Lumber lmports Taking U.S. Jobs Says Western Pine Chief

The 4 billion board feet of Canadian lumber marketed last year in the United States represented 56,000,000 man hours .of employment, or yeararound work for 31,000 men, according to W. E. Griffee, Portland, Ore., secretary-manager of the Western Pine assoclatl0n.

In a statement prepared for a Senate Commerce Committee hearing in Washington, D. C., on April 16 on lumber import problems, Griftee reported U.S.-produced lumber is being displaced in the U. S. markets at a rate that is causing "concern and foreboding" in western lumber towns.

"The trend of imports is up," he said. "As recently as 1949 Canadian shipments of 1.3 billion board feet represented 4.6 percent of the U. S. softwood market, while last year's 4 billion feet brought it up to more than 13 percent of U. S. consumption. In contrast, our production fell 13 percent in the past two years and prices have dropped to 1947-49 levels."

Lower costs and a favorable rate of money exchange are giving Canadian lumber a clear track to U.S. markets and placing U.S. mills in real

"Mqsonile House"

(Continueil frorn Page 20) permanently. The space was then covered with suitable corner boards.

Each exterior component is made with a 2x4 lumber perimeter but with a minimum of lumber studding since the outer and inner glued-on skins contribute to the load-bearing capacity. Trvo inches of fiberglass insulation with an aluminum foil vapor barrier toward the inner surface provides ample resistance to moisture and heat passage.

The inside partition system has been under development by Masonite for some time and demonstrates rapid assembly capability. The prefinished Masonite hardboard surfaces with adhesive assembled frame and core pro- trouble, he added.

Reviewing the situation for the 12state Western Pine region, where his association represents about 400 mills, Griffee said annual average production of 8 to 9 billion feet, or 280,000 carloads, amounts to about 30 percent of all U.S. softwood output. At normal operating pace, the industry employs 70,0W direcely with annual payroll topping $300 millions.

"Our region's sawtimber backlog is an abundant 620 billion feet," he added, "but there's twice that much in British Columbia. Today's production rate in the B.C. interior is 2.6 billion feet; projections place it at 4.5 billion feet by 1975. The British Columbia Forest Service looks ahead still farther to an allowable annual harvest of 12 billion feet."

Western Pine people are especially disturbed, he explained, by the trend in spruce imports from interior B.C. These grew from 531 million feet in 1949 to more than 1,400 million feet n 1961. Spruce is a leading species in interior B.C. and sells in direct comith a number of Western petrtlon wlth a nu Pine region species.

"Spruce imports from up there now vide a lightweight, easily handled panel. One by two wood strips nailed to the floor locate the oanels and a lx2 rvood strip nailed to the outer wall aligns the first panel. Matching splines join the panels without fastenings and leave a pleasing grooved effect between panels. Nails to the ceiling and into the floor runner fasten each panel in place.

All the non-load-bearing interior partitions of this three-bedroom house lvith four closets were erected in less than one-half day. Careful estimates indicate a saving of up to $5 per lineal foot of partition compared to conventional partitions of studs, gypsum board with taped joints and painted surface. Advantages are low in-place cost, quick erection, little or no finishing on the amount to nearly three times our own spruce shipments, and have a potential of going much higher," Griffee reported. job, adaptability to non-modular length partitions and simple construction at corners.

Timber resources are largely government-held both in British Columbia and the Western Pine region, he explained, making government timber policies most important in lumber operations. One of the major handicaps under which Western Pine mills are operating, he testified, is stumpage costs considerably higher than Canada's.

He said U.S. government policy rnakers should rvork out a program to afford equal opportunity for American industry to compete for American business.

"Surely a wholesale transfer of U.S. forest industry jobs to Canada is not to be condoned," Grifiee declared. He predicted that if present unequaled competitive conditions are allowed to continue, "large segments of the U. S. lumber industry, including the Western Pine region industry as we know it today, will cease to exist, and forested parts of the Old West will sprout a new type of ghost town by the hundreds."

'fhe passage doors between rooms are of a novel construction since they are of ceiling height and have convex surfaces. They save costly installation of headers in the wall above the doorrvay, permit free circulation of air at the ceiling and require no fitting because they overlap the opening on both sides.

Their construction is simple. In the shop two prefinished hardboard panels are glued back to back on the long edges. These pairs are then stacked and put under pressure until the glue is set and they can be shipped flat to the job.

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