Secondary Products (Markets, Competition, and Technological Improvements)

Abstract

Competitiveness, imports, exports, and technological improvements--these are issues facing secondary wood-product manufacturers. The major problems focus on increasing foreign imports and the inability of U.S. industries to repell the imports. How and where should we, as researchers, allocate our efforts to enhance the competitiveness of secondary forest industries in the United States? Is our purpose to help ensure that current and planned utilization research is properly focused on making the United States more competitive not only in the U.S. market but also in the world marketplace? This paper discusses several types of secondary products but focuses on furniture products, including cabinets. Furniture products are the most important secondary hardwood products in the United States. Also discussed is the hardwood sawtimber resource situation for the Eastern United States, technological improvements, and potential research. Other hardwood products such as millwork, mouldings, dimension, flooring and pallets are reviewed.

Citation

Araman, Philip A. 1988. Secondary Products (Markets, Competition, and Technological Improvements). Forest Products Research Conference 1987: The Role of Utilization Research in Enhancing U.S. Competitiveness in Forest Products. pp. 40-49.