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i document Historic, archived Do not assume content reflects current scientific knowledge, policies, or practices. .4 V ited States Veneer Industry and partment of Agriculture Timber Use, North Forest Service North Central Central Region, 1988 Forest Experiment Station Resource Bulletin NC-125 W. Brad Smith and Ronald L. Hackett — North Central Forest Experiment Station Forest Service U.S. Department ofAgriculture 1992 Folwell Avenue St. Paul, Minnesota 55108 Manuscript approved for publication February 14, 1991 1991 CONTENTS Page HIGHLIGHTS 1 INTRODUCTION 1 NATIONAL OVERVIEW 3 LAKE STATES 3 CENTRAL STATES 5 APPENDIX 7 METHODS 7 VENEER MILL QUESTIONNAIRE 8 COMMONAND SCIENTIFIC NAMES OF TREE SPECIES MENTIONED IN THIS REPORT 11 TABLES 11 Veneer Industry and Timber Use, North Central Region, 1988 W. Brad Smith and Ronald L, Hackett HIGHLIGHTS • Twenty-nine Lake States veneer mills received 93.4 million board feet oflogs in 1988, up 86 percent Note: The veneer logfigures contained in this report from 1984. Imports from other states and Can- reflect only those logs that were received andproc- ada continue to climb after hitting a 35-year low essed by mills in the U.S. or Canada and do not in 1980. include logs exported overseas. In recent years the volume ofoverseas exports has risen dramatically. • More than 95 percent ofthe wood and barkresi- Foreign export data indicate that overone hundred due generated at Lake States mills in 1988 was exporters shipped more than 150 million boardfeet of used. hardwood logs overseas in 1988. Many ofthese logs camefromforests in the North Central Region. Al- though it is difficult to determine the volume that came Central States from states in this region it is certain that the impact is significant and that a volume in excess ofdomestic • Central States veneer log production in 1988 was veneerproduction isprobably being shipped toforeign 19.3 millionboard feet, down 13 percent from markets. Future studies will attempt to quantify the 1984. Leading species cut were white oak, wal- volume oflogs exported overseasfrom theNorth nut, and red oak. Exports from the Central States CentralRegion. have leveled offbut continued to exceed 5 million board feet in 1988. Lake States • Compared to 1984, veneer log receipts at 24 Cen- tral States mills fell 9 percent to 30.2 million • Lake States loggers harvested 95.2 million board board feet. feet ofveneer logs in 1988, up 57 percent from 1984 when the last veneer industry study was • Disposal ofwood and bark residue at mills was made. Principal production gains since 1984 were not a problem with over 80 percent ofall residues in aspen, white birch, hard maple, basswood, and used. Industrial fuel was the leading use for this red oak. residue. INTRODUCTION This report of 1988 veneer log production and re- W. Brad Smith, Pricipal Mensurationist, received a ceipts in the North Central Region continues a series B.S. degree in forestry and an M.S. degree in forest begun more than 28 years ago. On a total volume management from Purdue University. Rejoined the basis, veneer logs are the third most valuable Forest Service in May 1977, and has been working industrial roundwood product harvested, outranked with North Central's Forest Inventory andAnalysis only by pulpwood and saw logs. The last veneer Unit since October 1977. industry studywas in 1984. Ronald L. Hackett. Research Forester, received a BM.iSr.medseogtrae.e iHnefjoroeisntedretshoeurFcoersesftrSoemrvtihceeUinnivDeercseitmy-of ' Production is the volumeofveneerlogs cutfroma specificarea: receipts are the volumeofveneerlogs received ber 1974, and has been working with North Central's by mills ina specificarea regardlesscfgeographicsource. Forest Inventory and Analysis Unit since 1974. — Current detailed veneerlog production* and receipt Fifty-three veneer mills operated in the region in information is necessary for Intelligent planning and 1988, two more than in 1984 (fig. 1). Between 1984 decisionmaking in wood procurement, forest re- and 1988 three mills closed and five new mUls source management, and forest industry develop- opened. Net gains included one mill each in Minne- ment. In addition, researchers need veneer log sota and Missouri. Veneer production in the region harvest and receipt information for plarming projects generally falls into three categories; (1) face veneer and analyzing and appraising the veneer industry. forfurniture, cabinets, door skins, flooring, etc., (2) commercialveneers for dye boards, cross banding, This report presents the results ofthe survey, an chopsticks, novelty sticks, toothpicks, etc.. and (3) analysis and interpretation ofthe data, and com- packaging or containerveneers. As a rule each mill pares the results with 1984 or earlieryears. Trends maintains primary production injust one ofthese inveneer log production and use are also discussed. areas using a narrow range ofspecies. However, After a briefnatio—nal overview, the report is divided tight supplies ofprime logs and pressures from into two sections Lake States (Michigan, Minnesota, foreign manufacturers have prompted manymills to and Wisconsin) and—Central States (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, and Missouri) ^because different species are grown and used as veneer logs in each area. MICHIGAN Map Nameofmill Location Type' 22 AnthonyandCompany Escanaba C 23 BessemerPlywoodCorp. Bessemer C 24 FruitGrowersPackageCo. PawPaw P 25 InternationalVeneerCo. Coklwater F 26 MantheiInc. Petosky F 27 MichiganCrale&BasketCo. Shelby P 28 RiversidePackageCo. RiverskJe P 29 TimberProductsMich(Cliffs) Munising F IOWA 30 R.S.BaconVeneerCo. GrundyCenter F MISSOURI 31 CrumblissWoodProducts Neosho P 32 HoweLumber&VeneerCo. Neosho P 33 MissouriValleyVeneer St.Joseph F 34 PleasantHillVeneer(Vario) PleasantHill F 35 TiptonBoxCo. Caruthersville P ILLINOIS 36 LawrenceBoxandBasket Cobden P 37 SwordsVeneerandLumberCo. RockIsland F INDIANA 38 AdamsCustomVeneerCo. NewAlbany F MINNESOTA 39 Amos-HillAssodcitee Edinburg F Map Nameofmill Location Type' 40 B.L.Curry&SonsInc. NewAlbany F 1 AllenWoodProductsInc. Herxierson C 41 ChesterB.StemInc. NewAlbany F 23 DElikamRiovnedrBBroaxndFsa,ctIonrcy. CEllkoqRuievter CP 4432 CDuarvriyd-MaillWerebVebnCeoe.rsInc IEnddiinabnuarpgolis FF 4 LakewoodIndustries Hibbing C 44 EvansvilleVeneer&Lbr. Evansville F WISCONSIN 45 HoosierVeneerCorp. Trafalgar F 5 BircliwoodLumber&Veneer Birchwood F.C 46 IndianaVeneersInc. Indianapolis F 6 BirchwoodManufacturing RiceLake F 47 JasperVerierMillsInc. Jasper F 7 BirdsEyeVeneerInc. Butternut F 48 NationalVeneer&LumberCo. Seymour F 8 BrunetteIndustrialWoodProducts RiceLake C 49 NewAlbanyBox&Basket NewAlbany P 9 BrunetteBoxFactoryInc. RiceLake P 50 NorstamVeneersInc. Mauckport F 10 DuteckManufacturingCo. Denmark P 51 Pierson-HollowellCoInc Lawrenceburg F 11 EbnerBoxInc. Cameron P 52 Ftoberts&StrackVeneer Clarksville F 12 Fox-HasseManufacturingCorp DeForest c 53 ThiesinpVeneerCompany Mooresville F 13 GoodmanForestIndustriesLtd Goodman F Primarymillprodiictior\bymajorcategory: 1145 HIkaetlIenyteVrenanteieornaCloC.orp. SHtaatnlelyey CF PC==PCaodmcmaegricnigalanvdenceoenrtfaoirneirtevmesneseur.chastoothpidcs,novelty 16 Louisiana-Pacific Mellen F 1187 NMaerwioLninPwloyowdooIdncC.orp. GMialrlietolne FF F=Fastcieckvse,nceheorpfosrtiJciikrsr,ddtuyree,bcoaabridnse,tsc,ropasnseblasn,didnogo,restkcins, 19 SeymourWoodenwareCo. Seymour P flooring,orarchltechbjralpurposes. 20 WeberVeneer&Plywood Shawano C 21 WisconsinVeneerandPlywood Maltoon F Figure 1. Location ofactive veneer mills in theNorth CentralRegion, 1988. 2 — feoxrpeeirginmmeanntuwfiatchtunreewrsspheacvieesparnodmpptreoddumcatnsyton^riellmsation tUo.S1..6inbcirlleiaosnedsqfuraorme 1fe2e0t miinll1i9o8n4.sqsuhairpepefdeet2.i7nb1il9l8i0on square feet to the U.S. in 1987. Although total competitive. hardwood pljAvood imports were down in 1988 to near 1984 levels, they still comprise 74 percent of NATIONAL OVERVIEW U.S. consumption. Abright spot for U.S. veneer manufacturers is an expected steady rise in demand National production ofpre-finished hardwood ply- forhardwood veneer inJapan and Korea in the next wood fell 13 percent in 1985-1986 while foreign im- several years. proerbtosucnldiemdbeindr2e8sppoerncseentt^o.aDsotmreonsgteircnperwodhuocutsiionng Overall the trend for the nearfuture is a modest 3 to market in 1986 and faired much better in the hous- 5 percent annual increase in veneer production as iHnogusdionwgntsutarrntsofar1e98a7m-a1j9o8r8itnhdiacnatdoirdoifmphoarrtdsw.ood Ut.hSr.ouhgohustihnegmsitdar1t9s9l0e'vse.l oNffeawnodrtehxepnanridsienggenetxlpyort plywood demand in interiorwalls, kitchen and vanity markets for specialtyveneer products such as cabinets, flush doors, flooring, and furniture (fig. 2). cphroovpisdteicaknsaadndditsihoeneatlvbeoonsete.rsPfroordpuacctksaugsiinnggcsopuelcdies Concerns over the rapid deforestation ofthe tropics not currently in high demand will have the greatest and new international trade poUcies have caused potential to impact domestic production. many changes in industry patterns in recent years. Since 1984 the North Central Region's veneer pro- LAKE STATES duction has risen a respectable 37 percent. How- ever, U. S. exports ofhardwood logs has doubled Production during that same period. This informaUon is signifi- many cant when one considers the pressure in vPtahaceliufneiec-waRdiddemevdceoslueoncpttmorerinewtshtiionchrthesidshuocrueelgldioogcnoehnxatpisonrgtuose.nteoMipunrtcoovhtihdoeef vDfeeuenrteifenrrgolm1o9g1s898i8n4l.toghgeReeLrdsakcoeuaktS,t9ah5t.ae2rs,dmiumlaplpi3lo4en.,b7oamasiprledlnif,oenewthbiootfaerd a strong source ofimports to the U.S. market. Indo- birch and basswood accounted for 86 percent oftotal nesia, whose exports ofhardwood plywood to the Lake States production (fig. 3). Major production increases since 1984 were in aspen Hardwoodplywoodimports (Billion squarefeet) b(1o3a.r0dmfielelt)i,onhabrodarmdapfelete),(5w.h8itmeilbliirocnhbo(7a.r7dmfleletU)o,nand basswood (4.4 mllUon board feet). Elm production continued to fall because Dutch elm disease has wiped out much ofthe Lake States elm resource. Log exports fell to a record low of7.0 million board feet after reaching a record high of 13.7 million board feet in 1984 as pine exports peaked and then dipped sharplywith the opening ofa new mill (fig. 4). Principal export markets in 1988 were Indiana (3.0 million board feet), Canada (2.1 million board feet), U.S. pre-finishedhardwoodplywood and Ohio (1.7 million board feet). lUinols. Iowa. production (Billion squarefeet) North Carolina, and Virginia received the remaining — exports from the region. ^-r— r 1 1 1 1 ' 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 Year Figure 2.— U.S. housing starts, U.S. hardwoodply- 2 Source: U.S. DepartmentofCommerce, Bureauofthe woodproduction, and hardwoodplywood imports, Census. CurrentIndustrialReportSeriesMA-24F. 1979-1988. U.S. housing startprojections, 1989- 1994. 3 1 Michigan producers cut 37.9 million board feet of veneer logs, an increase of 19 percent since 1984. Hard maple, red oak, and pine accounted for 7 percent ofthe Michigan harvest. Pine harvesting for veneer has stabilized after a rapid surge from 240 thousand board feet in 1980 to 6.4 million board feet in 1984 due to newmarket opportunities. The 1988 pine harvest leveled offat 6.2 million board feet. Out-of-state markets took over 50 percent of Michigan's output. Pine, hard maple, and oakwere the dominant species shipped out-of-state. Red oak and aspen accounted for more than three- fifths ofWisconsin's harvest of42.8 million board feet. Exports to MichiganfromWisconsin returned to higher levels (39 percent) with the re-opening ofa major Michigan mill. Total production increased 19.8 million board feet from 1984. Principal species cut in Miimesotawere white birch (7.8 million board feet) and aspen (3.8 millionboard feet). Together they accounted formore than three- fourths ofthe total Minnesota harvest of 14.5 million board feet. Million boardfeet Mill Receipts — Figure 3. Veneerproduction in the Lake States by speciesgroup 1984 and 1988. Receipts at twenty-nine Lake States mills surged to their highest tn 30 years at 93.4 millionboard feet of logs in 1988, up 43.3 million board feet from 1984. Major Increases in receiptswere in aspen, birch, and maple (fig. 5). Imports continue to rebound after hitting a 35-year low in 1980 and afterfalling for all reportedyears since 1966. However, imports from Canada have continued to fall since 1974 and are currently at a nominal level of46 thousand board feet. Since the last veneer study in 1984 Wisconsin miUs reported major increases inbasswood (4.4 million board feet), red oak (4.4 million board feet), and hard maple (2.8 million board feet): while declines were posted for aspen (2.8 million board feet) and yellow birch (1.6 million board feet). Michigan posted gains in aspen (15.0 millionboard feet), pine (5.3 million board feet), and hard maple (2.7 million board feet); declines were posted for pecan (2.8 million board feet) and walnut (1.8 million board feet). Miimesota reported a major increase in white birch (2.8 million 1976 1980 1984 1988 board feet) and no serious declines. Year Overall, 1988 was a verygood year in the Lake — Figure 4. Veneerlog exportsfrom theLake States States with receipts up 185 percent (25.5 mlQion region to otherstates and CanadaJorselected board feet) in Michigan, up 28 percent (9.2 million years, 1976-1988. board feet) inWisconsin, and up 284 percent (8.5 million board feet) in Minnesota. 4