Softwood Sawmills in the United States and Canada

United States Department of Agriculture Profile 2001: Forest Service Forest Softwood Sawmills Products Laboratory in the United States Research Paper FPL−RP−594 and Canada Henry Spelter Tim McKeever Abstract Preface More than 1,200 sawmills produce the bulk of U.S. and This report updates Profile 1999: Softwood Sawmills in the Canadian softwood lumber. The maps and tables in this United States and Canada, which was published in October report show the location and size of these mills by State and 1999. Profile 2001 provides current information on the more Province. Analysis of timber inventories in relation to use than 1,200 sawmills in the United States and Canada that are shows a close correspondence between pricing and use primarily engaged in the sawing of softwood lumber. The intensity. In some Southern States, the intensity of use is mills are characterized by location, ownership, and approxi- approaching recent growth levels. Lumber capacity grew by mate capacity. 13% between 1995 and 2000. The fastest growth occurred in some Canadian regions, while the least growth took place in A data gathering effort of this size on an activity of private the western parts of the United States and Canada. In 2001, commerce so widely dispersed in ownership and geography capacity appears headed for a decline as at least 18 sawmills is virtually impossible to accomplish error-free. We are closed as a result of poor market conditions. indebted to many individuals for bringing to our attention outdated or incorrect data and informing us of changes that Keywords: softwood sawmill capacity, timber costs, Market have occurred since the original report. This version incor- Review and Outlook porates those contributions as well as data on changes in sawmill ownerships resulting from mergers, expansions, new constructions, and permanent closures. We believe we have an accurate tally of the most significant operations, but the possibility remains that data for some mills are outdated. We continue to invite readers to submit corrections if their facilities have been omitted or misrepresented. Inquiries can be e-mailed to Henry Spelter ([email protected]). The original idea for this project was conceived by David McKeever of the Forest Products Laboratory, who initially attempted to assemble data on sawmills. Steven Bean of the Southern Forest Products Association jumpstarted the work by providing lists of active southern softwood mills. Much of the remaining information was obtained from directories of wood-using industries published by regional U.S. and Canadian forestry departments. Additional sources for data on sawmill size and ownership were the Directory of the Wood Using Industries (Miller Freeman 2000), the Big Book (Random Lengths Publications, Inc. 2000), Madison’s March 2001 Canadian Lumber Directory (Madison’s Canadian Lumber Spelter, Henry; McKeever, Tim. 2001. Profile 2001: Softwood sawmills in Reporter 2000), and annual sawmill listings compiled by the the United States and Canada. Res. Pap. FPL-RP-594. Madison, WI: U.S. trade journals Timber Processing and Southern Lumberman. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory. Company press releases and Security and Exchange Corpo- 73 p. ration (SEC) filings were also key sources. Internet web sites A limited number of free copies of this publication are available to the provided us with new, previously unavailable data on plant public from the Forest Products Laboratory, One Gifford Pinchot Drive, capacities and timber inventories. Finally, we are grateful to Madison, WI 53705–2398. Laboratory publications are sent to hundreds the many individuals who patiently answered our enquiries of libraries in the United States and elsewhere. when we contacted them to fill in gaps in our data. The Forest Products Laboratory is maintained in cooperation with the University of Wisconsin. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, or marital or familial status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact the USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720–2600 (voice and TDD). To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Wash- ington, DC 20250–9410, or call (202) 720–5964 (voice and TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. Profile 2001: Softwood Sawmills in the United States and Canada Henry Spelter, Economist Tim McKeever, Economics Assistant Forest Products Laboratory, Madison, Wisconsin Introduction The following text describes the data, the methods used to obtain them, and recent events that affected industry capacity This report provides an overview of the size, geographic from 1995 to 2001. dispersion, ownership, and capacity of the softwood lumber industry in America and Canada from 1995 to 2001. Data Among the major industrial groups, the softwood lumber The core of this report is a listing of sawmill by location and industry is one of the most disaggregated. As of January capacity for the years 1995 to 2001, which appears in the 2001, more than 1,200 sawmills in the United States and Appendix. These data were obtained from a diverse set of Canada concentrate exclusively, or at least in large part, on sources, as described in the preface. Much of the challenge producing softwood lumber. There are other softwood lum- in compiling this list revolved around expressing the data in ber sawmills, but they are too small to make a significant comparable units of measurement. Unfortunately, there is no difference to the overall output and size of the industry. general pattern of operation in sawmilling. Most large mills Thus, this report focuses on large permanent operations that operate on a two shifts per day basis, but some run three make up the bulk of the industry. Table 1 summarizes the shifts and many others make use of only one, often because capacity and production of these plants. of timber unavailability, lack of skilled labor, or other con- Additionally, for the States and Provinces, information is straints. Shifts also range from the standard 8 h per day to provided on the capacity and production of panel and pulp- 9 or 10 h and often vary as a result of market conditions. The ing operations. Adding these data to the lumber production capacity data reported here reflect the normal historical figures provides a rough estimate of timber drain. This can mode of operation of sawmills. Thus, in many cases the be contrasted with timber inventory estimates to gauge the physical potential of the mills could theoretically be higher. relative physical scarcity or abundance of softwood in a Mills in the United States report their capacities in board given region. For the United States only, inventories of feet. In this report, board feet have been converted to cubic softwood timber within counties are indicated by shaded meters using the international convention of 2.36 m3 per backgrounds on the mill distribution maps using the latest thousand board feet. This conversion can be misleading USDA Forest Service timber inventory data. This allows because the actual dimensions of many lumber items are for a visual assessment of timber abundance relative to the smaller than their nominal sizes. In such cases, the true cubic plants that utilize the timber. volume conversion of nominal board feet to cubic meters is substantially less (1.5 to 1.7 compared with 2.36). Thus, the metric capacities reported will tend to overstate actual physical volumes. However, for purposes of estimating capacity Table 1—Summary of capacity and production of U.S. and utilization rates, where production is compared to capacity, Canadian softwood lumber sawmills from 1995 to 2001 this is of no consequence because the errors cancel. Capacity To check the accuracy of our capacity estimates for States Mills Capacity Production utilization Year (no.) (×106 m3) (×106 m3) (%) and Provinces that were built up from the capacities of the individual mills, we compared the totals with lumber produc- 1995 1,263 149 135 91 tion data reported by the U. S. Bureau of the Census, Statis- 1996 1,263 152 140 92 tics Canada, and the Western Wood Products Association. In about 90% of the cases, these numbers fell within 15% 1997 1,251 157 146 93 of each other. 1998 1,244 162 147 91 1999 1,232 167 155 93 This report also contains typical sawtimber prices across regions. Again, placing these on a comparable footing was 2000 1,229 168 153 91 an issue. In the United States, sawtimber prices are generally 2001 1,215 166 — — reported per board foot, log scale. Because a variety of log scales are used, we converted board feet to cubic meters increment but for all lumber. This generally happened during using the following conventions. the first 4 years of the agreement because a strong economy resulted in robust lumber demands. Where prices were reported in terms of the Scribner log rule, long log basis, as is the case on the West Coast, we used a The price of Canadian spruce dimension lumber, around conversion factor of 5.3 m3 per thousand board feet. Where $250 in 1995, rose substantially in the first year of the log prices were reported in the Scribner scale, short log agreement to more than $350, and stayed the same in 1997. basis, as is the case in most of the South and Interior West, By 1998, the markets had adjusted somewhat and the price we converted those values on the basis of 4.7 m3, reflecting retreated to about $290. In 1999, however, under the impact the greater accuracy of the scale resulting from less omission of a continued strong construction market, the price re- of taper-related volume.

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