PLYWOOD . . . and the Retait Lumber Deater - By luck Dionne

There is a lot o{ confusion in thc nrinds of thc lrrrnber folk.; generally concerning the Dorrglas Fir plvn.oocl sitnation. I knou' there has been in mine. Rcnrcmlrcr the old story of the fcllorv u'ho asked his frierrcl, "\\'ho rv:rs that hell of un uglv \\'orn:in r-on just spoke to?" and when the friend saicl, "'fhat \\-as 1lrv l'ife," remarked that he always went to hearlclrrartcrs u'hen l're n'anted information. 'I'hat's what I di<l. T strt a couple oi hours with a man in the knorv and askecl lrirrr rlrrcstions. ancl jottecl dorvn 1-ris ans\\rers. Tl.re fellos, is -f oe Wcston, Soutl'rlve.stern Representative of the Douglas I.'ir l'lll oo<l Association. I said to him "N'Iake believe I'rl a snrall ton.n rct:riler u.ell ofl the beaten track t'ho l'ants to krrou, rvhat the Pl.vrvood picture is, and rvhere in the pictrrrc, if :rrrv, his {acc shon.s, and tell me about it." He clid. The follou'ing is l-hat I learr.recl.

So far as N{r. John Q. Citizclr u,lro u'arrts to get a little plr.'rvood to do some small bLrilrling jolr is conccrnecl-there is no Fir plyu'ood at the present nr()nrctt. ,\Ir. Citizen is 1egal11' entirely out of the ltlvt'oo<1 pictrrrc. 'l'hat conditior.r may change at an1' time. Thc control oi Fir plyrvood through allocation b1'WI'B i.; a r-err. clclicatc sitrratior.r anrl srrlrject to major cl-ranges at anv tirue or-r short noticc.

So far rts the lumbcr dealer is corrcerned, the plvrvood indtrstry appfeciates it-. clealer {ricltds, rcg-rcts sir.rccrcly it.; inabilitv to srrpplr' the Fir plr'r'ood ncccis of thc lrrrnber tlealcrs gcncrallr-, ltnd is highlr- in favor of <livcrtilg tnore un<l nrore of thcir ltroduct to civilian markets throrrgh the retail lunrbcr tra<lc u'hencr-er tl'rc u,ar cl'fort 'ivill permit. Thc pllrvoo<l indtrstrv thinks that the plvn,ood division of \\'I)l'! has clone a vcry goocl job of pl1'u'ood allocation in thc face of a very difficrrlt situation, and is certain that u'hcn it is pos.;ilrle , nrore Fir plyrvood rvill flou' tl.rrough rctail lrrrnber clcalcr channels. This r,r'ill happen u'her-rever the <lenurncls of rvar slol,r, rrp.

Here are somc physical facts about the Fir plyrvood situation. T1-rat industry r.rrrcc hatl it.; procluction up to about 160 rnillion feet molrthlr-. That production several months last fall u.as don'n to an:tr-eragc of 13.5 rnillion feet nronthlv ; then droppecl belon' 120 nrillion this r-intcr. Since the nricldle of last vear the joblting trade of the countrv rvas given an allotment of 50 million feet a month, rrntil Deccmber, 1943, rvhen the arm-r- anrl lra\-\- steppecl in ancl r-aised its on'u purchases to 97 million feet for that nronth, thus forcirrg the cutting clou'r.r of the allotment to joltl>ers. The l)rosl)ects :rre that the demands from armr- and navv for tlre next several rnonths at least n'i1l be exceedingly heavv. Hou' long that heavv clernand l'ill last, no man knorvetl'r. At arrv time those tl'o biggest plvs'oocl buvers might drop out of the rnarkct ior a month, ancl if thei' dirl the Fir plyrvood industry lvould h:ivc :r lvhole lot of surplus plyu'ood on its hands, u-hich it u'ould seck to move through allocation. But it must lte unrlerstood that plywood moves only through governrnent allocation, ancl none is to be had otherrvise.

Last summer the word \\rent out through the land that Fir plyrvood rvas getting nruch more plentiful. This was due to the fact tliat the plvu'ood inclustry rvcnt to bat with the authorities and pleaded for an alloc:rtion of plywood other tl-ran to the armed forces, r,vhich had for some time been getting practically the entire outprlt. So WPB allocaterl about 50 nrillion feet a month to the jobber tracle, and finding plyu'ood available for the first tirne in a long while the s'orc1 u'ent out tlirough the trade that the plyrvood bottleneck hacl lrrrstecl. It u,as onlv the allocation that made it suddenly scem that way.

But this allocation of plyr,r'ood to jobbers througl-rout the land was made on a basis tl'rat contradicted any notion that pl1'rvood u,as going- to be a drug on the rnarket. It provided that while thc jobber coulcl .;ecure Fir plywood in considerable qrrantity and stack it in his rvarehouse, the stuff could only be solcl under an AA-2X priority or better; and since very feu' prtispective purchasers could secure any such rating, Fir plr.r"'ood continued to move into use very, very slorvlv; and that condition still applies. There is as yet no change ir"r that respect. Various rlloves to secure permission to sell Fir plyrvood under a lower rating thar.r that, have been trrrned rlou'n lty WI)[i on the advice of the armed services.

There is onl1' one condition under r,,,hich retail lumber dealers can get plvu'ood at the present time in any quantity, ancl that is for certain tvpes of FHA rvar constluction. If a clealcr is furnishir-rg materials for this sort of u'ork, FHA can give him in most cases a rating plentv high to permit him to get the n.raterial from the local or district jobber stocks. Tl'rese orders generally get AA-1 priorities. Lots of lumber clealcrs have been \\'orking' on FHA construction and gctting Fir plyrvood in that u'ay.

So that the dealers nrav rrnderstand the uses for ivhich Fir plyrvood is perrnittecl and given high ratings on FHA construction, the {ollorving is a listir-rg of Softrvood Plywood Permitted Uses, taken fron"r \\'ar I{orrsing Construction Standards used l))- FHA. The lunrber clealer CAN get softrvood plylvood on FIIA u'ar constrnction for the following purposes:

SOFTWOOD PLYWOOD

Permittecl Uses

1. IIXTERIOR TYPE (Phenolic resin bor.rrled)

A. Stres.s members (flanges, rvebs, gusset plates, etc.)

R. Prc-fabricated .,l.all and roof panels exposccl to the vveather and pre-fabricated floor panels of pre-fabricated brrildings.

C. Cold storage rooms.

D. Tlangar cloors.

2. HIGHLY WATIIR RESISTANT TYPE (pl1.form)

A. Concrcte forrns.

3. MOISTURIi ]{]ISISTANT TYPE cabinets including cabinet

A. Stress menrber.s (flanges, webs, gusset plates, etc.)

B: Prefabricated floor, wall, roof, ceiling and partition panels of prefabricated buildings.

C. Cold storage rooms.

D. Hangar doors.

E. Bins.

F. Counter tops.

G. Door panels.

H. Built-in lockers and shelving.

I. Interior partitions built of one thickness of plywood with birth faces exposed.

L Shelving for purposes where metal would normally be used.

K. Underlayment for linoleum and composition floor- ing in hospitals, kitchens, bath and toilet rooms and entry vestibules only when by its use the installation of finish wood flooring is eliminated.

It is also posbible for a hustling retail lumber dealer ail lum looking for something to sell to pick up odd jobs of plywood

'furnishing when he can find, in his territory needs for such plywood that are SPECIFIC war jobs. They must be that. many times a dealer can find such specific plywood needs that are so definitely war jobs that he can get a high

,sat enough rating on them to be enough on them be able to qualify for purchase from the jobbers of Plywood.

,' Another line of plywood selling that Jhe lumber dealer gets in on once in a while is Federal Public Housing under FPHA. Of course the builders of large federal housing jobs need no pribrities to get their stuff. They go right to WPB with their requests for allocation, and.are given per-

, '.mits to purchase plywood wherever they want to. They

' can get it direct from the mills or from the jobbers. Bu: in many instances when they are in need of small amounts of plywood they have turned to the local retailer who is in' touch with the situation, and bought it from him, perhaps for the service he gives, or for other reasons. But some plywood business gets to the dealer through this charrnel. These are abo'ut all the chances the dealer has to get and sell plywood at present. The,point to watch is the minimum rating of AA-2X to get plywood.from the jobber.

,, Some of these days this rating will be relaxed, .and it is . then that the dealer will begin to get more plywooil. But, r 4s stated, it will not happen until the margin between what the plywood mills make and what the armed services- take, grows wider.

One change in plywood manufacture that the dealer will be very mueh interested in when he can get supplies of plywood again is the so called "waterproof" t5rpe. The plywood folks don't like that name. They like to call it "exterior type" plywood. In the past two years the industry has increased its productionrof this type three times over, and they confidently expect this type of Fir plywood to become a tremendous seller. for civilian uses after the war, because it fits and fills sgch a tremendous number of places and uses for which ordinary plywood will not qualify. At present the war services take the entire output of this type of plywood.

It should be remembered that the plywobd mills and industry have no control of any sort over the allocation of their product, and can only petition the authorities for changes when they think thern, necessary. It is admitted that there are great stocks of Fir plywood at all times in the hands of the armed services. There has been some mild criticism of this apparent hoarding; but this is a case where it is much better to have a little too much rather than too little.

But the physical condition of the Fir plywood mills is such that if the armed services were to sharply reduce their purchases for even a single month, 'quick changes in allocation might be necessary to allow the movement of the product in other directions. It is not like the lumber situation. If nobody bqught a foot of lumber for the next six months, the mills would still not hbve restored their shed and yard stocks to anything like normal. But with plywood, it's different.

Simplified Procedure

A simplified procedure (WPB Order P-55.C) eliminating the filing of a detailed list of materidls (WPB Form 2f,;97) for privately financed housing construction and permitting the use of additional materials to cons-erve lumber and fuel was announced jointly by the War Production Board and National Housing Agency on February l?.

Under the proc-edure, holders of approved housing applications are given blanket authority to construct. rather than specific authority under an-individual order for each type of material. P-55-C which becomes effective March 1 will govern all war and non-war housing construction. It wilt eliminate substantial amounts of paper work both for persons who engage in construction of housing projects and for FHA and WPB, and is expected to expedite the war housing program.