Lumber Production Lowest in Flftv Years

Washington, D. C., Aug. 9.-The Census Bureau report of. 691 identical sawmills reporting lumber production for l93l and 1930, indicates total lumber production in the United States last year of approximately 16l billion feet compared with 26 billion feet in 1930 and nearly 37 billion leet in t9D.

The 1930 reports of. 691 mills (mostly the larger mills) show 58 per cent of the total cut of all mills that year. The 1931 reports show 33.5 per cent decline as compared with 1930. On this basis, the 1931 production would be L7,367; 000,000 feet but the Census Bureau states that it is likely that the percentage of decrease in the total production of the country in 1931 was larger than shown by the 691 reporting mills since a larger proportion of the small mills than of the large ones were idle in 1931. In 1930 the production of small mills (those cutting less than 5 billion feet each) was about 25 per cent of the total cut.

The Federal Reserve Board some months ago estimated lumber production in 1930 as 16,400,000,000 feet, which assuming a larger decline in the aggregate output of the small mills than of the large ones, would be an approximately accurate estimate in the light of the recent identical mill report.

The decline of 33.5 per cent which the Census Bureau shows in the production of the 691 mills is within less than one per cent of the percentage of decline which the National Lumber Trade Barometer published by the National Lumber Manufacturers Association showed for 1931 as compared with 1930. On the basis of the first six months reports for 1932, and the percentage of decrease of the National Lumber Trade Barometer's figures as compared with the first six months of 1930, the 1932 production of the United States will be less than 1O billion feet, assuming some further curtailment in the small mill cut over that of the large mills.

In 1889, the lumber production of the United States is given by the Census Bureau as 18 billion feet; in 1879. as 12,755,000,000 feet. In no intervening years from 18'89 on. has it fallen below 20 billion feet.

Following are the identical mill reports just issued by the Census Bureau:

The ldeal Building Paper I

Stocks

Vire,

Operating