Trends in Lumber Processing in the Western United States. Part III: Residue Recovered versus Lumber Produced

This article presents changes in proportions of wood fiber residue or by-products generated in lumber production in the western United States over the last 40 years. The results show the proportion of logs remaining as residue has dropped from 59 percent in the 1970s to 51 percent in the 2000s. Technology and its improved application have led to decreased proportions of wood fiber residue in lumber production even as log size has decreased. West wide the proportion of the log converted to both sawdust and planer shavings has decreased substantially over the last 40 years with no change in the proportion recovered in coarse residue. Coarse residue was 31 percent of log volume processed in the 1970s and 2000s. Sawdust generated was 15 percent of log volume in the 1970s and 11 percent in the 2000s, with planer shavings moving from 13 to 9 percent.