SIC 2421 Sawmills and Planing Mills, General
SIC 2421
This industry includes establishments primarily engaged in sawing rough lumber and timber from logs and bolts, or resawing cants and flitches into lumber, including box lumber and softwood cut stock; planing mills combined with sawmills; and separately operated planing mills that are engaged primarily in producing surfaced lumber and standard workings or patterns of lumber. The industry also includes establishments primarily engaged in sawing lath and railroad ties and in producing tobacco hogshead stock, wood chips, and snow fence lath. Establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing box shook or boxes are classified in wood container manufacturing industries; those manufacturing sash, doors, wood molding, window and door frames, and other fabricated millwork are classified in millwork, veneer, plywood, and structural wood industries; and those manufacturing hardwood dimension and flooring are classified in SIC 2426: Hardwood Dimension and Flooring Mills.
321912
Cut Stock, Resawing Lumber, and Planing
321113
Sawmills
321918
Other Millwork (including Flooring)
321999
All Other Miscellaneous Wood Product Manufacturing
Despite a strong U.S. economy in the late 1990s, which spurred demand for wood products in residential and light commercial construction, as well as for residential repair, remodeling, and home improvements, this industry experienced only modest growth in the mid-2000s. Any growth whatsoever, however, was an unexpected and welcome development for sawmills and other wood product manufacturers, for whom forecasters who predicted a severe industry-wide depression. The housing industry, which fuels the wood products industry, remained more steady than predicted. Pockets of heavy building activity in certain areas, combined with increased nationwide interest in remodeling and generally stable new home construction, are the impetus behind a recovery for the industry.
The largest companies operating sawmills and planing mills cut a large percentage of the total North American production. According to the U.S. Industry & Trade Outlook, "commodities manufactured by this sector are used in a wide range of applications, including residential construction and repairs as well as nonresidential construction, paper and allied products, millwork items, cabinetry and furniture, prefabricated housing units, and sporting goods and toys." The industry is affected by governmental, environmental, and land-use policies that regulate logging. In recent years those policies have contributed to consolidation of companies.
The first sawmill in the United States is said to have been built in York, Maine, in 1623. Sawmills quickly became a common sight in frontier settlements. Most were small enterprises with one or two workers, and nearly all of these mills were on rivers, using running water as their power source. As railroads spread across the country in the nineteenth century, the best spot to put a sawmill became the bank of a log-driving stream where a railway crossed it. With the shift from water to steam power, mills became larger and more complex. One mill on the Saginaw River produced 14 million board feet during the first half of 1874 and employed 150 men. Circular saws replaced the old-fashioned up and down saws in the 1860s, and the contemporary invention of a method for repairing worn or broken teeth greatly extended their useful lives. Electric power began to replace steam power in the early twentieth century, and by 1929 it accounted for 45 percent of all energy sources.
The mid-1990s were the best and worst of times for sawmill owners. With the economy healthy and interest rates low, housing starts climbed and lumber demand was buoyant. But while strong demand led to higher prices, lumber quotes continued to be highly volatile. Moreover, the supply side of the equation remained perilous. Conservationists remained committed to restricting...
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