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UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE I BULLETIN No. 768 Cunlr&ctiun lorn tbs &rest 8em-h HENBY S. OBAVE". Eomster Wasblngion, D. C. PROFESSIONAL PAPER April 6, 1919 PRODUCTION OF LUMBER, LATH, AND SHINGLES M 1917 FBANIUIN H. SMITH and ALBERT EL PIERSON Statisticians in Forest Products Lnnberrrodnruo. by llnmolnllll. S Lumber Vhes .......... a8 Ln~berPrdntUon b? 91alel ..... 12 Dcwed Smmrnar? .........PS ~Prdocfl~b~~dWood. IS I *kpt.LmmbProdmctlm. ..... 42 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE BULLETIN No. 768 Contribotion from the Farest senice HENUY 9. GRAVES. Forester Washington, D. C. PROFESSIONAL PAPER April 5, 1919 PRODUCTION OF LUMBER, LATH, AND SHINGLES IN 1917. By FUANKLINH. SXITE and ALBERTH. PIERSON,Statisticians in Fwest Products. CONTENTS. Page. Lumbr production by kinds of ~vood-Con. Yellow pine.. ........................... Douelasfir.. ............................ Oak. .................................... mte pine .............................. Hemlook.. .............................. WestemgeUow pine.. .................. BaWfir............................... 33 spruce.. ................................ Walnut ................................. 34 cypress.. ............................... Sgmmore............................... 34 Maole. .................................. Lodge~olepine. ......................... 35 gum..... 23 ~OGpeci 35 Redwood ................................ 24 Produo~ionofl 36 Birch.. ............................. -. 24 Production 01 sh 87 chestnut ........................ .. 26 Lumbr values. 38 La&.. ................................. 25 Detailedsummary.. ........................ 39 Yellow poplar.. ......................... 26 Alashiumber production ................... 42 INTRODUCTION. In this bulletin, which is one of an annual series covering the period 1904 to 1917, inclusive, with the exception of 1914,' are detailed statistics of the 1917 production of lumber, lath, and shingles in the continental United state^,^ with comparative fignres- from previous annual reports. The collection and compilation of the statistics for the Western States was done through the district offices of the Forest Service at Missoqla, Denver, Albuquerque, Ogden, San Francisco, and Port- land. The figures for New York State were furnished by the New York Conservation Commission. The work in all of the other States east of the Rocky Mountains was done by the Office of Industrial Investigations of the Forest Service, Washigtoh, D. C.a I A detailed summary of the 1914 lumber produotion is givenin Bulletin 606, whihoontsins the figures for 1915. n he produotion statistios for 1917 were summariee$in a prelbin?rg statement issued in May, 1918. s Ao~mledgmentismadeforssristzneein the compltstionandrevrewaftbir bulletin to*. B. Strough. New York Cornvation Commission;and to J. E. Kesoh, Miss Ina M. Jenkins, Miss bets R. Waters, mbissFranwsVeiteh, D.M. Law, Quinoy Randles, E. E.Hall,C. L. Hill. MissllieeM. Dray, Thornton T. Munger,.and A. G. Jaeksm, ofthe Forest Service. 64767D-19-Bui1.768-1 2 BULLETIN 768, U. S. DEPARTXENT OF AGRICULTURE. As in former years the census was carried on in cooperation with the National Lumber Manufacturers' Association, which contributed hancial assistance, and aided, through its affiliated organizations, in securing reports from the mills. TOTAL LUMBER PRODUCTION. The quantity of lumber reported cut in 1917 by 16,420 mills was 33,192,911,000 board feet. The output of 2,652 mills cutting less than 50,000 board feet each is not included in the reported cut. An additional 2,470 mills were reported idle. The estimated total lum- ber production in 1917 was 36,000,000,000 board feet. The reported cut shows a decrease of 4.6 per cent from the 1916 figures; the num- ber of mills reporting, a decrease of 4 9 per cent; and the estimated total production, a decrease of 10 per cent. The conditions in and out of the lumber industry which contrib- uted to the decreased production in 1917 are obvious, War demands almost completely disrupted the usual channels of trade distribution. The softwoods which ordinarily are utilized for construction purposes in city and country were diverted to a large extent to Government war preparations-to the building of ships and the erection of build- ings for men and stores and to other types of emergency structures. Advanced prices of all material and high labor costs discouraged private building throughout the country; statistics covering 101 of the principal cities show that the estimated cost of buildings for which permits were issued was 29 per cent less in 1917 than in 1916, and that the number of permits fell off 23 per cent. Factories con- suming hardwoods to a marked extent in nonessential products cur- tailed their output or changed their line, and the decreased demand was not altogether offset by Government purchases and manufactures. A scarcity of cars for long periods, combined with general railroad freight congestion and prolonged embargoes in the East, made it diult to ship lumber for other than Government use. Exports, as during 1916, were small because of the limited tonnage available. High wages paid skilled and common labor and the constant bidding for labor by construction companies in the war hdustries tended toward reduced output through depleting the crews in the woods and mills. Hundreds of small mill operators were unable to cope with the labor situation and did not operate, while hundreds of others found it more profitable to engage in other occupations. In 1916, 67.38 per cent of the lumber reported cut was produced by mills cut- ting 5,000,000 feet or more annually; in 1917 the pt~cent was 71.19. The reported lumber cut, the number of active mills reporting, and the estimated annual total cut are given in Table 1 for each year smce 1899 for which data have been compiled. The statistics for all of the years are not directly comparable, since the intensive- ness of the individual annual canvass made must be taken into con- sideration. The enumerations for 1899 and 1909 were made practi- cally complete through the employment of field agents of the Bureau I PRODUCTIOK OF LUMBER, LATH, AND SHINGLES IN 1917. 3 of the Census in the decennial censuses for those years, which per- mitted the output of nearly all, if not dl, mills being recorded. The reported cut for 1917 was smaller Lhan for any year since 1905, with the exception of 1915, while the estimated total cut for 1917 was the smallest for any year since 1899. Tnsm 1.--Quantity o/ lumber reported, number of active sawmilk reporting, and estimated total cut, 1899-1917. ~e odod cut of Aotlaemllls Estlmatod total 1 1 !umber. 1- rewrting. I cut oflumber. I 1899 35 084 166 000 '1904 34'125'139'000 1935 30'sai,061:000 1% 3f550 136 000 "1907 40:256:154:000 81% 33 224 369 000 lsOg 44:YN: 761:000 1910 40 018 282 000 '1911 37'w3'207'~0 1912 39:156:414;000 113 33,337,W9,WO 11914 37 346 023 WO 1915 31'241'734'000 1916 34'791'385'000 117 33:192:911:000 t Custom rmllsexcluded Ineludes4 5Umillrrtrtri leu thsoSO,~teeI, t Millsouttmg under 50 OW feet excluded 3~~mp&e, vunocr. mTwor~:,box, farlvture i~ncludlngmills which manufacture lath and and other IL~~~~r~ec~lllo~aoglumberat ellln19n~ sbgles exolusfvely (1.W estimated). TABLE2.-Repotted produetion pf lumber 1909 1918,191P and computed totals, 1915, 1916. and 1917, by classes of mi$. ' Quantity reported. CI&sses. -Per All olasses. .. ...... .... ... .....-- -----..... ..... cws5: ~o,m,mfet 6.37 9. 38 9.06 i The total for 1908 diUers from that shownin the other tables because 4.543 mil& outting 124,966,WOfeet oilwthan 50,000 feet eaoh,are omitted above. 2 Thedats here shown for 1915,1916, and 1917 are mmputed tots18 by classes oImiUs 4 BULLETIX 768, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. LUMBER PRODUCTION BY CLASSES OF MILLS. The policy of arbitrarily dividing the reporting mills into classes according to the quantity of lumber cut was followed as in previous years. Table 2 shows, by classes, the computed' number of mills reporting and the computed total production for 1909 and for 1912 CLASS 5 - 10,000 M. FT.AND OVER g-899 M ILLS - (3.62 PC.) CLASS 4- 5,000TO 9,999 M. FT. -459 MILLS - (I.85PC) -3,360,502 M. FT.-(9.38 PC.) CLASS 3 - 1,000TO 4999 M FT CLASS 2 - 500 TO 999 M.FT -3,689 MILLS - (14.87 FC.) -2,460,685 M. FT- (6.87 P.C) CLASS I - 50 TO 499 M. FT. - (9.06 PC) FIG. 1.-Rolntion of mill classes to pioduetim in 19ii to 1917, inclusive. The figures for 1909 are given for comparative purposes because of the exceptionally complete census obtained for' that year and the belief held by many lumbermen that that year marked the high point in lumber production in this country. 1 "Computed," as used in this bulletin, expresses results obtabed by theextdrm al5gures bed on ait~alretumsso as tosho\r tatalsforspproximately allsawrmlls whetberornot rsportswere-ivedfram them. ( PRODUCTION OF LUMBER, LATH, AND SHINGLES IN 1917. 5 \ Attontion is directed to the increasingly 'large per cent of the i total production contributed by the bigger operations. In 1909, ! ! milk cutting 10,000,000 feet and over produced 43.09 per cent of the ! total cut for the year, while in 1917 this same class of mills cut 61.81 per cent of the total. Though special efforts are made to secur'a a report for each big operation, which makes the 6gures for the t.wo 1 larger classes of mills more complete than for those of the three lower , ! classes, tbt\concentration of production among the larger mills is undoubtedly on the increase. Figures on sawmill production and sa\vmilU capacity, arranged by cltisses of mills and by States, are contained in Table 3. The bases for these data were the answers to a question onthe lumber cut schedule as to how much lumber the reporting mill coda produce in a 10-hour shift if demand and price were very favorable. While the question was more or less hypothetical, a sufficient number of replies was received to indicate the condition.

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