Between 1926 and 1930 the proportion of total production in the United States which came from the Northeastern region fell from 53 to 41 per cent; and the proportion for the Lake States fell from 25 to 23 per cent. On the other hand, the proportion for the Pacific coast region rose from 9 to 19 per cent. This increase for the Pacific Coast States is the more significant because the share of output which is produced for sale to unaffiliated paper mills is higher for that region than for any other region.

No general statistics of production are available by regions for 1931. The reports to the Tariff Commission from a large number of mills (see Table 36) show that the output of the Northeastern and Lake States regions fell sharply, and that the decline was less marked in the Pacific coast region and in the South.

EXPORTS

The sales of domestic pulp to consumers in foreign countries form but a small part of the total production in this country. The exports in 1930 of 48,427 tons were the equivalent of about 1 per cent of total domestic production. Sulphite is the pulp principally exported. Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Argentina, and Japan were the leading countries in the order of their importance to which shipments were made in 1930.

The quantity and value of exports of domestic wood pulp are shown for specified years in Table 10.

TABLE 10.-Wood pulp: Domestic exports in specified years

[Source: U. S. Department of Commerce, Foreign Commerce and Navigation of the United States]

IMPORTS OF ALL KINDS OF PULP COMBINED

Table 11 shows for 1919, 1923, and each year since 1926 the quantity of imports of wood pulp (all kinds combined) into the United States from the principal individual countries, together with the corresponding value and the average unit value per ton. The quantity figures are shown graphically in chart G.

In 1931 Sweden was the largest source of imports of wood pulp in quantity and in value. Canada was the next most important source of supply. In that year Sweden furnished 43%1⁄2 per cent of the total

CHART G

1919

1923

1926

1927

1928

1929

1930

1931

1919

1923

1926

1927

1928

1929

1930

1931

WOOD PULP: IMPORTS OF WOOD PULP, ALL KINDS COMBINED,
FROM EACH PRINCIPAL COUNTRY

tonnage imported; Canada, 34% per cent; and all other countries, principally northern European countries, 22 per cent. In order of rank the other principal sources were Finland, Germany, and Norway. 115607-S. Doc. 84, 72-1-3

TABLE 11.-Wood pulp: Imports of all kinds combined from each principal country

Throughout recent years European countries have been gaining at the expense of Canada in supplying wood pulp to the United States. It should be borne in mind, however, that down to 1929 there was a steady increase in the imports of newsprint paper from Canada which served to enable that country to retain a fairly constant position in

the total supply of paper and paper materials to the United States. In 1926 Canada supplied 50 per cent of our total imports of wood pulp and Sweden 31 per cent, these proportions shifting to 34% per cent and 43%1⁄2 per cent, respectively, in 1931. There has also been a marked increase in the proportion of pulp imports coming from Finland; that country supplied 6 per cent of the total in 1926 and 12 per cent in 1931.

IMPORTS BY CLASSES

Table 12 shows for the last three years the imports of each of the principal classes of wood pulp from the several principal countries, in terms of quantity and of average unit value.

There are wide differences among the several kinds of pulp with respect to the relative importance of the different countries in supplying our imports. In 1931 Sweden was much the most important source of unbleached sulphite and unbleached sulphate, but Canada was the leading country of origin for bleached sulphite, bleached sulphate, and mechanically ground wood. Conversely, the principal kinds of pulp imported from Sweden are unbleached sulphite and sulphate, and the principal kinds imported from Canada are bleached sulphite and sulphate and ground wood. The position of Finland is similar to that of Sweden; it supplies chiefly unbleached sulphite and sulphate. From Norway, unlike Sweden and Finland, the most important kind imported is bleached sulphite. Bleached sulphite also dominates in the imports from Germany.

1 1931 preliminary.

2 General imports are not segregated as to bleached and unbleached ground wood. Segregation has been made on the basis of imports for consumption.

All kinds:

TABLE 12.-Wood pulp: Summary of imports-Continued

Tables 13, 14, and 15 show details as to the source of imports of wood pulp since 1926. In the case of unbleached sulphite and unbleached sulphate there has been a marked decline in the proportion supplied by Canada, with a corresponding increase in the relative importance of the principal European countries. Canada has lost slightly in its proportion of the ground wood pulp, but is still by far the principal source. In the case of bleached sulphite, which is imported in rather large quantities, Canada has gained slightly as compared with the European countries between 1926 and 1931. In the case of bleached sulphate, which is a class of relatively minor importance, Canada was formerly an insignificant source of supply but has now become by far the leading factor.