn lumber, shingles,

(a) Shipments are net for the industry, inter-company shipments have been deducted. Shipments of factory products included as footage of finished product, not as lumber delivery to factorY.

(b) Company Use is lumber used for construction and maintenance of the reporting companies' plants and logging operations. These figures include sawn shingles, shakes and lath produced at these lumber mills.

The 1956 redwood production for the 38 companies includes 729,709 M feet of lumber and 3,406 M feet of ,by-products, mostly lath and shingles. \

The two Association reports which compare 1956 and 1955 redwood production tell quite radically different stories:

The differences are due to a combination of factors, most important of which is the fact that the 11 added companies showed a.greater volume and percentage decrease than did the larger group of companies represented on the monthly reports. Next in importance is the fact that one of the 31 companies which was not included in the monthly mill figures, was purchased at mid-year by one of the monthly mill reporting companies. Therefore, the 1956 monthly reports included nearly a half year's production of this plant which was not represented in the 1955 figures. A smaller part is due to the experience of the mills mentioned above which report grdss production for the monthly reports and net production for the annual report.

These mills showed redwood production increase for net production which was 3 million feet less than shown for gross production. Another factor is that the production figures shown on the monthly mill report included 5 million feet more redwood.purchased from companies outside the reporting group in 1956 than they did in 1955. Part of these purchases undoubtedly came from companies included in the 31 identical mill group.

The Bureau of Census finally published, late in March, their estimates of 1954 production by species based on the Census of Manufactures Survey. This gives redwood production of 958,497 M feet. This is not particularly helpful in estimating total redwood production for 1956. There are strong indications that probably 1955 was the year of peak redwood production.

Disfriburion of Redwood Shipments

The report of the distribution of redwood shipments to each state and to various regions for the years 1953, 1954, 1955 and 1956, as reported by the twenty mills which have reported regularly for the Monthly Mill Report, shows a

*r:ttgSO decrease of 64 million feet from 1955 shipments. Al,l though there have been several ownership changes in the r.feporting companies during the year, the operations are the ' sarne for the two years and the figured are probably more comparable than the 1954 and 1955 figures are. California accounted for nearly 24 million feet of the decrease, and states east of the Rockies nearly 38 million. The western group received approximatety t mittion feet less in 1956.

Although there are exceptions, it is generally true that the areas which are relatively new redwood markets and ,: which have recently increased rapidly in importance, are the ones in which the decreases were most noticeable. Of thp states east of the Rocky Mountains-Texas, Ohio and

Oklahoma showed the heaviest decreases and together ac- counted for 5O/o ofthe decreases shown by all states in group. Only five states showed heavier shipments than in 1955 and the greatest of these increases, to Pennsylvania,

.was less than 1 million feet. The greatest percentage de- crease was in the state of Delaware, whose 1955 figure was nearly three times that of the preceding year and whose

1956 shipments dropped to the lowest since 1950, reports the California Redwood Association.

Texas Remains First Outside State

, There were only nine states in this eastern group which more than l0 million feet in 1956, compared rvith eleven states in 1955. Nine of the ten top states were the same as have been in the top ten during the three preceding years. Oklahoma, which was the eighth in rank in 1955, dropped to number eleven in 1956. Wisconsin, which was eleventh last year, was the tenth in rank in 1956. In spite of the very heavy decreases in shipments to Texas ancl Ohio, they remained the first and second states outside ol California. The first five were the same as in 1955, including also Illinois, New York and Minnesota. There \,l'as a juggling of position in the remaining states. In 1956 the' sixth to tenth rankings were held by Michigan, Missouri, Indiana, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

A new series of illustrated advertising mats to assist wholesalers and retailers of California redwood intlreir local newspaper campaigns are displayed in the "5C1" data sheet series which have been rnailed to lumber dlalers and data book holders throughout the United States by the California Redwood Asiociation. In Sheet I of the series, "Newspaper Mats, Redwood Interior Paneling & Siding," are seven illustrated mats in one-column and two-column widths. In Sheet l-"Qsnslal Garden lJses," a series of 16 one- and twb-column mats include suggestions for the use of "Garden Redwood.r' Sheet 3 illustrates nine mats with suggestions for the use of redwood in fences of many patterns. Copy is included in each mat but may be dropped out as desired. Space for the local distributor's name is provided. Copies of the data sheets and the free advertising mats which they detail may be obtained without cost by writing to the California Redwood Association, 576 Sacramento Street, San Francisco 11. California.

The Rocky Mountain states received almost the same: volume as in 1955, with Colorado and Utah again taking nearly 80/o ot the shipments into this group. Gains in Utah, Montana and Idaho almost ofiset losses to Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming, with New Mexico showing. the: greatest change.

New England Region Shows Intrease

The four states in the Western group were off by l-l/3 million in spite of a million-foot gain into Oregon. Arizona showed the heaviest loss.

New England was the only one of the eight regions east of the Rocky Mountains which showed an increase in volume, although the Middle Atlantic states, Lake states and Central states each took a larger percent of the total redwood shiprirents east of the Rocky Mountains than they did in 1955. The percentage increase to the Central states was in spite of the fact that this region showed the greatest volume decrease. The Lower Mississippi states showed the greatest percentage decrease and the greatest volume decrease, except for the Central states. Together the Central states and Lower Mississippi states accounted f.or 2/3 of the decrease into all states east of the Rockies.

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