Redwood in 1942

By Kenneth Smith President, Colifornia Redwood Association

War necessities have dominated the lumber industry, retailer and manufacturer, all ol 1942. Construction has been progressively restricted, primarily because of metal shortages, but in the second half of the year, lumber shortage would have forced these restrictions had they not been already in effect.

It is estimated these restrictions saved 8 billion feet of lutnber for war uses, and except for that it would not have been possible to keep the construction program of the armed services going. As it was, 6 billion feet had to come out of inventory to make up the difference between the 38 billion used and the 32 billion produced.

Redwood made an outstanding contribution of which Californians can well be proud. Recent figures compiled by the National Lumber Manufacturers Association show production of the Redwood region for the year to date as 1O3 per cent of 1941, compared with 96 per cent for the total of all softwoods. Shipments to date are 119 per cent of. 1941, as compared with 102 per cent for all softwoods. Orders to date are 133 per cent of 1941, as compared with 107 per cent for all softwoods. The unfilled order file is 233 per cent of this time last year, which compares with 163 per cent for all softwoods.

Millions of feet of Redwood have gone into storage oil tanks; millions of feet more have gone into water tanks, water reservoir roofs, water pipelines and sewage disposal plants for Army and Navy. The demand for this use is so insistent thal Army Engineers have sought our aid in finding additional tank manufacturers for them.

Millions of more feet of Redwood have gone into cooling towers in powder plants, munitions factories, aluminum foundries, and oil refineries. Hundreds of thousands of feet of Redwood Expansion Joint have gone into the runways and aprons of scores of airports.

fn recent months the insistent demand for Redwood for pipe as a substitute for metal pipe has far outrun our ability to supply the grade required.

We have manufactured all that the logs would produce of Pattern Lumber for shipyards and Naval Bases and still have been unable to supply the dcmand.

The items recited above are speciaity items, for which Redwood is a peculiarly superior product, but in spite of every effort, we have been unable to keep abreast of the demand. In addition to these items, a large share of the ordinary construction grades and items that we have been able to produce, including railroad ties, have gone into the war housing projects and into war plant for Army and Navy, such as cold storage plants, barracks, mess hafls, schools, hospitals, officers' quf;r.ters, post exchanges, chapels, recreation centers, warehouses, hangars, and amnrunition dumps, bridges, culverts, fences,' bulkheading, shoring, cribbing, fire walls, storage pits, fragmentation shieldsevery conceivable type of construction.

In addition it has gone into scores of the industrial products using lumber, of which the Army and Navy buy some 200 different items.

Redwood is making as great or greater contribution of value for war purposes as any comparable sized segment of the softwood lumber industry. Naturally it has been impossible under these circumstances for Redwood manufacturers to serve their retail friends as they would have liked to. They have done the, best they could after doing first all they could to help win the war, as the statistics given above amply demonstrate.

Prediction is hazardous because war upsets can change tomorrow what appears reasonably sure today, but I believe that as we get into 1943 the war strain will ease a little and make it possible to supply more dealer require. ments for Redwood than hds been possible in recent months.

I feel rather sure also that the existing restrictions upon civilian use of lumber and upon the use of lumber for war housing and the restrictions upon selling by mills and buying by dealers of yard sizes and grades are going to be materially relaxed.

Redwood manufacturers will continue to have war problems to wrestle in 1943, as will all other manufacturers and all retailers, but it will not be as dizzy as 1942 has been.