U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE FOREST SERVICE

A Technical Document Supporting the

2000 USDA Forest Service RPA Assessment

DAVID B. MCKEEVER

Domestic Market Activity in Solid

Wood Products in the United

States,1950-1998
David B. McKeever is a research forester, Forest Products Laboratory, One Gifford

Pinchot Dr., Madison, WI 53705-2398.

Author
McKeever, David B. 2002. Domestic market activity in solid wood products in the

United States, 1950-1998. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-524. Portland, OR: U.S.

Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station.

76 p.

Solid wood is important to the construction, manufacturing, and shipping segments of

the U.S. economy. Nearly all new houses are built with wood, and wood building products are used in the construction of nonresidential buildings, and in the upkeep and

improvement of existing structures. Solid wood is used extensively to produce and

transport manufactured products. It also provides a renewable energy source for industrial, commercial, and residential applications. In 1998, 19.6 billion cubic feet, roundwood equivalent, of all timber products were consumed in the United States, down

slightly from 1996, but considerably greater than in 1962. About 87 percent of this was

for industrial products, and 13 percent for fuelwood. Excluding fuelwood, solid wood

timber products accounted for about 67 percent of the industrial roundwood consumed,

and pulpwood products about 33 percent. Large amounts of residues are generated in

the production of solid wood products, about 10 to 15 percent of total industrial roundwood consumption. Thus, solid wood products and pulpwood products each account

for about half of the industrial roundwood consumed. This report examines solid wood

timber products consumption in the United States over the past 40 to 45 years, relates

changes in consumption to economic, social, and institutional factors during the period,

and presents estimates of consumption in major end-use markets. Trends in timber

products production, foreign trade, and domestic consumption over the past half century also are examined.

Keywords: Production, consumption, timber products consumption, industrial roundwood production, solid wood consumption, wood use, softwood lumber, hardwood

lumber, structural panels, softwood plywood, oriented strandboard, OSB, waferboard,

nonstructural panels, hardwood plywood, particleboard, medium-density fiberboard,

MDF, hardboard, insulation board, engineered wood products, wood I-joists, gluelaminated timbers, glulam, structural composite lumber, laminated veneer lumber, LVL,

parallel strand lumber, PSL, oriented strand lumber, OSL, fuelwood, construction,

housing, new residential construction, single-family, multifamily, apartments, mobile

homes, repair, remodeling, upkeep, improvements, expenditures, nonresidential construction, railroads, manufacturing, furniture, shipping, wooden containers, pallets,

fuelwood.

Abstract
• In 1998, 19.6 billion cubic feet, roundwood equivalent, of timber products (solid wood,

and pulp and paper) were consumed in the United States, down slightly from 19.7

billion cubic feet in 1996, but considerably greater than in 1962 when 11.6 billion

cubic feet were consumed.

• Just over 87 percent (17.1 billion cubic feet) was for industrial products, 13 percent

for fuelwood.

• Excluding fuelwood, solid wood products accounted for about two-thirds of the industrial roundwood consumed in 1998; pulp products about one-third. Solid wood

residues used for pulpwood, however, make overall wood use nearly equally divided between solid wood, and pulp and paper products.

• Construction is the largest overall market for solid wood in the United States. About

65 percent of all lumber, 85 percent of all structural panels, and 37 percent of all

nonstructural panels consumed in 1998 was for construction.

• The share of lumber and nonstructural panels used for construction declined since

1986 when they were 72 and 62 percent, respectively. Structural panel market

shares remained steady at 85 percent.

New residential—

• New residential construction accounted for about 57 percent of all wood products

used in construction in 1998, up from 53 percent in 1996.

• Nearly 22.2 billion board feet of lumber, 19.4 billion square feet, 3/8-in basis, of

structural panels, and 4.5 billion square feet, 3/8-in basis, of nonstructural panels

were consumed for new residential construction in 1998.

• Single-family houses used 82 percent, multifamily houses 8 percent, and mobile

homes 10 percent of the wood products used in new residential construction in

1998. This distribution of use was unchanged from 1996.

• In 1998 the average single-family house used about 14,400 board feet of lumber;

12,800 square feet, 3/8-in basis, of structural panels, and 2,500 square feet of

nonstructural panels, compared to 14,300 board feet, 8,300 square feet, 3/8-in basis, and 5,100 square feet in 1986.

• Structural panel use per square foot of floor area increased between 1986 and

1998; both lumber and nonstructural panel use per square foot of floor area decreased.

Residential upkeep and improvements—

• Residential upkeep and improvements accounted for 32 percent of all wood products used in construction in 1998, down from 36 percent in 1996.

• More than 14.1 billion board feet of lumber, 7.3 billion square feet, 3/8-in basis, of

structural panels, and 2.7 billion square feet, 3/8-in basis, of nonstructural panels

were consumed for residential upkeep and improvements in 1998.

• Residential upkeep and improvements became a more important market for woodbased building products over the past 10 to 15 years. Before 1986, the residential

upkeep and improvements market for wood products was equivalent to about 45

percent of the new single-family residential construction market. Since then, it has

been equivalent to about 80 percent of new single-family residential construction.

Construction

Types of Construction

Highlights

Roundwood
New nonresidential—

• Nonresidential construction accounted for about 12 percent of wood used in construction in both 1998 and 1996.

• Nearly 4.6 billion board feet of lumber, 2.9 billion square feet, 3/8-in basis, of structural panels, and 1.3 billion square feet, 3/8-in basis, of nonstructural panels were

consumed for new nonresidential construction in 1998.

• Since 1986, total wood use for new nonresidential construction was about 20 percent of that for new residential construction.

• Manufacturing activities in the United States accounted for about 13 percent of the

lumber, 11 percent of the structural panels, and 48 percent of the nonstructural

panels consumed in 1998, virtually unchanged from 1996.

• Since 1986, the share of lumber, structural panels, and nonstructural panels used

for manufacturing increased 2, 4, and 16 percent, respectively.

• Nearly 8.4 billion board feet of lumber, 3.7 billion square feet, 3/8-in basis, of structural panels, and 10.9 billion square feet, 3/8-in basis, of nonstructural panels were

consumed for manufacturing in 1998.

• Packaging and shipping accounted for about 11 percent of the lumber, and 2 percent or less of the structural and nonstructural panels consumed in 1998.

• Since 1986, the share of lumber used for packaging and shipping dropped 2 percent largely owing to reduced amounts of lumber used per pallet, and the advent of

pallet recycling.

• New pallets used 6.6 billion board feet of lumber in 1998, more than 90 percent of

all the lumber used for packaging and shipping.

• Recent advances in pallet repair, recovery, and design have resulted in reduced

numbers of new pallets being built, and lesser amounts of lumber being used per

pallet.

• In 1998, an estimated 250 million pallets were recovered by the pallet industry, 70

million more than in 1996, and 185 million more than in 1992.

• About 3.4 billion board feet of salvaged lumber was used to repair, rebuild, and

manufacture recycled pallets in 1998. This is in addition to the 6.6 billion board feet

of “new” lumber used to produce new pallets in 1998.

• Uses other than construction, manufacturing, and packaging and shipping accounted for about 11 percent of the lumber, 3 percent of the structural panels, and

15 percent of the nonstructural panels consumed in 1998.

• Lumber consumption in 1998 was 64.2 billion board feet, 2.9 billion board feet

greater than in 1996, 6.8 billion board feet greater than in 1986, and greater than in

any year in the past five decades.

• Softwood species accounted for just over 80 percent of all lumber consumed in

1998.

• Structural panel consumption in 1998 was 34.8 billion square feet, 3/8-in basis,

3.2 billion square feet greater than in 1996, 9.1 billion square feet greater than in

1986, and substantially above total use in any year in the past five decades.

Manufacturing

Packaging and Shipping

Other

Consumption, Trade, and

Production
• In 1998, for the first time ever, oriented strandboard (OSB) accounted for more than

half (51 percent) of all structural panels consumed.

• Nonstructural panel consumption totaled 23.0 billion square feet, 3/8-in basis, in

1998, up 2.0 billion square feet from 1996, and 1.7 billion square feet from 1986.

This was a new record high level of consumption.

• About 40 million cubic feet of laminated veneer lumber, 267 million board feet of

glue-laminated timbers, and 624 million linear feet of wood I-joists were consumed

in the United States in 1998. These were increases of 33, 13, and 40 percent, respectively, over 1996, and were record high levels of consumption for laminated

veneer lumber and wood I-joists.

• In 1998, wood energy consumption in the United States was about 2.4 quadrillion

British thermal units, or about 2.5 percent of total U.S. energy consumption.

• Roundwood timber use for fuel has been declining since 1985, both in absolute

terms, and as a share of total wood-derived fuel use. In 1986, roundwood use,

primarily used by households, was about 37 percent of total wood energy use.

In 1997, roundwood provided about 23 percent of total wood energy.

• Household consumption, the largest portion of roundwood used, dropped from

3.9 billion cubic feet in 1984 to 1.6 billion cubic feet in 1997.

• In 1998, 485 million cubic feet of other industrial timber products were consumed in

the United States, 15 million cubic feet below consumption in 1996, and 60 million

cubic feet below the 1990s average of 545 million cubic feet.

Fuelwood

Other Industrial Timber

Products
1 Introduction

3 Timber Products Consumption in Construction

5 Timber Products Consumption in New Residential Construction

5 New Housing Unit Production

5 Timber Products Use Per Housing Unit

14 Total Timber Products Use in New Housing

17 Timber Products Consumption in Residential Upkeep and Improvements

17 Residential Upkeep and Improvement Expenditures

19 Timber Products Use Per $1,000 of Residential Upkeep and Improvement

Expenditures

19 Total Timber Products Use in Residential Upkeep and Improvements

22 Timber Products Consumption in New Nonresidential and Railroad

Construction

22 Value of New Nonresidential Construction

22 Timber Products Use per $1,000 of Nonresidential Construction Value

26 Total Timber Products Use in New Nonresidential Construction

29 Timber Products Use in Railroad Construction

29 Timber Products Consumption in Manufacturing

32 Shipments of Manufactured Products

32 Timber Products Use Per $1,000 of Manufacturing Shipments

35 Total Timber Products Use in Manufacturing

38 Timber Products Consumption in Packaging and Shipping

38 Wooden Pallet Production

38 Timber Products Consumption in Wooden Pallets

43 Timber Products Consumption in Wooden Containers

46 Timber Products Consumption in Dunnage

46 Timber Products Consumption in Other Uses

47 Recent Trends in Lumber, Structural Panels, Nonstructural Panels, and

Engineered Wood Products Consumption, Trade, and Production

47 Lumber

57 Structural Panels

57 Nonstructural Panels

62 Engineered Wood Products

63 Fuelwood Consumption and Production

70 Other Industrial Timber Products Consumption

70 Improvements in Utilization

72 Acknowledgments

72 References

Contents
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1

Solid wood timber products are an important raw material to the construction, manufacturing, and shipping segments of the U.S. economy. Nearly all new single-family

houses and low-rise multifamily residential structures are wood framed and sheathed.

Large amounts of solid wood timber products are also used in the construction of new

nonresidential buildings and in the upkeep and improvement of existing structures.

Solid wood is used extensively in various manufactured products, and nearly all manufactured products are shipped on wooden pallets. Solid wood also provides a renewable energy source for industrial, commercial, and residential applications.

In 1998, 19.6 billion cubic feet, roundwood equivalent,1

 of all timber products were consumed in the United States, down slightly from 19.7 billion cubic feet in 1996, but considerably greater than in 1962 when 11.6 billion cubic feet were consumed (Howard

2001, Ulrich 1989). Included is industrial roundwood used for lumber, plywood and

veneer, pulpwood products, other industrial products, imported logs and pulpwood

chips, and timber harvested for fuelwood. Of the 19.6 billion cubic feet of timber consumed in 1998, 87 percent (17.1 billion cubic feet) was for industrial products, 13 percent (2.5 billion cubic feet) for fuelwood. In 1996, consumption was 86 and 14 percent

for industrial products and fuelwood, respectively. Excluding fuelwood, solid wood timber products accounted for about 67 percent of the industrial roundwood consumed in

1998, and pulpwood products about 33 percent. Fairly large amounts of residues are

generated in the production of solid wood products annually. Much of these residues

are used in the production of pulp and paper and are equivalent to about 10 to 15 percent of total industrial roundwood consumption. Thus, solid wood products, and pulpwood products each accounted for about half of the industrial roundwood consumed in

1998.

This report presents estimates of solid wood timber products consumption in the United

States over the past 40 to 45 years; relates changes in consumption to economic,

social, and institutional factors during the period; and presents estimates of consumption in major end-use markets. The solid wood timber products considered here (see

table 1) are lumber (softwood and hardwood), structural panels (softwood plywood,

oriented strandboard [OSB], which includes small amounts of waferboard, and similar

wood panel products used primarily for structural applications), nonstructural panels

(hardwood plywood, particleboard, medium-density fiberboard [MDF], hardboard, insulation board, and similar wood panel products used primarily for nonstructural applications), engineered wood products (wood I-joists, glue-laminated (glulam) timbers, and

structural composite lumber [SCL] consisting of laminated veneer lumber [LVL], parallel

strand lumber [PSL], and oriented strand lumber [OSL]), fuelwood, and other industrial

timber products such as cooperage logs, poles and piling, fence posts, hewn ties,

round mine timbers, box bolts, excelsior bolts, chemical wood, shingle bolts, and other

miscellaneous items. Throughout this report, lumber and glulam timbers are measured

in board feet, structural and nonstructural panels in square feet, 3/8-in basis, wood

I-joists in linear feet, and SCL, fuelwood and other industrial timber products in cubic

feet. Lumber, structural panels, nonstructural panels, and engineered wood products

consumption are discussed in terms of their major markets; i.e., new construction,

which includes new housing, residential upkeep and improvements, and new nonresidential and railroad construction; manufacturing; packaging and shipping; and other

Introduction

1 Roundwood equivalent is defined as the volume of logs

or other round products required to produce given

quantities of lumber, plywood, woodpulp, paper, or other

similar products (Haynes 1990).
2

uses. New housing is commonly referred to in terms of square feet of floor area, where

residential upkeep and improvements and new nonresidential construction in terms of

dollar value. Fuelwood is discussed in terms of fuel type and end user, and other industrial timber products in terms of softwoods and hardwoods.

Estimates of solid wood products consumption in major end-use markets reported here

were based, in general, on findings from a limited number of public and private research reports, which were conducted at irregular intervals over the years. Information

on wood products use from these reports was related to more readily available, annual

time series economic data to generate end-use factors—the amount of a specific wood

product used at a specific time in a specific application per unit of the economic variable. Changes in (1) the end-use factors over time, (2) other closely related indicators

of consumption in the end-use market, and (3) the economic variables over time were

used to estimate wood products consumption for years not specifically studied, and of

interest here. For example, comprehensive studies of wood used for residential upkeep

and improvements were conducted in 1991 and 1997 (McKeever and Anderson 1993,

Wood Products Council 1999a). Information on expenditures in the United States for

Table 1—Solid wood timber products

Timber product Unit of measurea

Lumber:

Softwood Bd. ft

Hardwood Bd. ft

Structural panels:

Softwood plywood Sq. ft

Oriented strandboard (OSB) Sq. ft

Waferboard Sq. ft

Nonstructural panels:

Hardwood plywood Sq. ft

Particleboard Sq. ft

Medium-density fiberboard (MDF) Sq. ft

Hardboard Sq. ft

Insulation board Sq. ft

Engineered wood products:

Wood I-joists Lf

Glued-laminated (glulam) timbers Bd. ft

Structural composite lumber (SCL) Cf

Laminated veneer lumber (LVL) Cf

Parallel strand lumber (PSL) Cf

Oriented strand lumber (OSL) Cf

Fuelwood Cf

Other industrial timber products Cf

a Bd. ft = board feet; Sq. ft = square feet, 3/8-in basis; Lf = linear

feet; and Cf = cubic feet.
3

residential upkeep and improvements are collected annually by the U.S. Department of

Commerce, Bureau of the Census (2000e). Wood use estimates from the 1991 and

1997 studies were divided by expenditures in 1991 and 1997, resulting in estimates of

the amount of each wood product used per dollar of expenditure. Then, use factors for

a year of interest, such as 1998, were estimated based on trends in the reported use

factors themselves, and on trends in related indicators of consumption. The related

indicators of consumption for residential upkeep and improvements were wood products used for new residential construction.2 The 1998 estimated use factors were then

multiplied by expenditures in 1998, resulting in estimated wood products consumption

for residential upkeep and improvements. This basic approach was used to estimate

wood products consumption in each major end-use market. The specific end-use research reports, related indicators of consumption, and annual time series economic

data used to develop the end-use factors and estimates were specific to each end-use

market, and are cited in the text and tables for each end-use market.

Construction is the single largest market for timber products in the United States. The

construction of new houses and their upkeep and improvement, new stores, offices,

hotels and other nonresidential buildings, highways, dams and other nonresidential

nonbuilding structures, and railroad track construction and maintenance required about

65 percent of all the lumber, 85 percent of all the structural panels, and 37 percent of

all the nonstructural panels consumed in the United States in 1998 (fig. 1). The use of

wood in construction has changed in many ways over the past several decades and

continues to change. Changes have included the substitution of nonwood for wood

building products, the development and adoption of new wood products to substitute for

existing wood and nonwood building products, changes in architectural characteristics

Timber Products

Consumption in

Construction

2 Because many upkeep and improvement projects use

the same building products and construction techniques

as those used in new residential construction, changes

in how wood is used in new residential construction were

used to help explain changes in wood use in residential

upkeep and improvements.

Figure 1—Timber products consumption for construction as a percentage of total timber products

consumption, by product, selected years 1962-98.
4

of buildings and in building codes, that favor one type of building product over another,

and changes in the ways structures are built. Because of these and other changes,

market shares (consumption for construction as a percentage of total consumption) for

lumber and nonstructural panels decreased 8 and 25 percent since 1986. During the

same time, structural panel market shares remained steady. Despite these changes,

construction remains the principal market for lumber and panel products in the United

States.

Three principal construction markets are examined: (1) new residential construction,

including single-family and multifamily houses, and mobile homes; (2) upkeep and improvements to the existing housing stock; and (3) new nonresidential construction including buildings, other nonbuilding construction, and railroad track construction and

maintenance. Although each uses large amounts of timber products, actual amounts,

types, and ways in which these products are used differ greatly. To better understand

how wood is used and how its use has changed, each market was evaluated separately in terms of the types and quantities of timber products used in 1998, changes in

use over time, factors affecting use, and anticipated future levels of use. Another important construction category is the upkeep and remodeling of nonresidential buildings and

structures. Adequate, nationwide information on the magnitude of, and building products used in this construction market is not available. Therefore, separate wood use

estimates for nonresidential upkeep and remodeling have not been made but are included in the “other uses” category.

Various timber products are used for construction. Specific products evaluated here

are lumber, structural panels, nonstructural panels, and engineered wood products.

See table 1 for products included in each category. Over the past 10 years, new and

existing engineered wood products have made important inroads into traditional lumber

and structural panel markets. Before 1995, engineered wood products consumption in

major end-use markets was not specifically identified. Consumption was included with

lumber and structural panels, or not included at all. Also, the lumber used to produce

glulam timbers, and the lumber and OSB used to produce wood I-joists were included

in the lumber and structural panel production data. To make more meaningful comparisons between 1996 and later years to years before 1996, engineered wood products

consumption in 1996 and 1998 was converted to equivalent amounts of lumber and

structural panels. Linear feet of wood I-joists were converted to their equivalent

amounts of lumber and SCL flanges, and OSB webs, and cubic feet of SCL were converted to the equivalent volume of structural panels. Although SCL products are strictly

not structural panels, their volumes were included with structural panels because they

are closer to structural panels in terms of both their production processes and end uses

than to lumber or nonstructural panels. These equivalent volumes, along with boardfoot volume of glulam timbers were added to lumber and structural panel consumption

estimates. Separate estimates for lumber and structural panel consumption including

and excluding these equivalent volumes of engineered wood are reported for new residential construction, residential upkeep and improvements, and new nonresidential

construction in 1996 and 1998. Also, all reported volumes for construction include allowances for onsite waste and loss: 10 percent for lumber, 5 percent for structural and

nonstructural panels, and 2 percent for engineered wood products.
5

New residential construction is the construction of new housing units—single-family

houses, multifamily (apartment) buildings, and mobile homes. Overall construction for

each housing type is measured annually by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau

of the Census (USDC Bureau of the Census 2000a, 2000b). Measures of activity in

each form the basis for estimating timber products consumption.

New housing construction has long been the largest single market in the United States

for timber products. In 1998, more than one-third of the lumber, more than one-half of

the structural panels, and about one-fifth of the nonstructural panel products consumed

in the United States were used in the construction of new housing units. Amounts of

timber products consumed in new residential construction are largely dependent on the

numbers and types of housing units built, their average size, and the amounts and

types of wood products used per housing unit.

In 1998, nearly 2.0 million housing units were produced in the United States (table 2).

Nearly 1.3 million of these units were new single-family houses, with the remaining

being nearly equally divided between new multifamily units and new mobile homes.

Total housing unit production in 1998 was higher than any year since 1986, but well

below record high levels achieved during the 1970s (fig. 2). Many factors affect housing

production, including overall performance of the economy, interest rates, household

formations, vacancy and replacement rates, and conversion of existing structures to

alternative uses, which can cause annual production to differ substantially from year to

year, and from decade averages. For example, total housing unit production reached

record high levels in the early 1970s, fell dramatically in the mid-1970s, and then rose

again. This cyclic nature of new housing production is characteristic of the market and

was repeated again in the 1980s and 1990s. Timber products consumption for new

housing is greatly affected by this cyclic nature of the market.

Timber products consumption is not only affected by the absolute numbers of housing

units produced but also by the types of units produced. Single-family houses dominate

the new housing market and account for a large proportion of the timber products used.

Variations in the proportion of all new single-family to all housing affect total timber

products consumption. During the 1990s, single-family houses accounted for about 67

percent of all housing units produced, a more than 20-percent increase from the previous three decades, but below the 1950s average when single-family houses accounted

for nearly 83 percent of all new housing units (fig. 3). Multifamily housing was about 16

percent of all housing in the 1990s, down by about 50 percent from the previous three

decades. Much of the decline in the proportion of multifamily housing to all housing

between the 1980s and 1990s was caused by speculative multifamily housing overbuilding in the mid-1980s, and demographic shifts in the population, which resulted in

increased demand for single-family over multifamily houses. Mobile homes accounted

for about 17 percent of all units produced in the 1990s. Aside from slight decade variations, mobile homes as a proportion of all housing remained fairly constant since its

emergence as an important source of housing during the late 1950s.

In 1998, the average single-family house used about 14,400 board feet of lumber,

12,800 square feet of structural panels, and 2,500 square feet of nonstructural panels,

up from 14,100 board feet of lumber, 12,000 square feet of structural panels, and 2,300

square feet of nonstructural panels in 1996 (table 3). (These volumes include the lumber and panel equivalents of the volumes of engineered wood products used.) Multifamily units used, on average, about one-third of the lumber and structural panels, and

slightly more than one-half of the nonstructural panels used in single-family houses.

Mobile homes used more lumber, structural panels, and nonstructural panels than multifamily units, and nearly as many nonstructural panels as single-family units.

Timber Products

Consumption in New

Residential

Construction

New Housing Unit

Production

Timber Products Use Per

Housing Unit
6

Table 2—Average annual new conventional housing units

started and mobile homes shipped in the United States, by

type of unit, 1950-98

Conventional housing starts Mobile

Single Multi- homes

Year family family Total shipped Total

Thousands

1950-59a 1,345 187 1,533 94 1,627

1960-69a 924 482 1,406 206 1,612

1970-79a 1,143 625 1,768 366 2,134

1980 852 440 1,292 222 1,514

1981 705 379 1,084 241 1,325

1982 663 400 1,062 240 1,302

1983 1,068 636 1,703 296 1,999

1984 1,084 665 1,750 295 2,045

1985 1,072 670 1,742 284 2,025

1986 1,179 626 1,805 244 2,050

1987 1,146 474 1,620 233 1,853

1988 1,081 407 1,488 218 1,706

1989 1,003 373 1,376 198 1,574

1980-89a 985 507 1,492 247 1,739

1990 895 298 1,193 188 1,381

1991 840 174 1,014 171 1,185

1992 1,030 170 1,200 211 1,410

1993 1,126 162 1,288 254 1,542

1994 1,198 259 1,457 304 1,761

1995 1,076 278 1,354 340 1,694

1996 1,161 316 1,477 363 1,840

1990-96a 1,047 236 1,283 262 1,545

1997 1,134 340 1,474 354 1,828

1998 1,271 346 1,617 373 1,990

1990-98a 1,081 260 1,341 284 1,626

a Average for period.

Sources: Haynes 1990, USDC Bureau of the Census 2000a, 2000b.
7

Figure 2—New housing unit production, by type of unit, 1950-98.

Figure 3—Percentage of housing units produced, by type of unit, period averages, 1950-98.
8 Table 3—Production and timber products used in new housing, by product and type of unit, 1962-98

Lumbera Structural panelsb c Nonstructural panelsb d

Use per Use per Use per

Floor Square Square Square

Units area foot of foot of foot of

Year and pro- per Total floor Total floor Total floortype of unit duced unit use Unit area use Unit area use Unit area

Thousand Sq. ft Million bd. ft – – – Bd. ft – – – Million sq. ft – – –Sq. ft – – – Million sq. ft – – – Sq. ft – – –

1962:

Single family 991 1,346 11,289 11,387 8.46 2,936 2,961 2.20 1,788 1,804 1.34Multifamily 472 972 2,641 5,602 5.76 898 1,904 1.96 598 1,268 1.30Mobile homes 118 610 180 1,525 2.50 101 855 1.40 146 1,240 2.03

Total — — 14,109 — — 3,934 — — 2,532 — —

1970:

Single familye 813 1,500 9,717 11,953 7.97 4,007 4,929 3.29 3,678 4,525 3.02

Multifamily 621 995 3,515 5,663 5.69 1,406 2,265 2.28 768 1,238 1.24

Mobile homes 401 732 764 1,904 2.60 455 1,134 1.55 852 2,124 2.90

Total — — 13,996 — — 5,868 — — 5,299 — —

1976:

Single familye 1,162 1,700 15,706 13,511 7.95 7,420 6,383 3.75 5,902 5,078 2.99

Multifamily 375 940 1,921 5,123 5.45 984 2,622 2.79 351 937 1.00

Mobile homes 246 966 653 2,654 2.75 301 1,225 1.27 926 3,763 3.90

Total — — 18,280 — — 8,705 — — 7,180 — —

1986:

Single familye 1,179 1,825 16,829 14,269 7.82 9,798 8,308 4.55 6,048 5,128 2.81

Multifamily 626 911 2,955 4,720 5.18 1,568 2,505 2.75 532 850 .93

Mobile homes 244 1,110 1,059 4,335 3.91 393 1,608 1.45 928 3,800 3.42

Total — — 20,842 — — 11,759 — — 7,508 — —

1996:

Single family 1,161 2,120 16,329 14,066 6.63 13,957 12,022 5.67 2,676 2,305 1.09Multifamily 316 1,070 1,507 4,768 4.46 1,165 3,687 3.45 427 1,351 1.26Mobile homes 363 1,380 1,945 5,355 3.88 1,874 5,158 3.74 758 2,085 1.51

Total — — 19,781 — — 16,996 — — 3,861 — —

1998:

Single family 1,271 2,190 18,352 14,434 6.59 16,282 12,807 5.85 3,166 2,490 1.14Multifamily 346 1,065 1,712 4,954 4.65 1,425 4,124 3.87 454 1,313 1.23Mobile homes 373 1,450 2,100 5,630 3.88 1,688 4,525 3.12 909 2,437 1.68

Total — — 22,164 — — 19,395 — — 4,529 — —

a Includes softwood and hardwood lumber, glulam timbers, and lumber I-joist flanges.b Square feet, 3/8-in basis.c Includes softwood plywood, oriented strand board, waferboard, structural composite lumber, and wood I-joist webs.d Includes hardwood plywood, particleboard, medium-density fiberboard, hardboard, and insulation board.e Wood products use revised from 1989 RPA Assessment.

Sources: Haynes 1990, USDC Bureau of the Census 1999, 2000a, 2000b, and Forest Service estimates based on Anderson and McKeever 1991,

McKeever and Phelps 1994, Wood Products Promotion Council 1996, and Wood Products Council 1999b.
9

Table 3a—Revisions to timber products used for new single-family housing in the United States, specified years1970-86

Lumbera Structural panelsb c Nonstructural panelsb d

Use per Use per Use per

Floor Square Square Square

Units area feet of feet of feet of

pro- per Total floor Total floor Total floor

Year duced unit use Unit area use Unit area use Unit area

Thousand Sq. ft Million bd. ft – – – Bd. ft – – – Million sq. ft – – –Sq. ft – – – Million sq. ft – – – Sq. ft – – –

1970:

Original 813 1,500 9,157 11,265 7.51 3,768 4,635 3.09 2,085 2,565 1.71Revised — — 9,717 11,955 7.97 4,007 4,930 3.29 3,678 4,525 3.02

Difference (%) — — 6 6 6 6 6 6 76 76 76

1976:

Original 1,162 1,700 14,386 12,375 7.28 6,462 5,560 3.27 3,320 2,855 1.68Revised — — 15,706 13,510 7.95 7,420 6,385 3.75 5,902 5,080 2.99

Difference (%) — — 9 9 9 15 15 15 78 78 78

1986:

Original 1,179 1,825 15,304 12,975 7.11 7,985 6,770 3.71 3,250 2,755 1.51Revised — — 16,829 14,270 7.82 9,798 8,310 4.55 6,048 5,130 2.81

Difference (%) — — 10 10 10 23 23 23 86 85 86

a Includes softwood and hardwood lumber, and glulam timbers.b Square feet, 3/8-in basis.c Includes softwood plywood, oriented strand board, and waferboard.d Includes hardwood plywood, particleboard, medium-density fiberboard, hardboard, and insulation board.

Sources: Haynes 1990, and Forest Service estimates based on Anderson and McKeever 1991, and McKeever and Phelps 1994.
10

Timber products use per housing unit, use per square foot of floor area, and total timber products use in 1970, 1976, and 1986 were revised from previous estimates based

on new information in Anderson and McKeever 1991 and McKeever and Phelps 1994.

Table 3a shows the revisions to total timber products use, use per unit, and use per

square foot of floor area.

Types and amounts of timber products used per housing unit have changed over the

past 35 years. In general, the use of all wood products tended to increase in singlefamily houses and mobile homes from 1962 through 1986 (fig. 4). No clear trends

in wood products use were evident for multifamily housing during this period. Since

1986, lumber and structural panels tended to increase in all housing types, whereas

nonstructural panel use tended to decrease in single-family and mobile homes, and

increase in multifamily units. These per-unit trends resulted from changes in average

housing unit size, wood products use per square foot of floor area, structural and architectural characteristics of the units, and materials substitution.

Trends in unit size—The average size of a housing unit directly affects the amount of

timber products required to build it. New single-family houses averaged 2,190 square

feet of floor area in 1998, up from 2,120 square feet in 1996, and 365 square feet

greater than in 1986 and 844 square feet greater than in 1962 (table 3). With few exceptions, the long-term trend in single-family houses has been toward increasing average size (fig. 5). Between 1950 and 1989, average house size increased 1.8 percent

per year. Since 1990, the rate of growth slowed to about 0.6 percent per year. Expectations are for steady size increases into the 21st century, but at current, lower growth

rates. Growth in average size, in part a reflection of steadily rising real disposable personal income between 1962 and 1998, contributed to the increases in the use of lumber and structural panels per house over the 35-year period.

Figure 4—Timber products used per unit for new residential construction, by type of unit,

selected years 1962-98.
11

Multifamily housing averaged 1,065 square feet per unit in 1998, 5 square feet below

the 1996 average, but 154 square feet higher than in 1986, and 93 square feet higher

than in 1962 (table 3). Unit size increased steadily during the 1950s and 1960s, increasing from 780 square feet in 1950 to 1,095 square feet in 1969 (fig. 5). Average unit

size then began to decline in the early 1970s and continued to decline through the late

1970s. Since then, average size has remained around 1,000 square feet of floor area.

Near-term expectations are for average sizes at or near the 1,000-square feet mark.

The average mobile home in 1998 had 1,450 square feet of floor area, 70 square feet

greater than 1996, 340 square feet greater than 1986, and over two times the area in

1962 (table 3). Mobile homes have shown the most dramatic and steady increases in

size of all housing types since 1950. Between 1950 and 1998, average size increased

2.3 percent per year, compared to 1.6 and 0.7 percent per year for new single-family

and new multifamily houses, respectively. This growth rate is expected to continue.

Much of the increase in size is attributable to changes in the types of units being produced. In the early 1960s, most mobile homes were single units, 10 feet or less in width

and typically 29 to 45 feet long. By 1970, most units were 12 or more feet wide and 50

or more feet long. In addition, a growing number were double-wide or multisection

units. In 1976, nearly half were 14 feet wide, whereas double-wide mobile homes accounted for about a fourth of total shipments. This trend continued through the 1980s

and 1990s. In 1987, more than 37 percent of all mobile homes placed at building sites

were multisection units, and by 1998, more than 58 percent were multisection units

averaging 1,640 square feet of floor area (Manufactured Housing Global Network 1998,

USDC Bureau of the Census 2000b).

Figure 5—New housing unit average floor area, by type of unit, 1950-98.
12

Trends in timber products use per square foot of floor area—Timber products

use per housing unit is affected not only by the size of the unit but also by the average

amounts of timber products used per square foot of finished floor area. In 1998, lumber use per square foot of floor area averaged 6.6 board feet in single-family houses,

4.7 board feet in multifamily units, and 3.9 board feet in mobile homes (table 3). Lumber

use per square foot of floor area in new single-family houses fell between 1962 and

1970, increased through the 1970s and 1980s, and fell again in the late 1990s. Since

1962, lumber use per square foot of floor area fell in multifamily units, and increased

rapidly through 1986 and then fell in mobile homes.

Structural panel use per square foot of floor area in 1998 averaged 5.8 square feet in

single-family, 3.9 square feet in multifamily, and 3.1 square feet in mobile home units

(table 3). With the exception of mobile homes in 1976 and 1998, the overall trend in

structural panel use has been steadily increasing in all housing types.

Nonstructural panel use per square foot of floor area in 1998 was 1.1 square feet for

single-family houses, 1.2 square feet for multifamily units, and 1.7 square feet for mobile homes (table 3). Nonstructural panel use per square foot of floor area showed divergent trends by housing type. Single-family use increased through 1970 and then

fell, multifamily use fell steadily, and mobile home use increased through 1976 and

then fell. The net result of these changes was a small overall decline in nonstructural

panel use per square foot of floor area between 1962 and 1998.

When converted to cubic feet and combined, all wood products use per square foot of

floor area in 1998 averaged about 0.79 cubic feet in single-family houses, 0.15 cubic

feet in multifamily units, and 0.14 cubic feet in mobile homes. Although annual variations in use are common, combined wood products use per square foot of floor area

in single-family houses and in multifamily units has remained fairly stable over the past

20 years. In 1976, 0.81 cubic feet of wood per square foot of floor area was used in

single-family houses, and 0.17 cubic feet in multifamily units. In contrast, mobile home

usage nearly doubled since 1976, from 0.08 cubic feet.

Trends in timber products use per square foot of floor area have resulted, in part, from

changes in the structural and architectural characteristics of the units built, and in materials substitution in the construction process. A discussion of each of these factors, and

their relation to new single-family houses, follows. Many of these relations, although

specific to single-family houses, also apply to both multifamily units and mobile homes.

Structural and architectural characteristics of new housing units—Structural and

architectural characteristics of new housing units can greatly affect both total amounts

of timber products required to build the unit, as well as amounts needed per square foot

of floor area. Characteristics of specific interest that directly affect timber products use

are foundation type, number of stories, type of exterior wall covering, presence and

size of garages, and presence of porches and decks. Changes in the frequency in

which these characteristics appear over time help explain some of the variation in timber products use per square foot of floor area.

Nearly all single-family houses in the United States are built with either a full foundation

or on a concrete slab. Concrete slab foundations greatly reduce the amount of timber

products required to build a house because they effectively eliminate ground-level floor

framing and decking. In 1998, 45 percent of all new houses were built on concrete slab

foundations, compared to 44 percent in 1996. In 1962, slab foundations accounted for

about 36 percent of all foundations. The percentage of new houses built on slabs then
13

fell to just under 30 percent in the late 1960s. The 1970s through mid-1980s saw increasing use of slab foundations, reaching an all-time high of 51 percent in 1983. Between 1983 and 1992, slab foundations fell to 38 percent of all foundations. Since

1992, the use of slab foundations has been fairly constant at just under half of all new

house foundations. No near-term change in the market share for concrete slab foundations is expected.

Number of stories also affects timber products consumption. Multiple-story houses

require less roof area to cover a given floor area, thereby lowering total wood products

use and construction costs per square foot of floor area. Also, multiple-story construction allows enlarging house size without increasing the size of the building lot. In 1998,

nearly half (48 percent) of all new single-family houses were two or more stories. This

is also the 1990s decade average. The percentage of multistory houses has steadily

increased over the past 35 years, from about one-fourth of all houses in the 1960s, to

one-third in the 1970s, and just under half in the 1980s and 1990s. Little near-term

change in multistory market share is expected.

Timber products use per square foot of floor area also is affected by the types of principal exterior siding material used. In 1998, just 16 percent of all single-family houses

used wood as the principal siding material, compared to 22 percent in 1996, and

43 percent in 1986. During the past 35 years, use of wood siding increased steadily

from about one-fourth of all siding in 1962 to just over 40 percent in the early to mid1980s. Since then, alternative siding materials again began to capture large shares of

the market. Much of the decline in use during the 1990s was a direct result of the rapid

adoption of vinyl as the siding material of choice.

The presence and size of garages affects timber products consumption. In 1998,

86 percent of all new single-family houses were built with garages, up from 63 percent in 1962. More importantly was the rapid increase in the size of the garage. In

1998, 79 percent of all houses had two or more car garages compared to 78 in 1996,

60 percent in 1986, and just 39 percent in 1970.

Porches and wooden decks, each of which can require substantial volumes of timber

products, became popular starting in the 1980s. In 1998, 79 percent of all new houses

were built with a porch, a deck, or both, up by about 3 percent from 1996. Little change

in the decade average of 78 percent is expected.

Rising land costs apparently have resulted in somewhat smaller lot sizes and in increased construction of attached single-family units such as townhouses and condominiums. These units are characterized by having one or more common walls, usually

concrete or masonry, which consequently lowers the volumes of exterior wall framing,

sheathing, and siding required.

The use of prefabricated housing components and modular housing units has tended

to lower average use of some wood products, particularly lumber, through reduction

of waste and improved design. Other building components, such as doors, windows,

and cabinets, are almost universally factory fabricated for onsite installation.

In conventional onsite construction, more efficient use of wood, such as wider spacing

of studs and other structural members, has tended to bring about somewhat lower use

of timber products per unit. Other savings in materials have resulted from changes in

design and more realistic specifications for wood building components based on stress

testing and other performance criteria.
14

Materials substitution in new housing—Materials substitution is an ongoing process

in the new residential construction market and has had dramatic impacts on the types

and amounts of timber products used to build new housing units over time. Most substitution favors newly developed wood products, which are better able to meet specific

construction needs, either in terms of product performance or cost. Substitution by

nonwood building products also occurs but typically not to the extent of wood for wood

substitution. During the 1960s and 1970s, softwood plywood and nonstructural panels

made major inroads in floor, wall, and roof decking and sheathing markets at the expense of lumber. In the late 1980s and 1990s, OSB began capturing shares from both

softwood plywood and nonstructural panels. The overall result of these substitutions

was a steadily declining use per square foot of floor area for lumber, increasing use of

structural panels, and a rise and subsequent fall in nonstructural panel use per square

foot of floor area.

Engineered wood products—wood I-joists, glulam timbers, and structural composite

lumber—are emerging as the new substitute material for lumber in many framing applications in the 1990s. Each is specifically designed to replace larger dimension timber,

which has become more scarce and costly in recent years, and each is produced from

more plentiful smaller dimension, lower quality timber (McKeever 1997). Although engineered wood products are currently somewhat more costly than their solid sawn counterparts, growing acceptance and use likely will bring their costs down. Expectations

are for continued substitution of engineered wood for lumber in new residential construction in the coming years.

Many nonwood building materials have captured market share in new residential

construction. Noteworthy examples include the substitution of asphalt for wood roof

shingles, carpet and vinyl for hardwood flooring, metal and vinyl for wood exterior siding, foamed plastic sheathing for structural and nonstructural panel sheathing in exterior walls, metal and plastic for wood millwork and cabinets, and plastic lumber for

decks and other outdoor uses. Aluminum and steel have found limited use as alternative framing materials in light frame construction. Although current price relations favor

lumber over metal framing, metal framing has less price volatility than lumber, which

may encourage its use. Also, the steel industry is actively promoting the use of steel for

residential framing. Currently, about 1 percent of all single-family exterior walls and 5 to

8 percent of all interior walls are metal framed (Wood Products Council 1999b).

Another area of potential substitution is by building products made from recycled wood

and fiber, or the reuse of salvaged building materials. The idea of reusing building products or making new products from recycled material is not new. Nearly all roofing felt

and gypsum wall board are made from recycled materials. Decorative beams and interior wall coverings are made from resawn lumber salvaged from old buildings. Several

nonstructural panel manufacturers now augment mill furnish with material from recycled

solid wood products. Widespread use of building materials from recycled solid wood

waste is still in the developmental stages but warrants attention in the future.

The 1,271 thousand single-family houses, 346 thousand multifamily units, and 373

thousand mobile homes produced in 1998 required an estimated 22.2 billion board

feet of lumber, 19.4 billion square feet of structural panels, and 4.5 billion square feet

of nonstructural panels to build (table 3, fig. 6). These volumes include the actual

amounts of each wood product used along with allowances for onsite waste. Also included are amounts of engineered wood products consumed in 1998 converted to

equivalent amounts of lumber and structural panels.

Total Timber Products

Use in New Housing
15

Total lumber consumption for new housing in 1998 was up by about 2.4 billion board

feet from 1996, and 1.3 billion board feet from 1986 levels. Much of the increase in

lumber use was from higher levels of single-family housing production and an increase

in average house size. These increases more than offset effects from lower use per

square foot of floor area in all housing types except mobile homes. Total lumber use in

1998 was well above levels measured during the previous 35 years.

Structural panel consumption for new housing rose steadily between 1962 and 1998,

with average gains per year between 1996 and 1998 being well above annual gains of

previous periods. Much of the increase between 1986 and 1998 was attributable to

rapid gains in market share of OSB in both the structural and nonstructural panels markets. About two-thirds (67 percent) of all structural panels consumed in 1998 for new

single-family and multifamily housing was OSB, compared to about 62 percent in 1996,

and 13 percent in 1986.

Nonstructural panel consumption in new housing in 1998 increased by about 0.7 billion

square feet from 1996, but was well below consumption in the 1970s and 1980s. Total

use in 1998 was about 3.0 billion square feet below that of 1986, and also below, although to a lesser extent, amounts used in 1970 and 1976. Part of the decline was due

to the large loss in wood exterior siding between 1986 and 1998, and substitution of

OSB and nonwood sheathing materials for nonstructural panel sheathing.

In 1998, an estimated 544 million linear feet of wood I-joists, 188 million board feet of

glulam timbers, and 40 million cubic feet of SCL were used for new single-family and

multifamily construction, and mobile home production (table 4). Lumber and structural

panel consumption with engineered wood product volumes removed was 21.9 billion

board feet and 17.0 billion square feet, respectively. Nonstructural panel consumption

Figure 6—Timber products used for new residential construction, by product, selected years 1962-98.
16Table 4—Timber products used in new residential construction and mobile homes, by construction type and timber product,

1996 and 1998

Single family Multifamily Mobile homes Total

Use per Use per Use per Use per

Square Square Square Square

foot of foot of foot of foot of

Unit of Total floor Total floor Total floor Total floor

Timber product measure use Unit area use Unit area use Unit area use Unit area

Million Million Million Million

1996:

Lumber—

Softwood (Bd. ft) 15,670 13,498 6.37 1,441 4,562 4.26 1,751 4,819 3.49 18,862 10,251 5.71Hardwood (Bd. ft) 446 384 .18 48 152 .14 21 58 .04 515 280 .16

Total 16,116 13,883 6.55 1,489 4,714 4.41 1,772 4,878 3.53 19,378 10,531 5.87

Structural panelsa—

Softwood plywood (Sq. ft) 4,717 4,063 1.92 438 1,388 1.30 258 711 .52 5,414 2,942 1.64

OSB (Sq. ft) 7,909 6,813 3.21 612 1,936 1.81 1,528 4,205 3.05 10,049 5,461 3.04

Total 12,626 10,876 5.13 1,050 3,324 3.11 1,786 4,916 3.56 15,462 8,403 4.68

Nonstructural panelsa (Sq. ft) 2,676 2,305 1.09 427 1,351 1.26 758 2,085 1.51 3,861 2,098 1.17

Engineered wood—

Wood I-joists (Lf)b 339 292 .14 47 148 .14 2 6 (c) 388 211 .12

Glulam timbers (Bd. ft) 163 140 .07 10 31 .03 2 (c) (c) 174 95 .05Structural composite

lumber (Cf)d 20 17 .01 2 6 .01 2 (c) (c) 23 13 .01

1998:

Lumber—

Softwood (Bd. ft) 17,592 13,837 6.32 1,636 4,734 4.44 2,073 5,556 3.83 21,301 10,704 5.77Hardwood (Bd. ft) 516 406 .19 55 158 .15 25 67 .05 595 299 .16

Total 18,108 14,242 6.50 1,690 4,892 4.59 2,098 5,623 3.88 21,896 11,003 5.93

Structural panelsa—

Softwood plywood (Sq. ft) 4,635 3,646 1.66 465 1,345 1.26 547 1,465 1.01 5,646 2,837 1.53

OSB (Sq. ft) 9,595 7,547 3.45 761 2,202 2.07 1,039 2,784 1.92 11,395 5,726 3.09

Total 14,230 11,193 5.11 1,225 3,547 3.33 1,586 4,250 2.93 17,041 8,563 4.61

Nonstructural panelsa (Sq. ft) 3,166 2,490 1.14 454 1,313 1.23 909 2,437 1.68 4,529 2,276 1.23

Engineered wood—

Wood I-joists (Lf)b 482 379 .17 58 168 .16 3 9 .01 544 273 .15

Glulam timbers (Bd. ft) 173 136 .06 13 38 .04 2 5 (c) 188 95 .05

Structural composite

lumber (Cf)d 33 26 .01 4 12 .01 3 8 .01 40 20 .01

a Square feet, 3/8-in basis.b Linear feet.c Less than 0.005.d Cubic feet.

Source: Forest Service estimates based on Wood Products Promotion Council 1996, and Wood Products Council 1999b.
17

remained at 4.5 billion square feet. Engineered wood products use in 1998 was up from

use in 1996 but was still small when compared to lumber and structural panel use. Expectations are for increasing market shares for engineered wood products in coming

years, primarily at the expense of lumber.

The upkeep and improvements to residential units in the existing housing stock are an

important market for timber products. Included are many and varied upkeep and improvement activities and projects, some of which require substantial amounts of timber

products, some of which do not. Overall, about 22 percent of all lumber, 21 percent of

all structural panels, and 12 percent of all nonstructural panels consumed in the United

States in 1998 were used for residential upkeep and improvements. This market has

become much more important in recent years as the Nation’s housing stock has grown

larger, its average age has increased, and homeowner incomes have risen.

Annual activity in the residential upkeep and improvements market is measured by the

U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census in terms of dollars of expenditure (USDC Bureau of the Census 2000e). Expenditures, when converted to constant

1992 dollars, totaled more than $109 billion in 1998 (table 5). This was down by about

$5 billion dollars from 1996 expenditures, $2 billion from 1986, and $11 billion below the

record high level of $121 billion set in 1994 (fig. 7). Between 1984 and 1985, the Bureau of the Census revised its expenditures estimation procedure. Estimated expenditures in 1984 increased from $79 billion under the old estimation procedure to $89

billion (fig. 7). Because of this change, comparison of expenditures before and after

1984 may not be strictly valid. With the exception of temporary declines in the early

1960s and 1980s, total expenditures rose fairly steadily between 1950 and 1984. Since

1986, total expenditures averaged about $114 billion annually.

Timber products consumption for residential upkeep and improvements is not so much

affected by total expenditures, as by the types of expenditures in a given year. Three

major activity types are tracked—maintenance and repairs, additions and alterations,

and major replacements. Maintenance and repairs expenditures are for upkeep of the

residential property rather than additional investment in the property. Examples include

painting, plumbing repairs, and roof repairs. Addition and alteration expenditures are for

enlargements to, or improvements to or within the residential structure or the property.

Examples include room additions, basement conversions, and outside deck additions.

Major replacements are construction improvements to the property and are closely

related to maintenance and repair. The scope of the project defines its classification.

Repairing an existing roof is maintenance; replacing the entire roof is a major replacement. Of these three expenditure types, additions and alterations are the most wood

intensive and important in determining overall levels of timber products consumption.

Between 1986 and 1998, expenditures for major replacements were fairly stable at

about $21 billion (fig. 7). Maintenance and repair expenditures increased through 1990,

peaking at about $57 billion before steadily falling to $34 billion in 1998. Maintenance

and repair expenditures averaged $45 billion per year for the period. Expenditures for

additions and alterations fluctuated widely during the period, reaching a high of nearly

$56 billion in 1996 and a low of $34 billion in 1991. Average annual additions and alterations expenditures for the period were $48 billion.

Timber Products

Consumption in

Residential Upkeep

and Improvements

Residential Upkeep and

Improvement

Expenditures
18

Table 5—Expenditures and timber products used for residential upkeep and improvements in the United

States, by product, 1962-98

Lumbera Structural panelsb c Nonstructural panelsb d

Use per Use per Use per

Total $1,000 of $1,000 of $1,000 of

Year expenditures Total use expenditure Total use expenditure Total use expenditure

Million 1992$ Million bd. ft Bd. ft Million sq. ft Sq. ft Million sq. ft Sq. ft

1962 44,471 4,330 97 1,670 38 1,400 31

1970 52,007 4,975 96 2,320 45 1,655 32

1976 63,811 6,255 98 3,245 51 2,190 34

1986e 111,237 15,441 139 7,014 63 4,251 38

1996 114,035 15,361 135 7,538 66 3,184 28

1998 109,405 14,108 129 7,269 66 2,710 25

a

 Includes softwood and hardwood lumber, glulam timbers, and lumber for wood I-joist flanges.

b Square feet, 3/8-in basis. c Includes softwood plywood, oriented strand board, waferboard, structural composite lumber, and wood

I-joist webs.

d Includes hardwood plywood, particleboard, medium-density fiberboard, hardboard and insulation board.

e Wood products use revised from 1989 RPA Assessment.

Sources: Haynes 1990, USDC Bureau of Census 2000e, and Forest Service estimates based on McKeever and Anderson 1993 and Wood

Products Council 1999a.

Figure 7—Expenditures for residential upkeep and improvements, 1950-98.
19

Timber products use per $1,000 of constant dollar expenditure measures the relative

amounts of each timber product used per unit of upkeep and improvement activity.

Before 1991, these use factors were based on limited case study and anecdotal information. A comprehensive study conducted in 1991 indicated that much more timber

was being used per $1,000 of expenditure than previously estimated (McKeever and

Anderson 1993), and use factors differed considerably for each of the three expenditure types mentioned above. Results from a study conducted by the Wood Products

Council (1999a) confirm these higher use factors. Based on use factors by expenditure

type in 1991 and 1997, and trends in timber products use in new single-family residential construction between 1986 and 1998, overall timber products consumption per

$1,000 of constant dollar expenditure estimates were made for 1996 and 1998, and

previously reported estimates for 1986 were revised. Materials and construction techniques used for residential upkeep and improvement addition and alteration projects

are similar to those used for new construction. Changes in how new single-family

houses are built are indicative of how residential additions and alterations are built.

Trends in the types and amounts of timber products used to build new single-family

houses were used to adjust timber products use per $1,000 of constant dollar construction value for 1986, and for years between the comprehensive 1991 and 1997 end-use

studies. Estimates of timber products use before 1986 were not revised because of the

revisions to expenditures data made in 1984 by the Bureau of the Census. Comparisons between 1986 and later years to years before 1986 may not be valid. Table 5a

shows the revisions in total timber products use and use per $1,000 of expenditure in

1986.

Use per $1,000 of constant (1992 $) expenditures in 1998 was estimated to be 129

board feet of lumber, 66 square feet of structural panels, and 25 square feet of nonstructural panels (table 5). These use factors are averages weighted over all expenditure types. Revised use per $1,000 of constant expenditures in 1986 was estimated to

be 139 board feet of lumber, 63 square feet of structural panels, and 38 square feet of

nonstructural panels (table 5a). Use factor differences between 1986 and 1998 reflect

relative levels of expenditures between expenditure types, as well as actual changes in

the types and amounts of wood products used.

The upkeep and improvement of residential structures and properties consumed an

estimated 14.1 billion board feet of lumber, 7.3 billion square feet of structural panels,

and 2.7 billion square feet of nonstructural panels in 1998 (table 5, fig. 8). Total lumber

use in 1998 was about 1.3 billion board feet below use in both 1996 and 1986. Structural panel use remained fairly constant between 1986 and 1998, averaging about

7.3 billion square feet, while nonstructural panel use decreased by nearly 36 percent

over the 12-year period.

In 1998, an estimated 87 million linear feet of wood I-joists, 6 million board feet of

glulam timbers, and 5 million cubic feet of SCL were used for residential upkeep and

improvements (table 6). About 90 percent of these engineered wood products were

used for additions and alterations, 8 percent for major replacements, and 2 percent for

maintenance and repairs. Lumber and structural panel consumption with engineered

wood product volumes removed was 13.4 billion board feet and 7.2 billion square feet,

respectively. Nonstructural panel consumption remained at 2.7 billion square feet.

Eighty-two (82) percent of all the lumber, 50 percent of all the structural panels, and

84 percent of all the nonstructural panels were used for additions and alterations. The

Timber Products Use Per

$1,000 of Residential

Upkeep and

Improvement

Expenditures

Total Timber Products

Use in Residential

Upkeep and

Improvements
20

Table 5a—Revisions to timber products used for residential upkeep and improvements in the United States,

1986

Lumbera Structural panelsb c Nonstructural panelsb d

Use per Use per Use per

Total $1,000 of $1,000 of $1,000 of

Year expenditures Total use expenditure Total use expenditure Total use expenditure

Million 1992$ Million bd. ft Bd. ft Million sq. ft Sq. ft Million sq. ft Sq. ft

1986:

Original 111,237 9,935 89 6,170 55 3,160 28

Revised — 15,441 139 7,014 63 4,251 38

Difference (%) — 55 55 14 14 35 35

a

 Includes softwood and hardwood lumber, and glulam timbers.

b Square feet, 3/8-in basis. c Includes softwood plywood, oriented strand board, and waferboard.

d Includes hardwood plywood, particleboard, medium-density fiberboard, hardboard and insulation board.

Sources: Haynes 1990, and Forest Service estimates based on McKeever and Anderson 1993.

Figure 8—Timber products used for residential upkeep and improvements, by product, selected years

1962-98.
21

Table 6—Expenditures and timber products used for residential upkeep and improvements, by expenditure type and timberproduct, 1996 and 1998

Maintenance and Additions and

repairs alterations Major replacements Total

Use per Use per Use per Use per

$1,000 $1,000 $1,000 $1,000

of of of of

Year, expenditures, Total Per- expend- Total Per- expend- Total Per- expend- Total expendand timber product use cent iture use cent iture use cent iture use iture

Million Million Million Million

1996:

Expenditures 1992$ 34,818 31 — 56,003 49 — 23,211 20 — 114,032 —Lumber—

Softwood (Bd. ft) 1,182 8 33.96 11,241 76 200.71 1,177 8 50.73 14,797 129.76Hardwood (Bd. ft) 12 2 .34 385 69 6.87 161 29 6.92 557 4.89

Total 1,194 8 34.30 11,625 76 207.59 1,338 9 57.65 15,354 134.65

Structural panelsa—

Softwood plywood (Sq. ft) 412 8 11.82 3,067 56 54.76 2,004 37 86.33 5,482 48.08

OSB (Sq. ft) 165 8 4.73 1,192 58 21.28 698 34 30.08 2,054 18.02

Total 576 8 16.55 4,259 57 76.04 2,702 36 116.40 7,537 66.09

Nonstructural panelsa (Sq. ft) 130 4 3.73 2,701 85 48.22 354 11 15.24 3,184 27.92

Engineered wood—

Wood I-joists (Lf)b 2 2 .05 77 90 1.37 7 8 .29 85 100%

Glulam timbers (Bd. ft) (c)2 (d) 5 90 .09 (c)8 (d) 6 100%

Structural

composite lumber (Cf)e (c)2 (d) 5 90 .08 (c)8 (d) 5 100%

1998:

Expenditures (1992$) 34,354 31 — 51,531 47 — 23,520 21 — 109,404 —Lumber—

Softwood (Bd. ft) 1,147 9 33.39 10,630 82 206.28 1,125 9 47.84 12,902 117.93Hardwood (Bd. ft) 12 2 0.34 348 67 6.75 161 31 6.84 520 4.76

Total 1,159 9 33.73 10,977 82 213.03 1,286 10 54.68 13,422 122.69

Structural panelsa—

Softwood plywood (Sq. ft) 390 7 11.35 2,671 50 51.83 2,234 42 95.00 5,295 48.40

OSB (Sq. ft) 154 8 4.48 949 51 18.42 771 41 32.76 1,874 17.13

Total 544 8 15.84 3,620 50 70.25 3,005 42 127.76 7,169 65.53

Nonstructural panelsa (Sq. ft) 64 2 1.87 2,267 84 44.00 379 14 16.10 2,710 24.77

Engineered wood—

Wood I-joists (Lf)b 2 2 .05 79 90 1.40 7 8 .30 87 100%

Glulam timbers (Bd. ft) (c)2 (d) 5 90 .09 (c) 0 .00 6 100%

Structural

composite lumber (Ct)e (c)2 (d) 5 90 .08 (c) 0 .00 5 100%

aSquare feet, 3/8-in basis.b Linear feet.c Less than 50,000.d Less than 0.005.e Cubic feet.

Sources: USDC Bureau of the Census 2000e, and Forest Service estimates based on McKeever and Anderson 1993, and Wood Products Council 1999a.
22

remaining amounts were divided between maintenance and repair, and major replacement activities. Engineered wood products use in 1998 was up from use in 1996 but

was still small when compared to lumber and structural panel use. Expectations are for

increasing use of engineered wood products for residential upkeep and improvements.

The construction of new nonresidential buildings and other nonresidential structures in

the United States in 1998 used about 7 percent of all the lumber, 8 percent of all the

structural panels, and 6 percent of all the nonstructural panels consumed domestically.

The construction of new railways, and the maintenance of existing track required an

additional 1 percent of the lumber consumed. Also, small amounts of lumber and structural panels were used for rail car repair.

New nonresidential construction in the United States is a diverse mixture of new buildings and other structures, and construction that does not include a building or structure as such. Two logical categories of new nonresidential construction are identified:

(1) nonresidential buildings (includes stores, restaurants, office buildings, warehouses,

hotels and motels, factories, schools, religious buildings, hospitals, and nonresidential

farm buildings) and (2) all other types of nonresidential construction (typically does not

include a building, such as streets and highways; water and sewer systems; dams;

military, conservation, and development projects; railroad construction except new

and replacement track; and other similar types of nonbuilding construction).

Timber products consumption for new nonresidential construction is dependent on the

numbers, types, and sizes of buildings and other structures built, and the amounts and

types of building products used in their construction. Because of the diversity inherent

in new nonresidential construction, activity in this sector is measured in the total annual

value of new construction put in place.

Total value for all new nonresidential construction in 1998, measured in constant 1992

dollars, was about $323 billion, $43 billion greater than the average for the period 1990-

98, and $36 billion greater than 1996 (USDC Bureau of the Census 2000c) (table 7).

The value of new buildings in 1998 was $214 billion dollars (66 percent of total expenditures), and set a record high level of new construction. Other types of nonresidential

construction totaled $109 billion in 1998. Since 1950, decade averages for total value

of new nonresidential construction rose steadily from $124 billion in the 1950s to $280

billion in the 1990s. The record high level of other types of nonresidential construction

also was set in 1998 at $109 billion. Annual fluctuations in new nonresidential construction value are common and are caused by response to changing economic conditions

(fig. 9). Other nonresidential construction rose steadily from 1950 through 1969 and

then leveled off at around $100 billion per year through 1998. The construction of new

buildings also rose fairly steadily from 1950 through 1969. Since then, construction

value for buildings has fluctuated widely, by as much as $25 billion per year.

In 1998, 14.3 board feet of lumber, 8.9 square feet of structural panels, and 4.0 square

feet of nonstructural panels were used for every $1,000 of nonresidential constant dollar construction value (table 8). As might be expected, use per $1,000 for buildings was

greater than that for other types of construction, about three times greater for lumber

and structural panels. In general, the use of lumber, structural panels, and nonstructural panels per $1,000 of constant construction value has been declining since 1986.

The greatest declines have been in other nonresidential construction, with average

declines ranging from one-third to one-half. Timber products use per $1,000 of construction value differed considerably over the years. Some of the variation was due to

the mix of buildings and other projects built in a given year. Also, some of the variation

Timber Products

Consumption in New

Nonresidential and

Railroad

Construction

Value of New

Nonresidential

Construction

Timber Products Use per

$1,000 of Nonresidential

Construction Value
23

Table 7—Value of new nonresidential construction in the United States, by type

of construction, 1950-98

Buildingsa Other typesb Total

Average Average Average

 annual annual annual

 rate of rate of rate of

Year Value change Value change Value change

Million 1992$ Percent Million 1992$ Percent Million 1992$ Percent

1950-59c 74,465 5.2 49,866 5.3 124,331 5.3

1960-69c 127,924 4.8 82,454 4.1 210,378 4.5

1970-79c 135,245 .5 95,415 .9 230,660 .7

1980 149,778 .9 100,196 -2.3 249,974 -.4

1981 155,811 4.0 97,498 -2.7 253,309 1.3

1982 157,621 1.2 92,884 -4.7 250,505 -1.1

1983 144,330 -8.4 89,138 -4.0 233,468 -6.8

1984 166,471 15.3 96,064 7.8 262,535 12.5

1985 189,188 13.6 99,013 3.1 288,201 9.8

1986 178,040 -5.9 101,042 2.0 279,082 -3.2

1987 175,994 -1.1 99,206 -1.8 275,200 -1.4

1988 181,069 2.9 95,943 -3.3 277,012 .7

1989 187,240 3.4 95,743 -.2 282,983 2.2

1980-89c 168,554 2.3 96,673 -.5 265,227 1.2

1990 190,192 1.6 96,865 1.2 287,057 1.4

1991 165,503 -13.0 99,439 2.7 264,942 -7.7

1992 153,862 -7.0 106,311 6.9 260,173 -1.8

1993 152,982 -.6 103,763 -2.4 256,745 -1.3

1994 156,639 2.4 102,483 -1.2 259,122 .9

1995 172,074 9.9 100,883 -1.6 272,957 5.3

1996 188,477 9.5 98,355 -2.5 286,832 5.1

1990-96c 168,533 -.1 101,157 .2 269,690 0

1997 204,973 8.8 101,836 3.5 306,809 7.0

1998 214,115 4.5 108,718 6.8 322,833 5.2

1990-98c 177,646 1.3 102,073 1.3 279,719 1.3

a Includes private and public industrial buildings; private office and other commercial buildings; hotels and

motels; churches and other religious buildings; public and private educational buildings; public and private

hospital and other institutional buildings; animal hospitals and shelters; farm buildings (except residences);

amusement and recreational buildings; bus, airline, and other passenger terminals; police and fire stations;

civic centers; court houses; space facilities; postal facilities; and other private and public buildings.

b Includes telephone and telegraph systems; gas, electric light and power facilities; water and sewer

systems; petroleum pipelines; railroads (except track construction); highways and streets; military facilities;

conservation and development projects; and all other public and private nonbuilding construction.

c Average for period.

Sources: Haynes 1990, USDC Bureau of the Census 2000c.
24

Figure 9—Value of new nonresidential construction, by type of construction, 1950-98
25

Table 8—Construction value and timber products used in new nonresidential construction, by product,

1962-98

Lumbera Structural panelsb c Nonstructural panelsb d

Use per Use per Use per

$1,000 of $1,000 of $1,000 of

Construction Total construction Total construction Total construction

Year value use value use value use value

Million 1992$ Million bd. ft Bd. ft Million sq. ft Sq. ft Million sq. ft Sq. ft

Buildings:

1962 108,556 2,180 20.1 1,150 10.6 799 7.4

1970 141,006 2,232 15.8 1,175 8.3 1,101 7.8

1973 148,453 2,430 16.4 1,326 8.9 1,200 8.1

1976 121,087 1,920 15.9 1,085 9.0 1,079 8.9

1982 157,621 2,947 18.7 1,959 12.4 1,280 8.1

1986 178,040 3,350 18.8 2,430 13.6 1,425 8.0

1996 188,477 3,580 19.0 2,148 11.4 1,134 6.0

1998 214,115 4,054 18.9 2,471 11.5 1,242 5.8

Other types:

1962 69,655 1,120 16.1 480 6.9 91 1.3

1970 94,030 1,298 13.8 665 7.1 89 .9

1973 93,791 1,265 13.5 823 8.8 104 1.1

1976 95,102 1,080 11.4 785 8.3 117 1.2

1982 92,884 820 8.8 608 6.5 90 1.0

1986 101,042 830 8.2 630 6.2 85 .8

1996 98,355 511 5.2 371 3.8 45 .5

1998 108,718 563 5.2 408 3.8 43 .4

Total nonresidential:

1962 178,211 3,300 18.5 1,630 9.1 890 5.0

1970 235,036 3,530 15.0 1,840 7.8 1,190 5.1

1973 242,244 3,695 15.3 2,149 8.9 1,304 5.4

1976 216,189 3,000 13.9 1,870 8.6 1,196 5.5

1982 250,505 3,767 15.0 2,567 10.2 1,370 5.5

1986 279,082 4,180 15.0 3,060 11.0 1,510 5.4

1996 286,832 4,091 14.3 2,519 8.8 1,179 4.1

1998 322,833 4,617 14.3 2,879 8.9 1,285 4.0

a Includes softwood and hardwood lumber, glulam timbers, and lumber for wood I-joist flanges.

b Square feet, 3/8-inch basis.

c Includes softwood plywood, oriented strand board, waferboard, structural composite lumber, and wood I-joist webs.

d Includes hardwood plywood, particleboard, medium-density fiberboard, hardboard and insulation board.

Sources: Haynes 1990, USDC Bureau of the Census 2000c, and Forest Service estimates based on McKeever and Adair 1998.
26

was due to increasing use of concrete and steel construction systems in place of wood.

Between the mid-1980s and mid-1990s, the overall share of wood-framed construction

fell in all major building applications (floors, exterior and interior walls, and roofs). During this same period, the share of concrete construction increased in all major building

applications, and metal construction increased in some applications (interior walls and

roofs) and decreased in others (floors and exterior walls) (McKeever and Adair 1998).

The greatest loss for wood was in interior walls where its share fell by 22 percent.

Shifts away from wood to concrete and metal construction were an important factor in

the overall reduction in timber products use per $1,000 of construction value between

1986 and 1998.

Other complex technological and institutional forces also contributed to variations in

timber use per $1,000 of construction value, and the decline experienced between

1986 and 1998. These included the increasing use of reusable concrete forms, increasing use of precast and prestressed concrete beams and other structural members, and

other construction innovations such as slipform and tilt-up wall construction.3

 Also,

metal buildings, once limited mostly to warehouses and industrial buildings, became

widely used in medium-sized, low-rise office buildings, motels, and shopping centers.

Restrictive codes and other building regulations were also instrumental in limiting wood

use in some types of buildings and locations (Goetzl and McKeever 1999). Building

codes currently are being revised and changed. The International Building Code (IBC)

is a new, improved, state-of-the-art national building code, which is just now beginning

to be implemented. The effect this will have on timber products consumption in new

nonresidential construction is still unclear.

Conversely, the development and acceptance of engineered wood products helped

offset losses to timber products from other nonwood building products. Not only are

engineered wood products substituting for lumber in traditional wood-framed applications, but also for nonwood applications. Also, new, innovative wood systems are

emerging. One example is the panelized roof system developed by APA-The Engineered Wood Association (1996). Panelized roofs were developed to compete directly

with metal roof systems on large industrial buildings. Panelized roofs are made from

wood I-joists and softwood plywood or OSB panels, assembled on the ground in sections, and lifted into place. Panelized roofs have gained building code acceptance, and

widespread builder acceptance in the Western United States owing to its lower cost

and construction time compared to conventional metal roof systems. Only limited penetration into the nonresidential metal roof market in other parts of the country has yet

been achieved.

In 1998, 4.6 billion board feet of lumber, 2.9 billion square feet of structural panels,

and 1.3 billion square feet of nonstructural panels were used for new nonresidential

construction in the United States (table 8). Included with lumber and structural panel

estimates are the equivalent volumes of engineered wood products consumed. All

Total Timber Products

Use in New

Nonresidential

Construction

3 Slipform wall construction: Concrete forms used for

multistory wall construction that are slipped or raised to

the next level as the previous concrete pour begins to

cure. Tilt-up wall construction: Concrete is poured in a

flat slab on the ground and then tilted up to form a wall

section. Concrete forms are usually used around the

perimeter and on the bottom. Concrete also can be

poured onto another concrete slab using plastic sheets

or a release agent without the use of concrete forms on

the bottom.
27

Figure 10—Timber products used for new nonresidential construction, by product, selected years 1962-98.

estimates include allowances for onsite loss and waste. These volumes amount to increases from 1996 ranging from 9 percent for nonstructural panels to 14 percent for

structural panels. Nonresidential buildings accounted for a large proportion of all timber

products consumed—88 percent of the lumber, 86 percent of the structural panels, and

97 percent of the nonstructural panels used for new nonresidential construction.

Lumber usage for new nonresidential construction increased by more than 400 million

board feet between 1986 and 1998 (table 8). During the same period, structural and

nonstructural panel use decreased by about 200 million square feet each. Much of the

change was due to increased construction values coupled with declining wood products

use per $1,000 of construction. Increased use of concrete and metal construction systems at the expense of wood in new buildings was also a contributing factor. Lumber

and structural panel consumption in 1998 was greater than consumption in the 1960s

and 1970s (fig. 10). Nonstructural panel consumption was below consumption in 1986,

being nearly equal to levels of consumption in the 1970s. The substitution of structural

panels and nonwood panels in traditional nonstructural panel applications was the principal reason for this decline.

Engineered wood products consumption in 1998 for new nonresidential construction

was estimated to be 88 million linear feet of wood I-joists, 140 million board feet of

glulam timbers, and 2 million cubic feet of structural composite lumber (table 9). Lumber and structural panel consumption with engineered wood product volumes removed

was 4,463 million board feet and 2,634 million square feet, respectively. Engineered

wood products therefore accounted for about 3 percent of the lumber and 8 percent of

the structural panel use reported in table 9. Although engineered wood products use in

1998 was small compared to lumber and structural panels, increases in use from 1996

ranged from 23 percent for glulam timbers to 25 percent for wood I-joists. Expectations

are for increasing market shares as new building systems using these new engineered

wood products are developed and adopted.
28

Table 9—Construction value and timber products used in new

nonresidential construction, by product, 1996 and 1998

Use per

$1,000 of

Year, construction value, Unit of Total construction

and timber product measure use value

Million

1996:

Construction value (1992$) 286,832 —

Lumber (Bd. ft) 3,967 13.830

Structural panelsa

—

Softwood plywood (Sq. ft) 1,348 4.698

Oriented strand board (Sq. ft) 976 3.402

Total 2,323 8.100

Nonstructural panelsa (Sq. ft) 1,179 4.109

Engineered wood—

Wood I-joists (Lf)b 71 .246

Glulam timbers (Bd. ft) 114 .397

Structural composite

lumber (Cf)c 1 .005

1998:

Construction value (1992$) 322,833 —

Lumber (Bd. ft) 4,463 13.825

Structural panelsa—

Softwood plywood (Sq. ft) 1,475 4.570

Oriented strand board (Sq. ft) 1,159 3.590

Total 2,634 8.160

Nonstructural panelsa (Sq. ft) 1,285 3.981

Engineered wood—

Wood I-joists (Lf)b 88 .273

Glulam timbers (Bd. ft) 140 .434

Structural composite

lumber (Cf)c 2 .005

a

 Square feet, 3/8-in basis.

b Linear feet.

c

 Cubic feet.

Sources: USDC Bureau of the Census 2000c, and Forest Service estimates based on

McKeever and Adair 1998.
29

About 825 million board feet of lumber and 20 million square feet of structural panels

were used in 1998 by the railroad industry in the United States for the construction of

new track and for the maintenance of existing track and rolling stock. About 85 percent

of the lumber, 700 million board feet, was used for the 17.5 million crossties, and bridge

and switch ties installed during 1998 (table 10). (Bridge and switch ties are measured

in crosstie equivalents; that is, the number of crossties that would have the same volume of timber as that in the bridge and switch ties.) More than 90 percent of all ties

used in 1998 were hardwood. The remaining 125 million board feet of lumber and

all of the structural panels were used to repair and refurbish railroad cars in industryowned facilities.

 During the 1950s, more than 32 million rail ties were installed, on average, per year

(table 10). Installations during the 1960s dropped to just 18 million ties per year but

rebounded to over 26 million during the 1970s (fig. 11). A high of 30 million tie installations occurred in 1976. In the 1980s, installations again fell from nearly 28 million ties in

1980 to around 17 million in 1990. Since 1990, about 17 million ties have been installed

annually. On average, a standard railroad crosstie contains 40 board feet of lumber.

Thus, the nearly 18 million ties installed in 1998 contained about 700 million board feet

of lumber (fig. 12). Because of the constant volume of lumber per tie, trends in lumber

use are the same as for tie installations.

Year-to-year variations in tie installations are largely due to short-term economic factors. Long-term trends have resulted from fundamental changes in the railroad industry

and its operations over the past 35 years. The miles of maintained track dropped by

more than 18 percent during the 1960s and 1970s, the outgrowth of restructuring and

streamlining systems and operations (Association of American Railroads 1984, 1987).

Miles of maintained track continue to decline. Between 1988 and 1995, reported miles

of maintained track fell by 2 percent per year (Railway Tie Association 1998). This

trend is expected to continue. Despite these declines, annual wood crosstie, and bridge

and switch tie installations remain strong.

Manufacturing industries in the United States produce various products. Some of these

products are made entirely from wood, some from combinations of wood and nonwood

materials and many with no wood at all. Many wood and nonwood products require the

use of wood jigs, models, patterns, flasks, and other wood products during their production. Overall, manufacturers used about 13 percent of all lumber, 11 percent of all

structural panels, and 48 percent of all nonstructural panels consumed in the United

States in 1998. The USDC Bureau of the Census measures activity in all major manufacturing industries annually (USDC Bureau of the Census 1995, 1998, 2000d). Annual

value of industry shipments was used here to estimate timber products consumption.

For this analysis, manufactured goods were divided into three major commodity

groups: (1) household furniture, (2) commercial and institutional furniture, and (3)

other products (sporting goods, musical instruments, boat building and repair, toys and

games, luggage and trunks, handles, wood pencils, mortician’s goods, shoe and boot

findings, wooden matches, commercial refrigeration, signs and displays, patterns and

jigs, truck bodies and trailers, general machinery, agricultural implements, electrical

equipment, textile machinery supplies, and other manufactured products not included

elsewhere in this report). Although the “other products” group accounts for much of the

total industry shipments, timber products consumption for individual manufactured

products is relatively small; therefore, they have been combined.

Timber Products Use in

Railroad Construction

Timber Products

Consumption in

Manufacturing
30

Table 10—Number and volume of wood railroad ties installed in the United States, 1950-98a

Switch and

Crossties bridge tiesb Total

Year Number Volume Number Volume Number Volume

Thousand Million bd. ft Thousand Million bd. ft Thousand Million bd. ft

1950-59c 29,523 1,151 2,775 111 32,298 1,262

1960-69c 17,152 686 1,297 52 18,450 738

1970-79c 24,518 981 1,863 75 26,381 1,055

1980 26,247 1,050 1,625 65 27,872 1,115

1981 26,719 1,069 1,325 53 28,044 1,122

1982 20,811 832 1,225 49 22,036 881

1983 20,553 822 1,225 49 21,778 871

1984 24,863 995 1,550 62 26,413 1,057

1985 23,434 937 1,625 65 25,059 1,002

1986 20,412 816 1,625 65 22,037 881

1987 17,081 683 1,186 47 18,267 731

1988 15,600 624 1,116 45 16,715 669

1989 14,898 596 1,082 43 15,980 639

1980-89c 21,062 842 1,358 54 22,420 897

1990 16,033 641 1,136 45 17,170 687

1991 14,414 577 1,059 42 15,474 619

1992 15,769 631 1,124 45 16,892 676

1993 15,373 615 1,105 44 16,478 659

1994 14,523 581 1,064 43 15,587 623

1995 14,296 572 1,086 43 15,382 615

1996 16,131 645 1,133 45 17,264 691

1990-96c 15,220 609 1,101 44 16,321 653

1997 16,250 650 1,125 45 17,375 695

1998 16,375 655 1,125 45 17,500 700

1990-98c 15,463 619 1,106 44 16,569 663

a Includes ties for replacement and new installations. Based on data for class 1 railroads adjusted to include all railroads.

b Crosstie equivalents.

cAverage for period.

Sources: Haynes 1990, Association of American Railroads 1984, 1987, Railway Tie Association 1998, and Forest Service estimates.
31

Figure 11—Wooden crosstie, and switch and bridge tie consumption, 1960-98.

Figure 12—Lumber used for wooden crossties, and switch and bridge ties, selected

years 1962-98.
32

In addition to the three commodity groups defined as manufacturing, substantial

amounts of timber products are used to produce pallets, containers, prefabricated

wooden buildings, structural wood members, mobile homes, millwork and cabinets, and

flooring. To avoid double counting, timber products consumption for these products is

included in those sections of this report dealing with packaging and shipping, and residential and nonresidential construction, and are not included here.

Recent trends in wood products use for manufacturing reflect changing aspects of both

the manufactured products themselves, the industries that produce them, and the consumers that demand them. Some of these aspects include differential growth in production and shipments of finished products, materials substitution within products, technological changes in the manufacturing process, and consumer preferences. All these

factors have affected the kinds and amounts of wood and nonwood materials used for

manufacturing in the United States.

Total shipments of manufactured products in the three commodity groups, measured

in constant 1992 dollars, totaled $3,562 billion in 1998, up from $3,312 billion in 1996,

and $2,576 billion in 1986 (table 11). This record level of shipments in 1998 was nearly

four times greater than in 1950, and nearly 40 percent greater than in 1986 (fig. 13). In

general, manufacturing shipments closely follow overall trends in the economy. Periods

of minor economic slowdown as experienced in the early 1970s and early 1990s, as

well as more dramatic economic recessions in the mid-1970s and mid-1980s were

readily apparent by marked drops in total product shipments. Not withstanding, overall

growth in manufacturing shipments has been fairly steady, averaging about 2.8 percent

per year since 1950.

In 1998, household furniture shipments totaled $25.0 billion, and commercial and institutional furniture shipments totaled $31.4 billion (table 11). From 1950 through 1986,

household furniture shipments consistently exceeded shipments of commercial and

institutional furniture. Then in 1987, commercial and institutional furniture shipments for

the first time exceeded that for household furniture, and have done so since. Since

1987, shipments of commercial and institutional furniture have grown at an average

annual rate of 3.5 percent per year, compared to just 1.5 percent for household furniture, and 2.4 percent for other products.

Divergent trends in the use of lumber, and structural and nonstructural panels per

$1,000 of constant 1992 dollar product shipments have been experienced over the past

five decades. In 1948, 4.6 board feet of lumber, 0.4 square feet of structural panels,

and 0.9 square feet of nonstructural panels were used, on average, for every $1,000 of

product shipments (table 12). Lumber use per $1,000 of shipments dropped steadily in

the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s before leveling off at around 2.4 board feet per $1,000 of

shipments in the 1980s and 1990s. Structural panel use per $1,000 of product shipments was fairly constant through the 1960s and 1970s, and then increased in the

1980s and 1990s to 0.9 square feet. Nonstructural panel use increased steadily, reaching 3.2 square feet per $1,000 of product shipments in 1998.

Timber products use per $1,000 of shipments, and total timber products use in 1986

was revised from previous estimates based on new information in Adair (1994) and

Virginia Polytechnic Institute (1991, 1993a, 1993b). Table 12a shows the revisions in

total timber products use and use per $1,000 of shipments in 1986. The trends reported

above reflect the revised 1986 estimates.

Shipments of

Manufactured Products

Timber Products Use Per

$1,000 of Manufacturing

Shipments
33

Table 11—Value of manufacturing shipments in the United States, by commodity group, 1948-98

Commercial and

All productsa Household furniture institutional furniture Other productsb

Annual Annual Annual Annual

rate of rate of rate of rate of

Year Value change Value change Value change Value change

Billion 1992$ Percent Billion 1992$ Percent Billion 1992$ Percent Billion 1992$ Percent

1948 859.4 — 8.6 — 2.1 — 848.8 —

1950 935.7 4.3 9.7 6.6 2.7 13.0 923.3 4.3

1955 1,239.3 5.8 12.4 5.0 3.9 7.5 1,223.0 5.8

1960 1,336.9 1.5 12.9 .7 5.9 8.7 1,318.1 1.5

1965 1,749.3 5.5 17.1 5.8 8.0 6.3 1,724.2 5.5

1970 1,972.1 2.4 18.9 2.0 10.0 4.6 1,943.3 2.4

1975 2,033.5 .6 15.4 -4.0 9.6 -.7 2,008.6 .7

1976 2,224.6 9.4 17.3 13.0 10.0 3.7 2,197.3 9.4

1977 2,381.6 7.1 18.8 8.1 12.0 20.0 2,350.9 7.0

1978 2,484.4 4.3 19.9 6.3 12.8 6.9 2,451.7 4.3

1979 2,506.7 .9 18.5 -7.1 12.8 (c

) 2,475.4 1.0

1980 2,363.1 -5.7 16.8 -9.5 12.4 -2.8 2,333.9 -5.7

1981 2,362.8 (c) 16.3 -2.8 12.2 -1.9 2,334.3 (c)

1982 2,186.4 -7.5 15.0 -7.9 13.4 9.6 2,158.0 -7.6

1983 2,307.7 5.5 16.4 9.4 14.3 7.0 2,277.0 5.5

1984 2,509.8 8.8 17.6 7.1 16.3 13.9 2,476.0 8.7

1985 2,598.8 3.5 18.0 2.7 17.6 7.9 2,563.2 3.5

1986 2,575.8 -.9 19.9 10.1 18.8 7.1 2,537.1 -1.0

1987 2,743.2 6.5 21.2 6.5 21.6 14.5 2,700.5 6.4

1988 2,862.1 4.3 21.0 -.9 22.0 2.2 2,819.1 4.4

1989 2,839.8 -.8 20.8 -.6 22.1 .5 2,796.9 -.8

1990 2,820.9 -.7 20.1 -3.7 21.9 -.9 2,778.9 -.6

1991 2,772.2 -1.7 19.6 -2.2 20.7 -5.9 2,731.9 -1.7

1992 2,923.1 5.4 20.7 5.5 23.0 11.4 2,879.4 5.4

1993 2,990.0 2.3 21.6 4.3 24.6 6.8 2,943.8 2.2

1994 3,158.3 5.6 23.0 6.4 25.8 5.0 3,109.5 5.6

1995 3,279.5 3.8 23.0 (c) 27.3 5.8 3,229.3 3.9

1996 3,312.2 1.0 23.3 1.5 27.8 1.9 3,261.1 1.0

1997 3,388.8 2.3 24.2 3.6 32.2 15.7 3,332.4 2.2

1998 3,562.0 5.1 25.0 3.4 31.4 -2.4 3,505.6 5.2

a Includes furniture and all other manufactured products except pallets, prefabricated wooden buildings and structural members, containers,

mobile homes, millwork, flooring, and other similar goods reported in the construction and shipping sections of this report.

b Includes all manufactured products except furniture, pallets, prefabricated wooden buildings and structural members, containers, mobile

homes, millwork, flooring, and other similar goods reported in the construction and shipping sections of this report.

c

 Less than 0.05 percent.

Sources: Council of Economic Advisors 2000, USDC Bureau of the Census 1995, 1998, and Forest Service estimates.
34

Table 12—Timber products used, and use per $1,000 of product shipments in manufacturing in the United

States, by product, 1948-98a

Lumberb Structural panelsc d Nonstructural panelsc e

Per Per Per

$1,000 of $1,000 of $1,000 of

Year Shipments Total shipment Total shipment Total shipment

Billion 1992$ Million bd. ft Bd. ft Million sq. ft Sq. ft Million sq. ft Sq. ft

1948e 859 3,924 4.57 363 0.42 763 0.89

1960 1,337 3,865 2.89 910 .68 1,378 1.03

1965 1,749 4,609 2.63 811 .46 2,083 1.19

1970 1,972 4,670 2.37 902 .46 3,128 1.59

1976 2,225 4,864 2.19 1,132 .51 4,583 2.06

1986f 2,576 6,067 2.36 1,758 .68 6,789 2.64

1996 3,312 7,867 2.38 3,154 .95 9,902 2.99

1998 3,562 8,377 2.47 3,735 1.10 10,926 3.22

a Includes all manufactured products except pallets, prefabricated wooden buildings and structural members, containers, mobile homes,

millwork, flooring, and other similar goods reported in the construction and shipping sections of this chapter.

b Includes softwood and hardwood lumber.

c Square feet, 3/8-in basis.

d Includes softwood plywood, oriented strand board, and waferboard.

e Includes hardwood plywood, particleboard, medium-density fiberboard, hardboard and insulation board. In 1948 includes only hardwood

plywood.

f Wood products use revised from 1989 RPA Assessment.

Sources: Council of Economic Advisors 2000, USDC Bureau of the Census 1995, 1998. Haynes 1990, and Forest Services estimates based on

McKeever and Martens 1983, Adair 1994, 1999, and Virginia Polytechnic Institute 1991, 1993a, 1993b.

Figure 13—Value of manufacturing shipments, by commodity type, 1950-98.
35

Table 12a—Revisions to timber products use for manufacturing, 1986

Lumbera Structural panelsb c Nonstructural panelsb d

Per Per Per

$1,000 of $1,000 of $1,000 of

Year Shipments Total shipment Total shipment Total shipment

Billion 1992$ Million bd. ft Bd. ft Million sq. ft Sq. ft Million sq. ft Sq. ft

1986:

Original 2,576 4,803 1.86 1,257 0.49 7,750 3.01

Revised — 6,067 2.36 1,758 .68 6,789 2.64

Difference (%) — 26 26 40 40 -12 -12

a

 Includes softwood and hardwood lumber.

b Square feet, 3/8-in basis.

c Includes softwood plywood, oriented strand board, and waferboard.

d Includes hardwood plywood, particleboard, medium-density fiberboard, hardboard and insulation board.

Sources: Haynes 1990, and Forest Service estimates based on Adair 1994, and Virginia Polytechnic Institute 1991, 1993a, 1993b.

Trends in timber products consumption per $1,000 of shipments reflect numerous and

diverse changes in the materials and technologies used to manufacture products, and

changes in consumer preferences for specific products and the materials from which

they are made. For example, the decline in the use of lumber and the fairly steady use

of structural panels per $1,000 of shipments during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s reflects, in part, substitutions of alternative materials for wood. Most notable of these was

plastics as a substitute for wood in household furniture in the late 1960s and early

1970s, especially in highly ornate, detailed furniture parts and styles (Clark 1971). By

the mid-1970s and 1980s, the use of plastics in furniture stabilized and began to drop.

A return to more traditional furniture styles and materials in recent years helped spark

a resurgence in the use of wood in household furniture. Fiberglass, reinforced plastics,

and metals also captured market share at the expense of wood in various products

such as commercial and institutional furniture, boats, and toys. Their lower cost and

performance characteristics have helped these nonwood materials maintain market

share. Trends also reflect, to some extent, the mix of manufactured products consumed annually.

Nonstructural panels were also instrumental in the decline in the use per $1,000 of

lumber and structural panels in many manufactured products, particularly household

furniture. For example, particleboard is used extensively for panel corestock, and hardboard has replaced plywood for components such as drawer bottoms and backs of

case goods. The superior edge-working characteristics of MDF have been a major

factor in its substitution for lumber, plywood, and particleboard. Inroads by nonstructural panels were evident by its steadily rising use per $1,000 over the past 48 years

(table 12).

The consumption of timber products in manufacturing reached record high levels

in 1998 when nearly 8.4 billion board feet of lumber, 3.7 billion square feet of structural panels, and 10.9 billion square feet of nonstructural panels were used (table 12,

fig. 14). These levels represented increases of 6 percent for lumber; 18 percent for

structural panels; and 10 percent for nonstructural panels over 1996 consumption levels; and 38, 112, and 60 percent, respectively, for lumber, structural panels, and

nonstructural panels over 1986 consumption levels. This increase was due, in part,

Total Timber Products

Use in Manufacturing
36

Figure 14—Timber products used for manufacturing, selected years 1948-98.

to the nearly 40-percent increase in product shipments since 1986, and partly to a

renewed interest in wood by both manufacturers as an industrial raw material, and

by consumers in finished products. Studies conducted in the 1990s by APA-The Engineered Wood Association (Adair 1994, 1999) and by Virginia Polytechnic Institute

(1991, 1993a, 1993b) indicated substantially higher levels of wood products use by

manufacturing industries than would be expected from trends in industry shipments

alone, and from levels of use in earlier industrial wood use studies (McKeever and

Martens 1983). Timber products have regained some of the market share lost to other

nonwood products during the 1960s, 1970s, and early 1980s.

Total lumber consumption for manufacturing increased by about 0.7 billion board feet

between 1948 and 1965, and then remained fairly steady through 1976 increasing by

less than 0.3 billion board feet (table 13). Consumption then increased dramatically by

more than 1.2 billion board feet in 1986, 1.8 billion board feet in 1996, and 0.5 billion

board feet in 1998. Household furniture has consistently been the mainstay of lumber

use in manufacturing. Lumber use reached nearly 3.0 billion board feet in the late

1960s through 1986, increased to nearly 4.1 billion board feet in 1996, and 4.4 billion

board feet in 1998. Lumber use for other products as a percentage of household furniture fluctuated widely over the years, from a low of 45 percent in 1965 to 98 percent in

1976. Lumber use for other products is currently about 72 percent of household furniture lumber use. These two commodity groups, household furniture and other products,

accounted for 7.5 of the 8.4 billion board feet of lumber consumed for manufacturing in

1998, about 90 percent of the total (table 13). Commercial and institutional furniture

used just 0.8 billion board feet of lumber in 1998.

Aside from a slight decline in the late 1960s, structural panel use increased steadily

between 1948 and 1998. Consumption in 1998 was 3.7 billion square feet, up from

3.2 billion in 1996, and over two times that of 1986 (table 13). Other products manufacturing has been the primary market for structural panels in manufacturing since 1960.
37

Table 13—Timber products used in manufacturing in the United States, by

product and commodity group, 1948-98

Structural Nonstructural

Year and commodity group Lumbera panelsb c panelsb d

Million bd. ft – – – Million sq. ft– – –

1948:

Household furniture 1,970 195 397

Commercial and institutional furniture 321 90 184

Other productse 1,633 78 182

Total 3,924 363 763

1960:

Household furniture 2,116 351 719

Commercial and institutional furniture 289 137 322

Other productse 1,460 422 337

Total 3,865 910 1,378

1965:

Household furniture 2,987 300 1,289

Commercial and institutional furniture 280 87 427

Other productse 1,342 424 367

Total 4,609 811 2,083

1970:

Household furniture 2,961 327 1,912

Commercial and institutional furniture 271 114 736

Other productse 1,438 461 480

Total 4,670 902 3,128

1976:

Household furniture 2,317 204 1,390

Commercial and institutional furniture 285 218 993

Other productse 2,262 710 2,200

Total 4,864 1,132 4,583

1986f:

Household furniture 2,969 235 2,186

Commercial and institutional furniture 536 357 2,447

Other productse 2,562 1,167 2,157

Total 6,067 1,758 6,789

1996:

Household furniture 4,072 647 3,181

Commercial and institutional furniture 762 754 4,660

Other productse 3,033 1,753 2,062

Total 7,867 3,154 9,902

1998:

Household furniture 4,375 868 3,355

Commercial and institutional furniture 847 1,004 5,279

Other productse 3,155 1,862 2,291

Total 8,377 3,735 10,926

a

 Includes softwood and hardwood lumber.

b Square feet, 3/8-in basis.

c Includes softwood plywood, oriented strand board, and waferboard.

d Includes hardwood plywood, particleboard, medium-density fiberboard, hardboard and insulation board. In

1948 includes only hardwood plywood.

e Includes all other manufactured products except pallets, prefabricated wooden buildings and structural

members, containers, mobile homes, millwork, flooring, and other similar goods reported in the construction

and shipping sections of this chapter.

f Wood products use revised from 1989 RPA Assessment.

Sources: Haynes 1990, and Forest Services estimates based on McKeever and Martens 1983, Adair 1994,

1999, and Virginia Polytechnic Institute 1991, 1993a, 1993b.
38

In 1998, about 50 percent of all structural panels was used for other products. Commercial and institutional furniture, once the smallest market for structural panels, exceeded

the use for household furniture in 1998 by about 16 percent.

Manufacturing is the principal market for nonstructural panels in the United States.

In 1998, nearly half (48 percent) of all nonstructural panels, 10.9 billion square feet, was

used for manufacturing, nearly 1.0 billion square feet more than in 1996, and about 60

percent more than in 1986 (table 13). Commercial and institutional furniture was the

principal nonstructural panel market in 1998, accounting for about 48 percent of total

use. Household furniture was second at 31 percent of total use. Consumption for other

products used the remaining 21 percent.

Overall, household furniture was the most important market for lumber, particularly

high-quality and preferred species, in manufacturing in 1998. Other products manufacturing was the most important market for structural panels, and commercial and institutional furniture was the most important manufacturing market for nonstructural panels.

Substantial amounts of timber products are used annually in the United States to produce pallets, boxes, crates, hampers, baskets, and other wooden containers; and for

the dunnage, blocking, and bracing required in the transportation, handling, and storage

of industrial, agricultural, and military products. Overall, 7.2 billion board feet of lumber,

622 million square feet of structural panels, and 127 million square feet of nonstructural

panels were used in 1998 for packaging and shipping (table 14). Lumber and structural

panel consumption were at all time highs in 1998. These volumes accounted for 11

percent of all the lumber, 2 percent of all the structural panels, and 1 percent of all the

nonstructural panels consumed domestically in 1998.

Lumber and structural panel consumption for packaging and shipping increased between 1986 and 1998 (fig. 15). Nonstructural panel consumption steadily decreased,

continuing a trend begun in 1960. Lumber consumption for packaging and shipping is

largely dependent on new pallet consumption. In the early 1990s, the rapid development and acceptance of pallets made from salvaged discarded pallets, and a reduction

in the average amount of lumber needed to build a pallet, resulted in a somewhat reduced rate of growth in lumber consumption for packaging and shipping.

The wooden pallet industry has changed much over the past 5 to 10 years, and change

continues. While overall pallet production generally has continued, its 35-year overall

upward trend, the rate of growth in the use of pallets made from new lumber has leveled off or decreased. The recovery, repair, reuse, and recycling of pallets has grown

rapidly during the 1990s. In 1998, an estimated 34 percent (1 in 3) of all pallets were

made from recycled pallet lumber, compared to 29 percent in 1996, and only about 2

percent in 1992 (fig. 16). Many states and municipalities ban the landfilling of used pallets; others recover landfilled pallets for reuse or conversion into products with little or

no value. The recovery of pallet material at landfills for repairing and remanufacturing

pallets could be the next major recovery-reuse step. Trends of reduced new material

use, increased recovery and repair, and decreased landfilling are expected to continue

at moderate rates.

An estimated 6.6 billion board feet of new lumber, 463 million square feet of structural

panels, and 110 million square feet of nonstructural panels were used to produce the

441 million new pallets made in the United States in 1998 (table 15). An additional

224 million recovered-repaired pallets also were made, requiring an estimated 3.4 billion board feet of recycled pallet lumber. These amounts represent increases over

1996 of about 790 million board feet of new lumber, and 75 and 13 million square feet

of structural and nonstructural panels, respectively.

Timber Products

Consumption in

Packaging and

Shipping

Wooden Pallet

Production

Timber Products

Consumption in Wooden

Pallets
39

Table 14—Timber products used in shipping in the United States, by product and

end use, 1948-98

Structural Nonstructural

Year and commodity group Lumbera panelsb c panelsb d

Million bd. ft – – – – Million sq. ft – – –

1948:

Wooden containers 3,997 313 (e

)

Pallets 220 1 (e)

Dunnage, blocking, and bracing 740 (e) (e)

Total 4,957 314 (e)

1960:

Wooden containers 1,866 304 821

Pallets 1,550 16 3

Dunnage, blocking, and bracing 800 (e) 1

Total 4,216 320 825

1965:

Wooden containers 1,829 203 393

Pallets 2,200 62 18

Dunnage, blocking, and bracing 856 4 8

Total 4,885 269 419

1970:

Wooden containers 1,754 174 262

Pallets 3,150 105 44

Dunnage, blocking, and bracing 820 6 8

Total 5,724 285 314

1976:

Wooden containers 822 97 113

Pallets 4,900 157 78

Dunnage, blocking, and bracing 195 5 5

Total 5,917 259 196

1986f:

Wooden containersd 275 85 41

Palletsd 5,457 305 104

Dunnage, blocking, and bracing 170 5 3

Total 5,902 395 148

1996:

Wooden containers 390 137 12

Pallets 5,823 388 97

Dunnage, blocking, and bracing 192 6 3

Total 6,405 535g 112

1998:

Wooden containers 424 148 13

Pallets 6,611 463 110

Dunnage, blocking, and bracing 199 6 4

Total 7,235 622g 127

a

 Includes softwood and hardwood lumber.

b Square feet, 3/8-in basis.

c

 Includes softwood plywood, oriented strand board, and waferboard.

d

 Includes hardwood plywood, particleboard, medium-density fiberboard, hardboard and insulation board. In

1948 includes only hardwood plywood.

e Less than 500,000 units.

f Wood products use revised from 1989 RPA Assessment.

g Structural panel total includes an additional 4.6 million square feet of structural panels used for the repair

of pallets and containers in 1996 and 1998.

Source: National Wooden Pallet and Container Association 1987, 1999, Haynes 1990, and Forest Service

estimates based on McKeever et al. 1986, Adair 1994, Bush and Araman 1997a, and West 2000.
40

Figure 15—Timber products used for packaging and shipping, selected years 1948-98.

Figure 16—New and recycled wooden pallet production, 1950-98.
41

Table 15—Timber products used in the manufacture of pallets in the United

States, by product, 1960-98

Lumbera Structural panelsb c Nonstructural panelsb d

Pallet

produc- Total Use per Total Use per Total Use per

Year tion use pallet use pallet use pallet

Million Million bd. ft Bd. ft Million sq. ft Sq. ft Million sq. ft Sq. ft

1960 62 1,550 25 16 0.26 3 0.05

1965 88 2,200 25 62 .70 18 .20

1970 126 3,150 25 105 .83 44 .35

1976 196 4,900 25 157 .80 78 .40

1986e 321 5,457 17 305 .95 104 .32

1996 388 5,823 15 388 1.00 97 .25

1998 441 6,611 15 463 1.05 110 .25

a

 Includes softwood and hardwood lumber.

b Square feet, 3/8-in basis.

c

 Includes softwood plywood, oriented strand board, and waferboard.

d

 Includes hardwood plywood, particleboard, medium-density fiberboard, hardboard and insulation board.

e Wood products use revised from 1989 Assessment.

Sources: National Wooden Pallet and Container Association 1987, 1999, Haynes 1990, and Forest Service

estimates based on McKeever et al. 1986, Adair 1994, Bush and Araman 1997a, and West 2000.

The use of lumber for pallets has increased dramatically since the early 1960s when

the estimated 62 million pallets produced used about 1.6 billion board feet of lumber,

16 million square feet of structural panels, and 3 million square feet of nonstructural

panels. The rapid increase in pallet production since then has, in part, been due to the

introduction of new methods of materials handling and to the construction of new facilities geared to pallet use. At the same time, growth in industrial and agricultural production has led to increased demand in those sectors of the economy where pallet systems already were established. Between 1960 and 1976, pallet production and lumber

consumption more than tripled. Because of increasing use per pallet, structural and

nonstructural panel consumption rose much faster. During the next 10 years (1976

through 1986), pallet production increased by nearly two-thirds to 321 million units;

however, lumber consumption only rose 11 percent to 5.5 billion board feet because

of increased efficiency in lumber use per pallet. Nonstructural panel use per pallet also

declined. Structural panel use per pallet continued to increase.

Estimated pallet production, wood products use per pallet, and total wood products use

in 1986 were revised from previous estimates based on new information in McKeever

et al. (1986), Adair (1994), Bush and Araman (1997b), and West (2000). Table 15a

shows the revisions in pallet production and wood products in 1986. The trends

reported above reflect the revised 1986 estimates.

Over the years, pallet manufacturers have used less lumber to make pallets. Lumber

use per pallet decreased on average from 25 to 17 board feet between 1976 and 1986,

and then to 15 board feet between 1986 and 1996 (table 15) (Bush and Araman 1997a,

McKeever et al. 1986). These reductions are due, in part, to computerized pallet design, other design improvements, and thinner, more optimally designed, wood components. Thinner components also are used for limited-use shipping pallets. The thinner
42

materials have been forced by increases in wood costs, with pallet price increases being less than that required to cover the higher wood costs. The production of limiteduse shipping pallets, and substitution of other wood and of nonwood materials for

lumber also have contributed to the decrease in lumber use per pallet.

Solid wood is the dominant pallet material in the United States with an estimated market share of over 90 percent. Within this market, hardwood lumber is the most commonly used material. Softwood lumber, however, is an important wood pallet material

and may be used in place of hardwoods for reasons such as relative cost, local availability, weight, or when pallets manufactured from dry wood are required. In addition,

hardwood-softwood combination pallets are sometimes manufactured. Currently, about

28 to 30 percent of new pallet lumber is softwood species.

Structural panels, primarily softwood plywood, also are used in pallets. These materials

may be used in combination with solid wood (as in a panel deck, solid wood block combination pallet) or alone (as in a panel deck / panel block pallet). Typical use is for block

pallets (as compared to stringer pallets), which are likely to become more prevalent due

in part to ease of handling. Increased adoption of automated handling systems and

corresponding dimensional tolerance requirements are likely to provide additional market opportunities for panel pallets.

The recovery-repair industry has made a major impact on the pallet industry. Recovered-repaired pallets typically sell for 25 to 50 percent less than new pallets, and typically perform as well as new pallets. They just do not look as nice as new pallets.

Several other factors have contributed to the recent, rapid growth of pallet recycling

by the industry:

• Increased awareness of the environment and activities that affect the environment

have caused a previously unconcerned public to question the use of new wood for

pallets.

• Pallet companies, concerned with the availability and price of new lumber and

cants, have found it economically advantageous to repair pallets and salvage

material from used pallets.

Table 15a—Revisions to timber products use for pallets, 1986

Lumbera Structural panelsb c Nonstructural panelsb d

Pallet

produc- Total Use per Total Use per Total Use per

Year tion use pallet use pallet use pallet

Million Million bd. ft Bd. ft Million sq. ft Sq. ft Million sq. ft Sq. ft

1986:

Original 373 6,341 17 321 0.86 187 0.50

Revised 321 5,457 17 305 .95 104 .32

Difference (%) -14 -14 — -5 10 -44 -35

a

 Includes softwood and hardwood lumber.

b

 Square feet, 3/8-in basis.

c

 Includes softwood plywood, oriented strand board, and waferboard.

d Includes hardwood plywood, particleboard, medium-density fiberboard, hardboard and insulation board.

Sources: Haynes 1990, and Forest Service estimates based on McKeever et al. 1986, Adair 1994, Bush

and Araman 1997b, and West 2000.
43

• Pallet disposal costs can be significant, and increasing attention is being paid to

reducing or avoiding these costs.

• Barriers to entry into pallet recycling are relatively low.

• Public concerns over the capacity and environmental aspects of landfills have

resulted in some facilities banning pallets.

In 1998, an estimated 250 million pallets were recovered by the pallet industry. This

was 70 million more than in 1996, and about 185 million more than in 1992. These

250 million recovered pallets contained an estimated 3.8 billion board feet of lumber.

About 3.4 billion board feet, 90 percent, of this material was used to repair, rebuild,

and manufacture recycled pallets in 1998.

Alternative materials used in pallets—Several materials compete with solid wood

in the pallet market. The most prevalent are plastics (various types, including plasticwood composites) and corrugated paperboard.

Plastic pallets are used by 20 percent of firms in the meat industry, 17 percent of firms

in the food industry, and 12 percent of firms in the construction industry (McCurdy and

Phelps 1996). A study conducted by Engle et al. (1994) found that 22 percent of a

sample of grocery distribution companies used plastic pallets in 1994, and 6 percent

predicted that they would discontinue the use of wood pallets by 1997. Thirty-seven

percent of the companies predicted they would use plastic pallets in 1997. Plastic pallets enjoy perceived advantages in this important market with regard to quality, durability, cost per use, handling safety, and overall performance.

Many plastic pallet designs are at a disadvantage when compared to wood on certain

structural characteristics and price. Structural (strength) problems are overcome with

some designs. However, purchase price, which may be five times that of a comparable

wood pallet, often limits plastic pallet use to systems where owners can maintain control of the pallet (e.g., the closed loop from a grocery distributor to captive retail stores

and back). In this setting, however, buyers may place more weight on cost per use, a

criterion where plastic enjoys a perceived advantage because of the perception of high

durability.

Successful plastic pallet designs have found a niche at the high end of the market. In

contrast, corrugated paperboard pallets are developing a niche at the low end where

purchase price and reduced disposal problems are important. Accordingly, corrugated

pallets are most often found in open-loop systems (i.e., systems where the pallet purchaser does not maintain possession and control of the pallet). McCurdy and Phelps

(1996) found that corrugated fiber pallets were used by 24 percent of firms in the

health-pharmaceuticals industry, 6 percent of firms in the construction industry, and

4 percent of firms in the food industry. Engle et al. (1994) found that 0.5 percent of

grocery distributors used corrugated pallets for shipping dry goods in 1994.

Corrugated paperboard is most often used to construct relatively light-weight pallets

and, consequently, enjoys a perceived advantage in handling safety. Their primary

advantage, however, is that they greatly reduce disposal and recycling problems; corrugated pallets can be placed into existing, and often well-established, corrugated recycling systems.

The use of wooden containers (nailed boxes and crates, wirebound boxes and crates,

and veneer and plywood containers) in the United States for agriculture, manufacturing,

and other uses, as measured in constant 1992-dollar value of shipments, was $848

million in 1998 (table 16). This represents an increase of about 10 percent from 1996,

Timber Products

Consumption in

Wooden Containers
44

and 40 percent from 1986, but about a 40-percent decline from the 1960s and early

1970s when shipments averaged $1.3 billion per year. Much of the decline in the mid1970s and 1980s reflected a continued displacement of wooden containers by fiber and

plastic containers; by metal, plastic, and fiber barrels and pails; and by multiwall fiber

and plastic bags, that has been going on for the past 40 years. Other factors contributed to the decline, including lower costs of substitute containers and their superior

adaptability to automated packaging and shipping operations, and lower shipping

weights for competing packaging materials. In packaging some items, however, such

as large bulky products, delicate instruments, glass, ceramics, and certain fruits and

vegetables, these advantages continue to be outweighed by the need for special protection; wooden containers are still used. Recent increases in wooden container shipments reflect record high overall levels of manufacturing in the United States.

The use of lumber per constant dollar of wooden container shipments has been fairly

stable over the past decade, averaging about 500 board feet per $1,000 (table 16).

Structural panel use per $1,000 has increased in recent years, averaging about 175

square feet during the 1990s. Nonstructural panel use per $1,000 of shipments has

fallen steadily since 1960 and is currently about 15 square feet. These changes reflect

increasing use of nonwood materials such as plastics and paperboard in conjunction

with wood, changes in the types of containers produced, and use of more efficient container manufacturing processes.

Total timber products use for wooden containers in 1998 was above that in 1996 and

1986, but substantially below levels achieved in the 1960s and 1970s (tables 14 and

16). In 1998, 424 million board feet of lumber, 148 million square feet of structural

Table 16—Value of shipments and timber products used in the manufacture of wooden containers

in the United States, by product, specified years 1960-98

Lumbera Structural panelsb c Nonstructural panelsb d

Value of

wooden Use per Use per Use per

container Total dollar of Total dollar of Total dollar of

Year shipments use shipments use shipments use shipments

Million 1992$ Million bd. ft Bd. ft Million sq. ft Sq. ft Million sq. ft Sq. ft

1960 1,259 1,866 1.482 304 0.242 821 0.652

1965 1,350 1,829 1.355 203 .150 393 .291

1970 1,388 1,754 1.264 174 .125 262 .189

1976 940 822 .875 97 .103 113 .120

1986e 601 275 .457 85 .141 41 .068

1996 781 390 .500 137 .175 12 .015

1998 848 424 .500 148 .175 13 .015

a Includes softwood and hardwood lumber.

b Square feet, 3/8-in basis.

c Includes softwood plywood, oriented strand board, and waferboard.

d Includes hardwood plywood, particleboard, medium-density fiberboard, hardboard and insulation board.

e Wood products use revised from 1989 Assessment.

Sources: Council of Economic Advisors 2000, Haynes 1990, USDC Bureau of the Census 1995, 1998, and Forest Service estimates

based on Adair 1994, 1999, and Bush and Araman 1997b.
45

panels, and 13 million square feet of nonstructural panels were used to produce

wooden containers. These volumes are about 10 percent greater than in 1996, but

range from 15 to 95 percent of use in 1970.

Structural and nonstructural panel use per dollar of wooden container shipments and

total structural and nonstructural panel use in 1986 were revised from previous estimates based on new information in Adair (1994), and Bush and Araman (1997b).

Table 16a shows the revisions in total structural and nonstructural panel use and use

per dollar of wooden container shipments in 1986. The trends reported above reflect

the revised 1986 estimates.

The volume of lumber used for dunnage, blocking, and bracing in railroad cars, trucks,

and ships remained fairly stable through the 1950s and 1960s but experienced rapid

declines in the late 1970s and early 1980s (table 14). Since 1986, modest increases

in lumber and fairly constant structural and nonstructural panel use has been seen.

Nearly 200 million board feet of lumber, 6 million square feet of structural panels, and

4 million square feet of nonstructural panels were consumed for dunnage in 1998 (table

14). Timber products consumption trends reflect growth in containerized and bulk shipments of manufactured and agriculture goods, and increased use of palletized transportation systems.

In addition to the major end uses discussed above, an estimated 6.9 billion board feet

of lumber, 0.9 billion square feet of structural panels, and 3.4 billion square feet of

nonstructural panels were used in 1998 for other purposes (table 17). These other uses

included upkeep and improvement of nonresidential structures; roof supports and other

construction in mines; made-at-home or do-it-yourself projects such as furniture, boats,

and picnic tables; made-on-the-job products such as advertising and display structures;

and various other activities not captured elsewhere in this report.

No historical data on the consumption of timber products in these various and varied

end uses exist. Accordingly, amounts used for these purposes in the years reported in

table 17 were estimated by subtracting volumes of timber products consumed in the

specific end uses discussed above from estimated total consumption of each product.

Table 16a—Revisions to timber products use for wooden containers, 1986

Lumbera Structural panelsb c Nonstructural panelsb d

Value of

wooden Use per Use per Use per

container Total dollar of Total dollar of Total dollar of

Year shipments use shipments use shipments use shipments

Million 1992$ Million bd. ft Bd. ft Million sq. ft Sq. ft Million sq. ft Sq. ft

1986:

Original 601 275 0.457 47 0.078 53 0.088

Revised — — — 85 .141 41 .068

Difference (%) — — — 80 80 -23 -23

a

 Includes softwood and hardwood lumber.

b

 Square feet, 3/8-in basis.

c

 Includes softwood plywood, oriented strand board, and waferboard.

d

 Includes hardwood plywood, particleboard, medium-density fiberboard, hardboard and insulation board.

Sources: Haynes 1990, and Forest Service estimates based on Adair 1994, and Bush and Araman 1997b.

Timber Products

Consumption in

Dunnage

Timber Products

Consumption in

Other Uses
46

These residuals probably include some lumber and panel products that properly belong

in the construction, manufacturing, or shipping sectors of this report, and also include

any statistical discrepancies associated with the estimates of production, imports, and

exports used in estimating total consumption.

Estimated apparent domestic timber products consumption (total and per capita), and

consumption in major end-use markets are presented in tables 18, 20, and 22 for 1998

and specified years for which complete end-use market data are available. Information

on total domestic production, foreign trade, and apparent domestic timber products

consumption are reported in tables 19, 21, and 23 annually for the years 1950 through

1998. Apparent domestic timber products consumption is defined to be total production

of a specific product, plus amounts imported, minus amounts exported.

Information on timber products production and foreign trade comes from various published public and private sources. Periodically, adjustments and modifications are made

to the data. Recent adjustments to the lumber production data over the past 25 years

have resulted in levels of production and consumption different from those reported in

previous Forest Service timber analyses (Haynes 1990). Minor adjustments to structural and nonstructural panel production data also were made. See Howard (2001) for

sources of information on timber products production and foreign trade.

Table 17—Timber products used for other purposes

in the United States, by product, 1962-98a

Structural Nonstructural

Year Lumberb panelsc d panelsc e

Million bd. ft Million sq. ft Million sq. ft

1962 7,349 1,314 1,342

1970 6,666 2,983 1,892

1976 4,286 2,566 1,590

1986 3,824 1,730 1,037

1996 6,958 830 2,743

1998 6,874 890 3,385

a Includes upkeep and improvement of nonresidential

buildings and structures; made-at-home projects such

as furniture, boats, and picnic tables; made-on-the-job

items such as advertising and display structures; and

various miscellaneous products and uses.

b

 Includes softwood and hardwood lumber.

c

 Square feet, 3/8-in basis.

d

 Includes softwood plywood, oriented strand board, and waferboard.

e

 Includes hardwood plywood, particleboard, medium-density fiberboard, hardboard and insulation board.

Sources: Haynes 1990, Howard 2001, tables 6, 7, 9, 10, 13, and

14 of this report, and Forest Service estimates.

Note: Data may not add to totals because of rounding.

Recent Trends in

Lumber, Structural

Panels,

Nonstructural

Panels, and

Engineered Wood

Products

Consumption, Trade,

and Production
47

Consumption—Lumber consumption in the United States in 1998 for all uses totaled

64.2 billion board feet, 2.9 billion board feet greater than in 1996, and 6.8 billion board

feet greater than in 1986. In fact, lumber consumption in 1998 was greater than in any

year in the past five decades (tables 18 and 19, figs. 17 and 18). Consumption in 1998

also exceeded levels in the early 1900s, when lumber was the most important raw material used in the United States for construction, manufactured products, and shipping.

Per capita consumption in 1998 was 238 board feet, 7 board feet greater than in 1996,

but the same as in 1986. Per capita consumption in 1998 was greater than in any year

during the 1960s and 1970s (table 18, fig. 17). Per capita consumption, however, was

below averages for most years before 1960, and dramatically below the early 1900s

when consumption exceeded 500 board feet per person.

Nearly 57 percent of the lumber consumed in 1998 was used for housing—61 percent

for construction of new units and 39 percent for the upkeep and improvement of existing units. New nonresidential construction (including railroads) accounted for about

8 percent. Additionally, the “all other” category includes an unknown amount of lumber used for other construction purposes such as nonresidential upkeep and improvements. Manufacturing accounted for 13 percent of lumber consumption, and shipping

(pallets, containers, and dunnage) 11 percent. The remaining 11 percent was for all

other uses.

In 1998, 52.0 billion of the 64.2 billion board feet of lumber consumed in the United

States was softwood species, about 80 percent (table 18, fig. 17). Slight annual variations in the percentage of softwood and hardwood lumber used are common, and are

a result of differing levels of activity in the various end-use markets, and variations in

species consumption between them. About 97 percent of the lumber used in new housing in 1998 was estimated to have been softwood species, up from 93 percent in 1962.

In contrast, only 33 percent of the lumber used in shipping was softwood, down from

40 percent in 1962. The increase in percentage of softwood lumber use in housing was

largely due to a decline in hardwood flooring use, and rapid increase in house size requiring larger amounts of softwood dimension lumber for framing. The rapid and continued growth in the use of hardwood pallets for materials handling and transportation was

the principal cause for the increased percentage of use of hardwood lumber in shipping. Even with the variations caused by differences in end-use markets, softwood

lumber consumption as a percentage of total lumber consumption has remained

around 80 percent since the 1950s.

Trade—Net foreign trade (imports minus exports) is an important component of total

domestic consumption. In 1998, lumber imports to the United States from all countries

totaled 19.0 billion board feet, whereas exports from the United States to all countries

totaled just 2.2 billion board feet (table 19). The difference, 16.8 billion board feet, was

net foreign trade, and represented lumber consumption in the United States in excess

of what was produced domestically. About 26 percent of total domestic lumber consumption in 1998 was from net imports. The United States was a net importer of softwood lumber in 1998, with 33 percent of consumption coming from net imports. In

contrast, the United States was a net exporter of hardwood lumber in 1998 with exports

exceeding imports by 0.5 billion board feet.

Lumber
48

Table 18—Lumber consumption in the United States, by per capita use, softwoods and hardwoods, and end

use, 1962-98

End use

Construction

Residential New

upkeep nonresiSpecies group and dential PackagPer Soft- Hard- New improve- construc- Manufac- ing and All

Year Total capita woods woods housing ments tiona Total turing shipping otherb

Million bd. ft Bd. ft – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – Million bd. ft – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

1962 39,079 209 30,774 8,305 14,110 4,330 4,200 22,640 4,540 4,550 7,349

1970 40,731 199 32,192 8,539 13,995 4,975 4,700 23,670 4,670 5,725 6,666

1976 44,071 202 36,046 8,025 18,280 6,255 4,470 29,005 4,865 5,915 4,286

1986 57,379 238 47,146 10,233 20,840 15,440 5,310 41,590 6,065 5,900 3,824

1996 61,273 231 49,498 11,775 19,780 15,360 4,905 40,045 7,865 6,405 6,958

1998 64,199 238 52,011 12,189 22,165 14,110 5,440 41,715 8,375 7,235 6,874

 – – – – – – – – – – – – Percent softwood lumber – – – – – – – – – – –

1962 93 97 74 90 52 40 84

1986 97 97 75 94 49 32 96

1996 97 96 78 95 40 31 90

1998 97 96 77 94 40 33 96

a Includes lumber for railroad ties and railcar repair.

b Includes upkeep and improvement of nonresidential buildings and structures; made-at-home projects, such as furniture, boats, and picnic

tables; made-on-the-job items such as advertising and display structures; and various miscellaneous products and uses.

Sources: Haynes 1990, Howard 2001, tables 6, 7, 9, 10, 13, and 14 of this report, and Forest Service estimates.

Note: Product use by market has been rounded to the nearest 5 million bd. ft. Data may not add to totals because of rounding.
49

Table 19—Lumber consumption, imports, exports, and production in the United States, by softwoods and

hardwoods, 1950-98

Consumption Importsa Exportsa Production

Year Total Softwood Hardwood Total Softwood Hardwood Total Softwood Hardwood Total Softwood Hardwood

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – Million bd. ft – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

1950 40,913 33,366 7,546 3,423 3,140 283 518 407 111 38,007 30,633 7,374

1951 38,718 30,867 7,851 2,512 2,250 262 998 876 122 37,204 29,493 7,711

1952 39,216 31,935 7,281 2,482 2,267 215 727 566 162 37,462 30,234 7,228

1953 38,911 31,629 7,282 2,759 2,527 233 643 513 131 36,795 29,615 7,180

1954 38,702 31,553 7,149 3,063 2,855 209 718 585 133 36,357 29,283 7,074

1955 40,132 32,489 7,643 3,593 3,327 266 841 652 189 37,380 29,815 7,565

1956 40,740 32,689 8,051 3,405 3,131 274 761 571 191 38,097 30,129 7,968

1957 36,684 29,189 7,495 2,958 2,712 246 811 623 188 34,537 27,100 7,437

1958 37,730 29,983 7,747 3,390 3,155 235 727 550 177 35,068 27,379 7,689

1959 42,318 33,643 8,676 4,064 3,742 322 787 608 179 39,042 30,509 8,533

1960 37,741 29,618 8,123 3,931 3,639 291 861 694 167 34,671 26,672 7,999

1961 37,161 29,461 7,700 4,258 4,013 245 773 618 155 33,676 26,066 7,610

1962 39,079 30,774 8,305 4,893 4,584 309 760 629 131 34,946 26,819 8,127

1963 41,149 31,841 9,309 5,335 5,032 303 875 743 132 36,689 27,552 9,137

1964 42,849 33,390 9,459 5,223 4,918 305 956 812 144 38,582 29,284 9,298

1965 43,048 33,414 9,634 5,232 4,898 334 919 779 140 38,735 29,295 9,440

1966 42,795 32,758 10,037 5,200 4,779 421 1,023 868 155 38,618 28,847 9,771

1967 41,494 32,005 9,489 5,141 4,798 343 1,130 965 164 37,483 28,172 9,311

1968 43,013 34,046 8,967 6,154 5,809 345 1,162 1,048 114 38,020 29,285 8,735

1969 42,228 33,172 9,055 6,301 5,854 447 1,142 1,024 118 37,069 28,342 8,727

1970 40,731 32,192 8,539 6,114 5,778 337 1,243 1,116 128 35,860 27,530 8,330

1971 44,981 36,337 8,644 7,590 7,232 358 1,094 933 160 38,486 30,039 8,447

1972 47,474 38,769 8,706 9,434 8,985 449 1,428 1,191 237 39,469 30,975 8,494

1973 47,981 38,853 9,128 9,569 9,020 549 1,966 1,753 213 40,378 31,586 8,792

1974 41,658 32,959 8,699 7,271 6,821 450 1,765 1,567 199 36,152 27,704 8,448

1975 38,408 31,065 7,343 5,976 5,724 252 1,618 1,405 213 34,051 26,747 7,304

1976 44,071 36,046 8,025 8,247 7,959 288 1,846 1,606 241 37,670 29,693 7,977

1977 49,284 40,679 8,606 10,713 10,370 344 1,666 1,428 238 40,237 31,737 8,500

1978 51,491 42,556 8,935 12,215 11,853 361 1,741 1,354 387 41,017 32,057 8,960

1979 50,127 40,804 9,323 11,530 11,153 376 2,142 1,781 361 40,740 31,432 9,308

1980 42,775 33,812 8,963 9,866 9,573 293 2,494 2,007 488 35,403 26,246 9,157

1981 39,272 31,980 7,292 9,523 9,232 291 2,406 1,928 479 32,156 24,676 7,480

1982 38,744 30,939 7,805 8,957 8,779 178 1,996 1,627 369 31,783 23,787 7,996

1983 47,863 39,397 8,466 11,706 11,512 194 2,336 1,841 495 38,493 29,726 8,767

1984 52,121 42,304 9,817 12,980 12,727 253 2,123 1,597 526 41,264 31,174 10,090

1985 53,355 43,865 9,490 14,356 14,057 299 1,919 1,513 406 40,918 31,321 9,597

1986 57,379 47,146 10,233 14,050 13,771 279 2,421 1,898 523 45,750 35,273 10,477

1987 60,943 49,985 10,958 14,649 14,210 439 3,204 2,460 744 49,498 38,235 11,263

1988 59,228 48,348 10,880 13,807 13,473 334 4,450 3,255 1,195 49,871 38,130 11,741

1989 60,636 49,075 11,561 15,277 14,909 368 4,242 3,379 863 49,601 37,545 12,056

1990 57,438 45,725 11,713 13,132 12,875 257 3,806 2,941 865 48,112 35,791 12,321

1991 52,088 41,621 10,467 11,756 11,515 241 3,997 3,055 942 44,329 33,161 11,168

1992 55,821 45,103 10,718 13,475 13,190 285 3,603 2,613 990 45,949 34,526 11,423

1993 57,204 45,688 11,516 15,430 15,086 344 3,392 2,345 1,047 45,166 32,947 12,219

1994 59,833 48,175 11,658 16,606 16,224 382 3,265 2,156 1,109 46,492 34,107 12,385

1995 59,504 47,563 11,941 17,556 17,202 354 2,929 1,872 1,057 44,877 32,233 12,644

1996 61,273 49,498 11,775 18,398 18,021 377 2,878 1,789 1,090 45,754 33,266 12,488

1997 62,924 51,021 11,904 18,451 18,000 451 2,871 1,646 1,224 47,344 34,667 12,677

1998 64,199 52,011 12,189 19,012 18,463 549 2,189 1,129 1,060 47,377 34,677 12,700

Note: Data may not add to totals because of rounding.

a Softwood includes small volumes of mixed species not classified as either softwood or hardwood.

Sources: Ulrich 1989 and Howard 2001.
50

Figure 17—Lumber consumption, by species group and per capita, 1950-98.

Figure 18—Lumber consumption, by major end use, selected years 1962-98.
51

Lumber exports grew fairly steadily from 1950 through the late 1980s, reaching a

record high of nearly 4.5 billion board feet in 1988 (table 19). Since then, lumber exports have fallen steadily to 2.9 billion board feet in 1996, and 2.2 billion board feet in

1998. Many factors contributed to the decline in lumber exports in recent years. Some

of these were reduced softwood sawtimber supplies, particularly from the Pacific Northwest, changing economic conditions in the major importing countries, strength of the

U.S. dollar in relation to other world currencies, and increased levels of exports from

other major timber-producing countries. In 1996, Japan was the largest single foreign

market for U.S. lumber, accounting for about 33 percent of all exports (Howard 2001).

By 1998, exports to Japan fell by half owing largely to the Asian economic recession.

Canada and the European Community each accounted for about 26 percent of the

lumber exported from the United States in 1998. Central and South America accounted

for just 1 percent, and all other countries 31 percent.

About 52 percent of total exports in 1998 were softwood species, 1.1 billion board feet

(table 19). During the 1950s through early 1970s, softwood lumber accounted for about

84 percent of total exports. Since then, the share of total exports of softwood lumber

has fallen from around 78 percent in the 1980s to an average 68 percent in the 1990s.

Japan was the most important softwood lumber export market in 1998 at 26 percent

of all softwood lumber exports (Howard 2001). Canada and the European Community

accounted for 20 and 18 percent, respectively, followed by Central and South America

at less than 1 percent. All other countries accounted for the remaining 34 percent.

Lumber imports to the United States totaled 19.0 billion board feet in 1998, nearly

nine times the amount exported (table 19). With few exceptions, lumber imports to the

United States have grown steadily since 1950. Nearly all of the growth was in softwood lumber imports. In 1950, softwood lumber imports totaled 3.1 billion board feet.

By 1998, softwood lumber imports reached a record high 18.5 billion board feet, a

more than 15 billion board feet increase. In contrast, hardwood lumber imports were

0.3 billion board feet in 1950, and 0.5 billion board feet in 1998.

Canada has always been the principal source of both softwood and hardwood lumber

imported into the United States. In 1998, 96 percent of all imports were from Canada

(Howard 2001). This percentage has changed little since 1950, ranging from a low of

94 percent in 1973 to more than 98 percent in 1991 and 1992. In 1998, nearly 97 percent of all softwood lumber and 71 percent of all hardwood lumber imports to the United

States were from Canada. Hardwood imports from Canada as a percentage of total

hardwood imports fell fairly steadily from 1950 through the 1970s. Since then,

Canada’s share of the U.S. hardwood lumber import market has risen.

Production—Total lumber production in 1998 was 47.4 billion board feet, slightly

above the 1990s average of 46.2 billion board feet, but below the record level of 49.9

billion board feet in 1988 (table 19). Lumber production has always been sensitive to

changing demands in domestic and export markets, resulting in substantial yearly

variations. Production swings of nearly 7 billion board feet per year have been observed. Despite these variations, total domestic lumber production between 1950 and

the mid-1980s averaged around 37 billion board feet per year. The late 1980s saw

rapid increases in lumber production, with an all-time record high level being reached in

1988. Since then, lumber production has averaged about 47 billion board feet annually.
52

More than 34.7 billion board feet of softwood lumber and 12.7 billion board feet of hardwood lumber were produced in the United States in 1998, up from 33.3 and 12.5 billion

board feet, respectively, in 1996 (table 19). Softwood lumber accounted for nearly 73

percent of all lumber produced in 1998. Although the softwood share of the lumber

market has fluctuated since 1950, the trend has been away from softwood in favor of

hardwood lumber. In 1950, softwood lumber accounted for about 81 percent of total

lumber production, compared to 73 percent in 1998. In contrast, hardwood lumber accounted for 19 percent of production in 1950. The 12.7 billion board feet of hardwood

lumber produced in 1998 was the largest amount ever produced and accounted for 27

percent of total U.S. lumber production.

Consumption—Structural panel consumption in the United States in 1998 for all

uses totaled 34.8 billion square feet, 3.2 billion square feet greater than 1996, 9.1 billion

square feet greater than 1986, and substantially above total use in any year in the past

five decades (tables 20 and 21, figs. 19 and 20). Consumption in 1998 was nearly 4

times the consumption in 1962, and 14 times the consumption in 1950. Structural panel

consumption increased 5.6 percent per year, on average, since 1950.

Per capita structural panel consumption in 1998 was 129 square feet, 8 percent

greater than in 1996, and 20 percent greater than in 1986 (table 20, fig. 19). Per capita

consumption increased steadily over the years, from about 17 square feet in 1950 to 51

square feet in 1962 to the current level of 129 square feet. Since 1950, per capita structural panel consumption increased by about 4.3 percent per year.

Nearly 85 percent of all the structural panels consumed in 1998 were used for construction. About 65 percent of the structural panels used were for new residential construction, 25 percent for residential upkeep and improvements, and 10 percent for new

nonresidential construction. In addition, an undetermined amount of structural panels

used for nonresidential upkeep and improvements were included in the “all other” category of use. Manufacturing uses accounted for almost 11 percent of total structural

panel consumption, and shipping about 2 percent. All other uses accounted for the

remaining 3 percent.

Structural panel consumption in 1998 consisted of 17.2 billion square feet of softwood

plywood (about 49 percent of total consumption), and 17.6 billion square feet of OSB

(51 percent) (table 21). With the exception of recession years, structural panel consumption increased steadily from 1950 through 1998. The share of softwood plywood,

however, fell steadily since the development and rapid market acceptance of OSB in

the mid-1970s. In 1998, for the first time ever, OSB captured more than half of the

structural panel market. Much of the decline in softwood plywood and rapid increase in

OSB market shares were due to changes in the timber resource in the United States,

and resulting OSB cost advantages. (McKeever 1997). Softwood plywood is made

primarily from Douglas-fir and southern pines. Reductions in old-growth Douglas-fir

timber supplies from national forests in the West resulted in a dramatic decline in the

industry. Mills dependent on this timber were forced to close or drastically curtail production. At the same time, OSB production, which was based on lower cost and previously underutilized hardwood species such as aspen and poplar, increased rapidly to

fill the void. The net result was a rapidly expanding OSB industry with increasing market share, and a stagnating softwood plywood industry with declining market share

(Spelter et al. 1997). Expectations are for continued penetration by OSB into softwood

plywood markets.

Structural Panels
53

Table 20—Structural panel consumption in the United States, by per capita use, panel type, and end use,

1962-98

End use

Construction

Residential New

 Panel type upkeep nonresiSoft- and dential PackagPer wood New improve- construc- Manufac- ing and All

Year Total capita plywood OSBa housing ments tionb Total turing shipping otherc

Million sq. ft Sq. ftd – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – Million sq. ftd – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

1962 9,509 51 9,509 (e

) 3,935 1,670 1,650 7,255 730 210 1,314

1970 14,228 69 14,228 (e

) 5,870 2,320 1,870 10,060 900 285 2,983

1976 17,816 82 17,736 80 8,705 3,245 1,910 13,860 1,130 260 2,566

1986 25,740 107 21,567 4,173 11,760 7,015 3,080 21,855 1,760 395 1,730

1996 31,590 119 18,018 13,572 16,995 7,540 2,535 27,070 3,155 535 830

1998 34,810 129 17,191 17,619 19,395 7,270 2,900 29,565 3,735 620 890

 – – – – – – – – – – – Percent softwood plywood – – – – – – – – – – – –

1986 82 84 85 83 — — —

1996 38 73 58 52 — — —

1998 37 68 56 48 — — —

a Includes oriented strand board and waferboard. b Includes structural panels for railcar repair.

c Includes upkeep and improvement of nonresidential buildings and structures; made-at-home projects, such as furniture, boats, and picnic

tables; made-on-the-job items such as advertising and display structures; and various miscellaneous products and uses.

d Square feet, 3/8-in basis.

e Less than 500,000 square feet.

Sources: Haynes 1990, Howard 2001, tables 6, 7, 9, 10, 13, and 14 of this report, and Forest Service estimates.

Note: Product use by market has been rounded to the nearest 5 million square feet. Data may not add to totals because of rounding.
54

Table 21—Structural panel consumption, imports, exports, and production in the United States, by type,

1950-98

Consumptiona Importsa Exportsa Productiona d

Soft- Soft- Soft- Softwood wood wood wood

Year Total plywood OSBb Total plywood OSBb Total plywood OSBb Total plywood OSBb

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – Million sq. ft – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

1950 2,551 2,551 (e) (c) (c) (e)3 3(e) 2,554 2,554 (e)

1951 2,867 2,867 (e)4 4(e)4 4(e) 2,867 2,867 (e)

1952 3,038 3,038 (e)1 1(e) 13 13 (e) 3,050 3,050 (e)

1953 3,660 3,660 (e

) (c) (c) (e) 10 10 (e) 3,670 3,670 (e)

1954 3,897 3,897 (e) (c) (c) (e)7 7(e) 3,904 3,904 (e)

1955 5,067 5,067 (e) (c) (c) (e)8 8(e) 5,075 5,075 (e)

1956 5,225 5,225 (e) (c) (c) (e) 15 15 (e) 5,240 5,240 (e)

1957 5,445 5,445 (e

) (c) (c) (e) 15 15 (e) 5,460 5,460 (e)

1958 6,328 6,328 (e) (c) (c) (e) 12 12 (e) 6,340 6,340 (e)

1959 7,756 7,756 (e

) (c) (c) (e) 72 72 (e) 7,828 7,828 (e)

1960 7,814 7,814 (e) 11 11 (e) 13 13 (e) 7,816 7,816 (e)

1961 8,576 8,576 (e) 13 13 (e) 14 14 (e) 8,577 8,577 (e)

1962 9,509 9,509 (e

) 13 13 (e) 17 17 (e) 9,513 9,513 (e)

1963 10,208 10,208 (e) 10 10 (e) 18 18 (e) 10,216 10,216 (e)

1964 11,656 11,656 (e

)5 5(e) 28 28 (e) 11,679 11,679 (e)

1965 12,422 12,422 (e)5 5(e) 30 30 (e) 12,447 12,447 (e)

1966 13,011 13,011 (e)3 3(e) 48 48 (e) 13,056 13,056 (e)

1967 12,876 12,876 (e

)3 3(e) 85 85 (e) 12,958 12,958 (e)

1968 14,641 14,641 (e) 10 10 (e) 64 64 (e) 14,695 14,695 (e)

1969 13,510 13,510 (e

) 15 15 (e) 199 199 (e) 13,694 13,694 (e)

1970 14,228 14,228 (e)2 2(e) 114 114 (e) 14,340 14,340 (e)

1971 16,539 16,539 (e)3 3(e) 99 99 (e) 16,635 16,635 (e)

1972 18,109 18,109 (e

)6 6(e) 221 221 (e) 18,324 18,324 (e)

1973 17,943 17,903 40 9 9 (e) 411 411 (e) 18,345 18,305 40

1974 15,400 15,340 60 4 4 (e

) 542 542 (e) 15,938 15,878 60

1975 15,336 15,266 70 7 7 (e) 791 791 (e) 16,120 16,050 70

1976 17,816 17,736 80 12 12 (e) 716 716 (e) 18,520 18,440 80

1977 19,197 19,107 90 18 18 (e

) 287 287 (e) 19,466 19,376 90

1978 19,834 19,729 105 63 63 (e

) 298 298 (e) 20,069 19,964 105

1979 19,398 19,278 120 27 27 (e) 402 402 (e) 19,773 19,653 120

1980 16,455 15,997 458 360 37 323 373 373 (e) 16,468 16,333 135

1981 16,686 16,096 590 349 30 319 686 686 (e) 17,023 16,752 271

1982 16,219 15,403 816 268 9 259 452 452 (e) 16,403 15,846 557

1983 20,670 18,924 1,746 423 18 405 574 574 (e

) 20,821 19,480 1,341

1984 22,324 19,603 2,721 727 48 679 371 371 (e) 21,968 19,926 2,042

1985 23,366 19,903 3,463 848 54 794 321 321 (e) 22,838 20,169 2,669

1986 25,740 21,567 4,173 723 63 660 614 614 (e) 25,631 22,118 3,513

1987 27,068 22,232 4,836 889 129 760 796 796 (e) 26,975 22,899 4,076

1988 27,110 21,691 5,419 911 96 815 1,004 1,004 (e

) 27,203 22,599 4,604
55

Table 21—Structural panel consumption, imports, exports, and production in the United States, by type,

1950-98 (continued)

Consumptiona Importsa Exportsa Productiona d

Soft- Soft- Soft- Softwood wood wood wood

Year Total plywood OSBb Total plywood OSBb Total plywood OSBb Total plywood OSBb

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – Million sq. ft – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

1989 26,207 19,991 6,216 1,160 49 1,111 1,442 1,442 (e) 26,490 21,385 5,105

1990 26,075 19,344 6,731 1,351 38 1,313 1,613 1,613 (e

) 26,337 20,919 5,418

1991 23,901 17,358 6,544 1,016 28 988 1,379 1,322 57 24,265 18,652 5,613

1992 26,113 17,937 8,176 1,619 47 1,572 1,491 1,442 49 25,985 19,332 6,653

1993 27,051 17,946 9,105 2,203 41 2,163 1,470 1,409 60 26,317 19,315 7,002

1994 28,469 18,474 9,995 2,635 47 2,588 1,289 1,211 78 27,124 19,638 7,486

1995 29,196 18,160 11,036 3,274 60 3,214 1,348 1,267 82 27,270 19,367 7,903

1996 31,590 18,018 13,572 4,500 85 4,414 1,405 1,248 157 28,495 19,181 9,314

1997 32,158 16,519 15,639 5,376 104 5,272 1,715 1,548 167 28,497 17,963 10,534

1998 34,810 17,191 17,619 6,671 179 6,492 864 764 100 29,003 17,776 11,227

a Square feet, 3/8-in basis.

b Includes oriented strand board and waferboard.

c Less than 500,000 square feet.

d Includes production from both domestic and imported species.

e Not available.

Sources: Ulrich 1989, Adair 2000, and Howard 2001.

Note: Data may not add to totals because of rounding.

Figure 19—Structural panel consumption, by panel type and per capita, 1950-98.
56

Figure 20—Structural panel consumption, by major end use, selected years 1962-98.

Trade—Structural panel imports in 1998 were nearly 6.7 billion square feet, and

exports were 0.9 billion square feet, resulting in net imports of nearly 5.8 billion

square feet (table 21). About 17 percent of domestic consumption in 1998 was

from net imports.

Total structural panel exports varied greatly between 1950 and 1987, remaining well

below 1 billion square feet. The overall trend during this period, however, was for increased levels of export. In 1988, exports exceeded 1.0 billion square feet for the first

time, and increased rapidly over the next several years. The record high level of exports was set in 1997 at more than 1.7 billion square feet. Exports fell in 1998 to less

than 1.0 billion square feet owing largely to unfavorable economic conditions in importing countries. Since 1990, exports have averaged about 1.4 billion square feet per

year. Nearly all structural panel exports historically have been softwood plywood. Collection of oriented strand board exportation data began in 1991. By 1998, OSB exports

were estimated to be about 0.1 billion square feet, 12 percent of all structural panel

exports. Currently, about 3 percent of total domestic structural panel production is exported. Principal foreign markets include the European Common Market countries (35

percent of total exports), Canada (27 percent), Caribbean countries (16 percent), and

Mexico (15 percent) (Adair 2000).

Structural panel imports were negligible in the 1950s and 1960s (table 21). In the

mid-1970s, the importation of structural panels began in earnest and has increased

steadily ever since. Imports in 1998 were nearly five times those in 1990. Nearly all

the growth in structural panel imports has been in OSB. In 1998, OSB imports totaled

6.5 billion square feet, 97 percent of all structural panel imports. Softwood plywood

imports peaked in 1987 at about 0.1 billion square feet, fell through the early 1990s,

and then increased. A new high of nearly 0.2 billion square feet was achieved in 1998.

Currently, all OSB imports, and about 70 percent of the softwood plywood imports to

the United States are from Canada (Adair 2000).
57

Production—Total domestic structural panel production in 1998 was 29.0 billion

square feet, a new record high, and more than 11 times the production in 1950

(table 21). Since net imports are fairly small compared to consumption (averaging

about 6 percent during the 1990s), overall trends discussed earlier for structural panel

consumption also apply to structural panel production.

The South was by far the leading structural panel-producing region in the United States

in 1998 with production totaling 19.7 billion square feet, more than two-thirds of total

domestic production (Adair and Bean 1999). The West (Pacific coast and Rocky Mountain regions) was second at 19 percent of domestic production, followed by the North

(Northeast and Midwest regions) at 13 percent. Dramatic regional shifts in production

occurred between 1986 and 1998. In 1986, the South accounted for 48 percent of total

production, the West 43 percent, and the North 9 percent (Anderson 1987). Reduced

timber supplies from national forests in the West, coupled with rapidly expanding OSB

capacity in the Midwest and South caused major industry shifts from the West to the

South and North. Continued reductions of production in the West, with increases in

both the South and North are expected (Adair and Bean 1999).

Oriented strand board accounted for more than one-third (39 percent) of total structural

panel production in 1998, its highest share of total production ever (table 21). The OSB

share of production was lower than its share of consumption because net imports of

structural panels were nearly all OSB. Since 1950, the OSB share of total structural

panel production increased steadily. The South was the largest OSB-producing region

in the United States in 1998 accounting for 66 percent of total production (Adair and

Bean 1999). This is a dramatic change from 1986 when the North accounted for 75

percent of all domestically produced OSB. The North was the second largest OSB producer in 1996 with a nearly 34-percent market share, down from 75 percent 10 years

earlier (Anderson 1987). Oriented strand board production in the West was small at

less than 1 percent of domestic production. Nearly 70 percent of all softwood plywood

was produced in the South in 1998, with just over 30 percent in the West. No softwood

plywood was produced in the North in 1998.

Consumption—Nonstructural panel (hardwood plywood, particleboard [including

MDF], hardboard, and insulation board) consumption totaled nearly 23.0 billion square

feet in 1998, up from 21.0 billion square feet in 1996, and setting a new record high

level of production (tables 22 and 23, figs. 21 and 22). Consumption in 1998 was

nearly three times the consumption of 1962, and nearly five times that of 1950.

Per capita nonstructural panels consumption in 1998 was 85 square feet, 6 square feet

greater than 1996, but about 3 square feet less than in 1986 (table 22). The record high

level of per capita nonstructural panel consumption was set in 1987 at 93 square feet.

Per capita consumption increased fairly steadily from 1950 through 1973 (fig. 21). During the next 20 years, consumption became erratic with annual changes of up to 27

percent being experienced. During the 1990s, per capita nonstructural panel consumption averaged about 76 square feet per year.

Manufacturing was the most important market for nonstructural panels in 1998, accounting for nearly half (48 percent) of total consumption. This was nearly 2.5 times

the percentage used for manufacturing in 1962, and resulted from large and increasing

amounts of particleboard and MDF used for furniture production. Most of the remainder

in 1998 was used in construction: 20 percent in new residential construction, 12 percent in residential upkeep and improvements, and 6 percent in nonresidential construction. Less than 1 percent was used for shipping.

Nonstructural Panels
58

Table 22—Nonstructural panel consumption in the United States, by per capita

use, panel type, and end use, 1962-98

Panel type

HardPer wood Particle- Hard- Insulation

Year Total capita plywood boarda board board

Million sq. ft b Sq. ft b – – – – – – – – – – Million sq. ft b – – – – – – – – – –

1962 7,967 43 2,405 816 903 3,843

1970 13,482 66 3,785 3,702 1,667 4,328

1976 17,045 78 3,360 6,898 2,287 4,500

1986 21,247 88 4,500 11,386 2,141 3,220

1996 20,978 79 3,286 12,730 1,669 3,293

1998 22,960 85 3,876 14,223 1,568 3,293

End use

Construction

Residential New

upkeep nonresiand dential PackagNew improve- construc- Manufac- ing and All

Year housing ments tion Total turing shipping otherc

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – Million sq. ft b – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

1962 2,530 1,400 890 4,820 1,580 225 1,342

1970 5,300 1,655 1,190 8,145 3,130 315 1,892

1976 7,180 2,190 1,305 10,675 4,585 195 1,590

1986 7,510 4,250 1,510 13,270 6,790 150 1,037

1996 3,860 3,185 1,180 8,225 9,900 110 2,743

1998 4,530 2,710 1,285 8,525 10,925 125 3,385

a Includes medium-density fiberboard.

b Square feet, 3/8-in basis.

c Includes upkeep and improvement of nonresidential buildings and structures; made-at-home projects,

such as furniture, boats, and picnic tables; made-on-the-job items such as advertising and display

structures; and a variety of miscellaneous products and uses.

Sources: Haynes 1990, Howard 2001, tables 6, 7, 9, 10, 13, and 14 of this report, and Forest Service

estimates.

Note: Product use by market has been rounded to the nearest 5 million square feet. Data may not add to

totals because of rounding.
59

Table 23—Nonstructural panel consumption, imports, exports, and production in the United States, by type, 1950-98

Consumption Imports Exports Production

Hard- Hard- Hard- Hardwood Par- Insul- wood Par- Insul- wood Par Insul- wood Par- Insulply- ticle Hard- ation ply- ticle Hard- ation ply- ticle Hard- ation ply- ticle Hard- ation

Year Total wood boarda board board Total wood boarda board board Total wood boarda board board Total wood boarda board board

 – – – – – – –– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – Million sq. ftb – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

1950 4,613 1,240 42 299 3,032 45 45 (c) (c) (c) 69 (c) (c) 6 63 4,637 1,195 42 305 3,095

1951 4,628 1,245 60 275 3,048 49 49 (c) (c) (c) 78 1 (c) 4 73 4,657 1,197 60 278 3,1211952 4,663 1,284 66 311 3,001 60 60 (c) (c) (c) 68 (c) (c) 6 61 4,670 1,224 66 318 3,0631953 5,140 1,382 84 405 3,269 155 155 (c) (c) (c) 69 1 (c) 4 64 5,054 1,228 84 409 3,3331954 5,468 1,421 96 418 3,533 397 306 (c) 23 68 74 1 (c) 5 68 5,168 1,116 96 422 3,5331955 6,444 1,795 140 510 3,999 567 442 (c) 37 88 84 2 (c) 6 76 5,975 1,355 140 494 3,9871956 6,574 1,844 222 530 3,979 649 498 (c) 52 99 91 1 (c) 6 84 6,032 1,347 222 499 3,9641957 6,268 1,773 366 565 3,564 716 597 (c) 55 64 79 1 (c) 6 72 5,634 1,177 366 519 3,5721958 6,778 1,792 500 614 3,872 775 643 (c) 53 79 60 2 (c) 6 52 6,061 1,151 500 564 3,8451959 7,792 2,281 592 722 4,197 1,131 938 (c) 97 96 59 3 (c) 5 51 6,764 1,346 592 674 4,1521960 6,894 1,815 536 735 3,808 858 715 (c) 83 60 57 2 (c) 6 49 6,079 1,102 536 643 3,7971961 7,254 2,029 652 795 3,777 855 727 (c) 94 33 64 3 (c) 5 56 6,475 1,305 652 718 3,8001962 7,967 2,405 816 903 3,843 1,064 891 (c) 121 52 64 2 (c) 6 56 6,994 1,516 816 815 3,8471963 8,706 2,617 994 1,017 4,079 1,178 935 2 148 93 75 1 (c) 7 67 7,630 1,683 992 903 4,0521964 9,753 2,950 1,280 1,094 4,429 1,354 1,040 4 161 149 81 2 (c) 10 69 8,493 1,912 1,276 956 4,3491965 10,408 3,090 1,664 1,127 4,527 1,346 1,047 8 191 100 69 6 (c) 7 56 9,161 2,049 1,656 974 4,4831966 10,726 3,322 2,065 1,208 4,131 1,498 1,254 2 153 89 83 8 (c) 11 64 9,272 2,076 2,063 1,028 4,1051967 10,950 3,152 2,331 1,156 4,311 1,490 1,244 2 152 92 82 8 4 10 60 9,540 1,916 2,333 1,013 4,2791968 12,934 3,881 2,978 1,375 4,700 2,221 1,886 2 208 125 99 14 12 13 60 10,868 2,009 2,988 1,237 4,6351969 14,031 3,960 3,589 1,607 4,875 2,493 2,107 24 231 131 146 16 28 16 87 11,708 1,869 3,593 1,416 4,8311970 13,482 3,785 3,702 1,667 4,328 2,341 2,047 6 151 137 171 58 20 26 68 11,232 1,796 3,716 1,461 4,2591971 16,477 4,451 4,976 1,865 5,185 2,922 2,542 16 210 153 169 15 40 28 87 13,784 1,924 5,000 1,742 5,1191972 18,976 5,160 6,409 2,109 5,297 3,699 3,156 28 353 161 238 26 90 34 88 15,658 2,030 6,471 1,933 5,2241973 19,069 4,294 7,148 2,326 5,300 3,097 2,527 34 349 187 343 40 154 44 105 16,311 1,807 7,268 2,017 5,2191974 15,813 2,977 6,325 2,175 4,336 2,000 1,644 14 246 96 488 68 226 58 136 14,199 1,401 6,537 1,885 4,3761975 14,182 2,902 5,300 2,087 3,892 2,086 1,918 32 88 48 391 68 168 53 103 12,328 1,052 5,436 1,894 3,9471976 17,045 3,360 6,898 2,287 4,500 2,698 2,356 120 162 60 404 79 160 62 103 14,825 1,083 6,938 2,262 4,5431977 18,903 3,371 8,210 2,675 4,647 2,921 2,254 316 208 143 366 70 126 58 112 16,394 1,187 8,020 2,571 4,6161978 19,784 3,647 8,720 2,791 4,627 3,364 2,492 386 301 185 319 30 122 26 141 16,832 1,185 8,456 2,608 4,5831979 18,593 3,191 8,040 2,830 4,532 2,973 2,070 442 277 184 296 29 168 34 65 15,892 1,150 7,766 2,563 4,4131980 15,450 2,196 7,202 2,295 3,757 2,031 1,198 528 172 133 363 40 212 29 83 13,677 1,038 6,886 2,047 3,7071981 14,428 2,411 7,044 2,150 2,824 2,318 1,482 508 189 139 485 47 234 57 147 12,613 976 6,770 2,035 2,832
60

Table 23—Nonstructural panel consumption, imports, exports, and production in the United States, by type, 1950-98 (continued)

Consumption Imports Exports Production

Hard- Hard- Hard- Hardwood Par- Insul- wood Par- Insul- wood Par Insul- wood Par- Insulply- ticle Hard- ation ply- ticle Hard- ation ply- ticle Hard- ation ply- ticle Hard- ation

Year Total wood boarda board board Total wood boarda board board Total wood boarda board board Total wood boarda board board

 – – – – – – –– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – Million sq. ftb – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

1982 14,832 3,213 7,128 2,036 2,455 3,711 1,869 1,532 153 157 228 41 82 16 89 11,312 1,385 5,678 1,862 2,3871983 19,052 4,168 9,120 2,567 3,197 5,228 2,729 1,988 239 272 266 41 94 20 111 14,176 1,480 7,226 2,434 3,0361984 20,315 3,948 10,214 2,497 3,656 5,792 2,480 2,662 269 381 285 37 108 21 119 14,837 1,505 7,660 2,279 3,3931985 20,877 4,356 10,584 2,305 3,632 6,446 3,058 2,670 261 457 333 44 118 64 107 14,755 1,342 8,032 2,100 3,2811986 21,247 4,500 11,386 2,141 3,220 6,697 3,171 2,790 285 451 450 61 172 61 156 15,024 1,390 8,768 1,941 2,9251987 22,550 5,268 12,084 2,015 3,184 7,545 3,803 3,100 277 364 545 60 226 90 169 15,543 1,524 9,210 1,819 2,9891988 22,340 4,711 12,478 1,876 3,276 7,168 3,262 3,268 211 427 808 104 326 107 271 15,914 1,552 9,536 1,706 3,1201989 18,492 3,356 9,840 1,801 3,495 3,485 1,935 850 239 461 1,167 119 666 142 240 16,202 1,541 9,656 1,732 3,2731990 17,562 3,033 9,492 1,730 3,307 2,991 1,649 726 230 387 1,316 153 746 184 233 15,877 1,537 9,512 1,675 3,1531991 16,772 2,695 9,308 1,659 3,109 2,472 1,429 586 190 267 1,425 231 738 202 255 15,685 1,496 9,460 1,632 3,0971992 17,895 2,834 10,114 1,669 3,277 3,143 1,729 810 190 413 1,671 318 788 279 287 16,423 1,423 10,092 1,758 3,1511993 19,181 2,989 11,312 1,634 3,247 3,482 1,745 1,144 213 380 1,487 268 636 306 277 17,208 1,511 10,804 1,749 3,1441994 20,590 3,203 12,542 1,552 3,293 3,975 1,646 1,550 373 407 1,461 244 594 397 227 18,236 1,801 11,586 1,735 3,1131995 19,990 3,483 11,656 1,557 3,293 4,362 1,892 1,680 384 407 1,574 250 638 459 227 17,213 1,842 10,614 1,643 3,1131996 20,978 3,286 12,730 1,669 3,293 4,124 1,695 1,628 394 407 1,261 251 308 475 227 18,125 1,842 11,410 1,760 3,1131997 21,734 3,584 13,382 1,475 3,293 4,775 2,007 1,927 435 407 1,277 254 377 420 227 18,277 1,831 11,832 1,500 3,1131998 22,960 3,876 14,223 1,568 3,293 5,586 2,250 2,505 424 407 992 206 270 290 227 18,366 1,831 11,988 1,433 3,113

a Includes medium-density fiberboard.b Square feet, 3/8-in basis.c Less than 500,000 square feet.

Sources: Ulrich 1989 and Howard 2001.Note: Data may not add to totals because of rounding.
61

Figure 21—Nonstructural panel consumption, by panel type and per capita, 1950-98.

Figure 22—Nonstructural panel consumption, by major end use, selected years 1962-98.
62

Particleboard consumption in 1998 was 14.2 billion square feet, 62 percent of all

nonstructural panels consumed, and a new record high level of consumption (table 23).

Hardwood plywood consumption was second highest at 3.9 billion square feet, followed

by insulation board and hardboard. Consumption of each nonstructural panel type increased fairly rapidly between 1950 and 1965. Particleboard consumption continued to

grow through 1988, while other nonstructural panels consumption tended to level off or

decline. Since 1988, consumption of each nonstructural panel type has been fairly constant, with only particleboard showing any real upward tendency.

Trade—The United States is a net importer of nonstructural panels. In 1998, imports

totaled 5.6 billion square feet, exceeding exports by 4.6 billion square feet (table 23).

Imports of hardwood plywood and particleboard were nearly equal in 1998 at 2.3 and

2.5 billion square feet, respectively. Imports of hardboard and insulation board were

also equal at 0.4 billion square feet. Exports of nonstructural panels totaled just under

1.0 billion square feet in 1998, below the 1990s decade average of nearly 1.4 billion

square feet. Total exports in 1998 were nearly equally divided among all nonstructural

panel types.

Production—Total nonstructural panel production in 1998 was about 18.4 billion

square feet, a new record (table 23). Long-term nonstructural panel production has

tended upward, primarily owing to rising particleboard production, and more recently

hardwood plywood production. In 1998, particleboard accounted for just over 65 percent of all nonstructural panels production, insulation board for 17 percent, hardwood

plywood 10 percent, and hardboard just 8 percent.

Consumption—Engineered wood products are composite wood products designed to

substitute directly for dimension lumber in many building and structural applications.

Included in this group of products are prefabricated wood I-joists, glulam timbers, and

structural composite lumber (see table 1 for specific types of SCL). Some of these

products have been available for 20 or more years; some are fairly recent developments. It has been in the past 10 years or so that engineered wood products have begun to make important inroads into traditional lumber markets. The lumber used to

produce glulam timbers, and used for wood I-joist flanges is included with the lumber

consumption and production data in table 19; the OSB and softwood plywood used to

produce wood I-joist webs are included with the structural panel consumption and production data in table 21. Laminated veneer lumber is the only SCL product for which

production or consumption data are currently available, and although LVL is made from

laminated veneers similar to softwood plywood, its production and consumption are not

included with the structural panel data in table 21. No production or consumption data

for PSL or OSL are available.

Engineered wood products are relatively new products and occur at fairly low levels of

use compared to lumber and panel products. Because of these low levels of use, consumption estimates in specific end-use markets are difficult to make precisely. The

estimates of engineered wood products consumption reported earlier in this report for

new residential construction, residential upkeep and improvements, and new nonresidential construction probably overstated actual consumption in both 1996 and 1998.

They should be viewed as relative measures of use of these emerging wood products,

not absolute levels of use. Consumption estimates in this section of the report are

based on reported levels of production and trade by APA-The Engineered Wood Association (Adair 2000), and are better, more reliable estimates of overall levels of engineered wood products consumption.

Engineered Wood

Products
63

In 1998, about 40 million cubic feet of LVL, 267 million board feet of glulam timbers,

and 624 million linear feet of wood I-joists were consumed in the United States (fig. 23,

table 24). These amounts represent percentage increases of 33, 13, and 40 percent,

respectively, over 1996, and are record high levels of consumption for both LVL and

wood I-joists. In addition to the LVL, sizeable amounts of other structural composite

lumber products (PSL and OSL) also were consumed in 1998, and were estimated to

be about 50 percent of LVL consumption. During the 1990s, LVL increased at an average rate of more than 12 percent per year, while wood I-joist consumption increased by

nearly 23 percent per year. Glulam timbers consumption fluctuated during the 1990s

ranging from a low of about 230 million board feet in 1995 to a high of 320 million board

feet in 1990. The record high level of consumption of glulam timbers was 330 million

board feet in 1986. Expectations are for increasing levels of consumption for all engineered wood products (Adair 2000).

Trade—Information on the international trade of engineered wood products is limited,

partially because many of the newer products do not yet have established foreign markets. Nearly all of the trade in LVL (and other SCL products) and wood I-joists is between the United States and Canada. Nearly all imports of glulam timbers to the United

States are from Canada, whereas nearly all glulam timber exports are to Asian markets. Net foreign trade (imports minus exports) in engineered wood products is small

compared to total consumption. In 1998, net foreign trade amounted to 2 percent for

LVL and 1 percent for wood I-joists. Glulam timbers was probably somewhat higher at

about 3 to 4 percent.

Production—In 1998, 41 million cubic feet of LVL, 286 million board feet of glulam

timbers, and 619 million linear feet of wood I-joists were produced in the United States

(table 24). Production of LVL and wood I-joists were substantially higher than in 1996,

and in 1998 were at all-time record high levels of production. Glulam timber production

fell by 23 million board feet between 1996 and 1998, and was 44 million board feet

below the record high level of production set in 1986. With net foreign trade being small

for engineered wood products, consumption and production trends are nearly identical.

In 1998, wood energy consumption in the United States was about 2.4 quadrillion (1015)

BTU’s (Quad), or about 2.5 percent of the total 97 Quad consumed (table 25). Wood

energy comes from several wood-derived fuels-roundwood from forests used directly

for fuel, wood and bark residue from primary and secondary wood products processing,

black liquor from pulping, and wood waste from construction and demolition. In 1996,

about 23 percent of wood-derived fuels was roundwood, 38 percent was mill and other

wood waste, and 39 percent was black liquor. These fuels were used in four main sectors: residential heating, the forest products and other industry, commercial buildings,

and electric power generation plants. In 1998, about 18 percent of wood energy was

used in residential heating, 80 percent by industry, and 2 percent in commercial buildings and electric utilities (fig. 24). Wood energy makes a direct demand on forest resources through roundwood use. But only a portion of roundwood (about 35 percent)

currently comes from growing stock on timberland, which is the predominant source for

pulpwood and sawlogs. The share of wood energy coming from roundwood increased

sharply in the late 1970s through the mid-1980s when fossil fuel prices rose sharply,

but has decreased since the mid-1980s with the drop in fossil fuel prices.

Fuelwood

Consumption

and Production
64

Table 24—Engineered wood products consumption, imports, exports, and production in the United States,

1980-98

Consumption Imports Exports Production

Lami- Lami- Lami- Laminated nated nated nated

veneer Glulam Wood veneer Glulam Wood veneer Glulam Wood veneer Glulam Wood

Year lumber timbers I-joists lumber timbers I-joists lumber timbers I-joists lumber timbers I-joists

Million Million Million Million Million Million Million Million Million Million Million Million

cf a bd. ft lf b cf a bd. ft lf b cf a bd. ft lf b cf a bd. ft lf b

1980 3.0 204.4 45.0 (c) (c) (c) (c) (c) (c) 3.0 204.4 45.0

1981 4.0 190.0 45.0 (c) (c) (c) (c) (c) (c) 4.0 190.0 45.0

1982 4.0 164.3 54.0 (c) (c) (c) (c) (c) (c) 4.0 164.3 54.0

1983 5.0 192.0 63.0 (c

) (c) (c) (c) (c) (c) 5.0 192.0 63.0

1984 5.0 229.2 72.0 (c

) (c) (c) (c) (c) (c) 5.0 229.2 72.0

1985 7.0 246.4 90.0 (c) (c) (c) (c) (c) (c) 7.0 246.4 90.0

1986 8.0 330.4 99.0 (c

) (c) (c) (c) (c) (c) 8.0 330.4 99.0

1987 9.0 278.9 108.0 (c) (c) (c) (c) (c) (c) 9.0 278.9 108.0

1988 11.0 298.0 108.0 (c) (c) (c) (c) (c) (c) 11.0 298.0 108.0

1989 12.0 321.8 117.0 (c

) (c) (c) (c) (c) (c) 12.0 321.8 117.0

1990 16.0 323.7 121.5 (c) (c) (c) (c) (c) (c) 16.0 323.7 121.5

1991 16.0 264.5 157.5 (c

) (c) (c) (c) (c) (c) 16.0 264.5 157.5

1992 16.8 257.9 252.0 (c) (c) (c) (c) (c) (c) 16.8 257.9 252.0

1993 20.8 238.8 358.2 (c) (c) (c) (c) (c) (c) 20.8 238.8 358.2

1994 22.5 263.6 379.8 (c

) (c) (c) (c) (c) (c) 22.5 263.6 379.8

1995 26.5 231.7 358.8 0.5 (c) 1.9 1.1 50.0 1.1 27.1 281.7 358.0

1996 30.1 236.0 445.0 .6 (c

) 2.4 1.2 73.0 1.3 30.8 309.0 444.0

1997 35.9 256.0 549.2 .7 (c) 3.8 1.5 44.0 1.6 36.7 300.0 547.0

1998 40.1 267.0 624.3 .8 (c) 7.1 1.6 19.0 1.9 41.0 286.0 619.0

a Cubic feet.

b Linear feet.

c Not available.

Source: Adair 2000, Howard 2001, and Forest Service estimates.
65

Figure 23—Engineered wood products consumption, by type, 1980-98.

Table 25—Wood and black liquor fuel consumption in the United States, 1977-98

Year

Sector 1977 1983 1986 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998

 – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – Quadrillion BTUs – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Roundwood and mill residue 1.92 1.50 1.79

Black liquor .81 .82 .90 .97 1.02 1.04 1.04 1.09 1.09 1.14

Total 2.74 2.52 2.78

Dept. of Energy total 1.84 2.64 2.65 2.16 2.15 2.25 2.23 2.31 2.42 2.47 2.35 2.39

Sources: Roundwood and mill residue: 1983: See source note table 34 in Haynes 1990; 1991: Energy Information Administration 1994; Black

liquor: 1977 to 1994: American Forest & Paper Association 1996, 1999. Department of Energy total: 1977: USDE Energy Information

Administration 1982; 1983 to 1998 except 1986: USDE Energy Information Administration 1998a, 1998b, 1999a; 1986: USDE Office of Policy

Planning and Analysis 1988.
66

4

 Fraction of wood fuel from round wood in 1986 = 3.1

billion cubic feet/(4 billion cubic feet per Quad) 2.65

Quad = .29 (tables 25 and 27)

Figure 24—Wood energy consumption, by sector, 1955-98.

Total wood energy consumption in 1998, 2.4 Quad, was lower than the recent peak

level of 2.6 to 2.7 Quad, which probably occurred in 1984 or 1985 (table 25). Residential fuelwood use, and industrial use of mill waste and black liquor, grew 8 percent per

year and 3 percent per year, respectively, between 1973 and 1985 (fig. 24). Together

they made up more than 99.6 percent of wood-derived fuel use in 1985. Use in the

residential sector declined after 1984 with declines in fossil fuel prices while industrial

use declined briefly then increased. Average deflated residential fuel prices decreased

between 1984 and 1986—27 percent for heating oil, 9.5 percent for natural gas, and

1.6 percent for electricity (fig. 25).

Roundwood use for fuel has been declining since 1984 both in absolute terms, and as

a share of total wood-derived fuel. In 1986, roundwood use, primarily used by households, was about 29 percent of total wood energy use.4

 By 1996, roundwood provided

about 23 percent of total wood energy (0.57 of 2.78 Quad). As the largest portion of

roundwood use, household consumption dropped from 3.9 billion cubic feet in 1984 to

3.4 billion in 1987, to 2.3 billion in 1990, and to 1.7 billion in 1997 as estimated by the

USDE Residential Consumption Survey (tables 26 and 27, fig. 26).

Less than half of the roundwood used for fuel (35 percent) comes from the merchantable stem portion of growing stock trees on timberland. Most comes from other

sources—tops, branches, and trees of nonmerchantable species or trees not on timberland (table 27). As households (the major users of roundwood for fuel) increased

their use in the 1970s and 1980s, they sought out nongrowing stock sources much

more than growing stock sources. Between 1970 and 1986, the portion of fuelwood

from nongrowing stock increased by a factor of 10 while the portion from growing stock
67

Figure 25—Residential prices for electricity, fuel oil, and natural gas, 1975-96.

Table 26—Roundwood and wood and bark residue consumed for energy production in the United States, by

end user, 1972-97

Year

Sector 1972 1976 1983 1986 1990 1991 1992 1993 1995 1996 1997

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – Million cf a – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Residential 3,722 2,304 2,170 1,695

Wood products industry 1,650 1,024

Pulp and paper industry:

Hog wood 160 281 785 932 911 888 887 814 773

Bark 318 323 419 472 462 512 527 571 552

Total 478 604 1,204 1,404 1,373 1,400 1,414 1,385 1,325 1,350 1,381

Nonforest products industry 184 171

Commercial buildings 80 107 157 161 175 150

Utilities 32 43 36 39 39 39 43 39

Total 6,872 5,022

a

 Cubic feet.

Conversion factors: 17.2 million BTU per ton; 32.6 cubic feet per lb.; 79.2 cubic feet per cord.

Sources: Residential: See source note table 27. Wood products industry: 1983: Goetzl and Tatum 1983; 1990: USDE Energy Information

Administration 1994; Pulp and paper industry: 1972-95: American Forest & Paper Association 1996, 1999; Nonwood products industry,

commercial buildings, and utilities: 1983: USDE Energy Information Administration 1984, 1990: USDE Energy Information Administration

1994; Commercial buildings, utilities: 1991-93: USDE Energy Information Administration 1995b; 1994-97: USDE Energy Information

Administration 1999a.
68

Table 27— Wood energy production and consumption in the United States, by wood source and end user,

1952-97

Year

Sector 1952 1962 1970 1976 1980 1984 1986 1987 1990 1991 1993 1996 1997

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – Million cf a – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Production of roundwood

for all users:

Merchantable stem

of growing stock

trees on timberland 965 517 311 334 798 848 799

Other trees/sources 1,042 606 227 267 2,316 2,339 1,484

Total 2,008 1,123 538 601 3,114 3,187 2,283

Consumption of roundwood

and mill residue in homesb:

Merchantable stem

of growing stock

trees on timberland 559

Other trees/sources 2,544

Mill residue 223

Totalb 3,597 2,240 1,603 1,926 3,326 3,881 3,382 2,304 2,170 1,695

Mill residue used for fuel

wood residue

excluding bark 2,486 900 727 752 1,400 2,518 2,131

a Cubic feet.

b Volume in cords times 79.2 cubic feet per cord.

Sources: Production and mill residue: 1952: USDA Forest Service 1958; 1962: USDA Forest Service 1965; 1970: USDA Forest Service 1973;

1976: USDA Forest Service 1982; 1986: Waddell et al. 1989; 1991: Powell et al. 1993.

Consumption in homes: 1952 to 1976: USDE 1982; 1980: Skog and Watterson 1986; 1984: USDE Energy Information Administration 1986;

1987: USDE Energy Information Administration 1989; 1990: USDE Energy Information Administration 1993; 1993: USDE Energy Information

Administration 1995a; 1997: USDE Energy Information Administration 1999b.
69

Figure 26—Production of roundwood for fuel, and consumption of roundwood and residue by

households for fuel, 1952-97.

increased by a factor of 2.5 (table 27). While roundwood use for fuel increased from

1970 to 1984 then declined (table 27, use in homes), mill residue for fuel increased

from 0.72 billion cubic feet in 1970 to 1.4 billion cubic feet in 1986, to 2.52 billion cubic

feet in 1991, but has declined to 2.13 billion cubic feet in 1996 (table 27).

The USDA Forest Service estimates suggest roundwood production for fuel (harvest)

was almost constant between 1986 and 1991, at 3.1 and 3.2 billion cubic feet, respectively, and declined to 2.3 billion cubic feet in 1996. The 1991 and 1996 Forest Service

estimates may be too high if lower USDE survey estimates of household consumption

are correct. The USDE estimates that roundwood and residue consumption by households decreased substantially between 1984 and 1997, from 3.9 to 1.7 billion cubic feet

(fig. 26). For both the Forest Service and USDE estimates to be correct, a substantial

amount of roundwood fuelwood use was shifted from households to other users between 1986 and 1997. But this is not likely given the estimate that industry only used

0.8 million cubic feet of roundwood for fuel in 1994. Most wood energy for industry is

from mill residue and black liquor. If almost all roundwood used for fuel still goes for

household burning, then the 1991 and 1997 Forest Service production estimates are

too high.

Before 1986, USDE household consumption estimates are higher than Forest Service

roundwood production estimates (fig. 26). Department of Energy estimates could be

higher than Forest Service estimates because (1) they include fuelwood taken from

land, such as cities, not included in the Forest Service estimates before 1986, (2) they

include some mill residue used for fuel by households, and (3) we have used somewhat high conversion factors to convert USDE cord and tonnage estimates to cubic

feet.
70

In addition to the solid wood products described above, various other industrial roundwood products are consumed in the United States each year, including cooperage logs,

poles and pilings, fence posts, hewn ties, round mine timbers, box bolts, excelsior

bolts, shingle bolts, and other miscellaneous items. In 1998, 485 million cubic feet of

these other timber products were consumed in the United States (table 28). This was

15 million cubic feet below consumption in 1996, and 60 million cubic feet below the

1990s average of 545 million cubic feet. Average other timber products consumption in

the 1990s was about the same as that in the mid-1960s, but below the 1950s, and especially below the early 1900s when consumption exceeded 2,000 million cubic feet

per year. Nearly 60 percent of total consumption was from softwood species in 1998.

International trade in these products is small, making consumption roughly equal to

production.

Definitive data on the amounts of specific other timber products produced annually are

not available. Many products, however, are treated with preservatives to help resist

fungal and insect damage. Amounts of these treated products give some insights into

the relative amounts of individual products produced. About 43 percent of the other

timber products produced annually in the United States were treated with preservatives

in the 1990s (Howard 2001). This was up from the 1980s when treated wood accounted for about a third of all other timber products.

Poles, pilings, and larger timbers used for construction and maintenance of utility lines

and other structures, and for construction of docks, bridges, and buildings accounted

for 35 percent and 25 percent of all treated other timber products, respectively. Their

combined use was down from the 1980s when these products accounted for about

75 percent of all treated other products. Fence and other smaller round and split posts

for farm and residential fencing and other purposes accounted for about 10 percent of

all treated other products. During the 1980s and 1990s, posts averaged about 8 percent of all treated other timber products. Other treated products, including crossarms,

landscape timbers, highway posts and guardrails, mine ties and timbers, crossing

planks and other products accounted for the remaining treated other timber products.

This category of products increased from about 18 percent of all treated other products

in the 1980s but has remained fairly constant at around 30 percent in the 1990s.

Over the past decades, many improvements have been made in the processing efficiency of converting timber harvested from the Nation’s forests into wood products.

Much of the impetus for these improvements has been from generally rising long-term

timber stumpage prices and the changing nature of the timber resource. Improvements

include more efficient and complete use of logs at the mill; new technologies, which

increase product yield per unit of wood input; and development of new wood products,

which require less wood per unit of output than traditional wood products. Examples

include the increased use of slabs, edgings, sawdust, veneer cores, shavings, and

other wood processing byproducts for pulp, particleboard, and similar products. In addition, there is the development of thinner saws, computer-controlled head rigs, and innovations such as best opening face in the lumber industry; powered back-up rolls,

spindle-less lathes, and automated handling systems in the plywood industry, and the

development of LVL, OSL, PSL, and wood I-joists to replace solid sawn lumber. These

developments have all substantially increased timber conversion efficiency by increasing product yield per unit of wood input and have helped offset reductions in timber

supplies from national forests, and a general decline in overall timber size and quality.

Other Industrial

Timber Products

Consumption

Improvements in

Utilization
71

Table 28—Other industrial timber products consumption, 1950-98a

Year Total Softwood Hardwood Year Total Softwood Hardwood

– – – – – Million cf b c – – – – – – – – – – Million cf b c – – – – –

1950 770 360 410 1975 385 235 150

1951 730 340 390 1976 380 240 140

1952 695 325 370 1977 385 240 145

1953 675 320 355 1978 395 240 155

1954 655 310 345 1979 410 245 165

1955 630 300 330 1980 415 245 170

1956 605 295 310 1981 425 245 180

1957 580 285 295 1982 435 248 187

1958 560 275 285 1983 445 249 196

1959 535 270 265 1984 455 250 205

1960 510 255 255 1985 465 256 209

1961 490 250 240 1986 476 257 219

1962 465 240 225 1987 495 277 218

1963 515 270 245 1988 510 270 240

1964 540 285 255 1989 555 294 261

1965 560 300 260 1990 562 298 264

1966 565 310 255 1991 551 292 259

1967 515 285 230 1992 610 323 287

1968 485 265 220 1993 621 329 292

1969 455 250 205 1994 576 305 271

1970 425 230 195 1995 513 272 241

1971 415 230 185 1996 500 265 235

1972 405 230 175 1997 485 257 228

1973 405 235 170 1998 485 257 228

1974 395 235 160

a Includes cooperage logs, poles and piling, fence posts, hewn ties, round mine timbers, box bolts,

excelsior bolts, chemical wood, shingle bolts, and miscellaneous items.

b Roundwood equivalent.

c

 Cubic feet.

Source: Ulrich 1989, Howard 2001.
72

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OCTOBER 2002