The Rise of the Pine Plywood Industry in The South

THE RISE OF THE PINE PLYWOOD INDUSTRY IN THE SOUTH Carl F. Ojala and Merle C. Prunty, Jr.* Whenever a number of manufacturers decide to establish competing multimillion -dollar plants in one region, a notable change is underway in the in­ dustry and region involved. Pine plywood plants in the South represent such an instance. The appearance of the pine plywood industry in the South (1) during the current decade seems to be the most significant development in the forest-products industries of this region in recent years. Quite possibly the expansion into the South of the softwood plywood industry will be recog1 nized as the outstanding development in the nation’s whole forest-based manufacturing complex during the 1960’s. The purpose of this paper is to examine the geography of the southern pine plywood industry in terms of its historical development, major locational traits, and impacts on other forest-based industries in the South. HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT. Prior to 1963 the entire United States softwood plywood industry was located in the Pacific Northwest. Of the 156 softwood plywood plants in the United States in 1963, only one was located in the South. (2) The lone southern plant started operations late that year at Fordyce, Arkansas. By January 1967 there were 23 pine plywood plants in operation throughout tne southern region. Eleven more were scheduled to begin production by the end of 1967. (3) The total planned capacity of these 34 plants in the South is 2.6 billion square feet of plywood on a %-inch basis. Total production of the 23 plants operating during 1966 was about 1.3 billion square feet, or about half of the capacity planned for the end of 1967. (4) In 1964 industry analysts predicted that 10 to 12 mills could be expected in the region by about 1975. (5) In 1967, the 23 plants operating in the South produced approximately 14 per cent of the United States total softwood ply­ wood output. (6) Production in the region can be expected to increase steadi­ ly in the near future (Fig. 1). The American Plywood Association estimates that almost 23 per cent of the nation’s production will originate in the South by 1970. (7) Projections of demand for softwood plywood suggest tremendous increases during the rest ofthis century. By the year 2000 the national demand for plywood is expected to be about six times the present annual output of about 15 billion square feet. The Georgia-Pacific Corporation was the first “on stream” southern pine plywood producer when its mill at Fordyce, Arkansas, began operation in December 1963. As late as January 1965, only three plants were in operation in the region. In addition to the Fordyce plant, two were established in eastern * Mr. Ojala is a doctoral candidate in geography at the University of Georgia, Athens. Dr. Prunty is professor at the same school. The paper was accepted for publication in April I960. 12 T h e S o u t h e a s t e r n G e o g r a p h e r Texas during 1964. By January 1966, however, there were 14 plants in opera­ tion. Eight were added in the lower mid-South and three began operations on the south Atlantic coastal plain. Twenty-three plants were in operation in January 1967 (Fig. 2), and eleven more were under construction at that time (Fig. 3). (8) In January 1968,34 mills were expected to be producing softwood plywood in the South (Fig. 4). By this time a significant concentration of mills in the lower mid-South was evident. A second cluster of mills had appeared on the south Atlantic coastal plain. The eastern cluster does not coincide with the Vol. V ili, 1968 13 Figure 2 Figure 3 14 T h e S o u t h e a s t e r n G e o g r a p h e r Figure 4 areas of largest total volume of raw materials. In addition to being resourceoriented , these plants are believed to have been influenced more in their se­ lection of locations by the large potential market in the northeast quadrant of the...