SIC 2429
SPECIAL PRODUCT SAWMILLS, NOT ELSEWHERE CLASSIFIED



This industry classification includes mills, not elsewhere classified, that make excelsior (wood shavings used for packing or stuffing), wood shingles, and cooperage stock; or mills that make specially sawed products. This category also includes companies that make pads and wrappers made from wood excelsior, and makers of all types of wood shingles and shakes. Cooperage stock is comprised of the staves, headings, and hoops used for making barrels, although barrel construction is classified in SIC 2449: Wood Containers, Not Elsewhere Classified.

NAICS Code(s)

321113 (Sawmills)

321912 (Cut Stock, Resawing Lumber, and Planing)

321999 (All Other Miscellaneous Wood Product Manufacturing)

The value of sawmill product shipments declined from $24.1 billion in 1999 to $20.9 billion in 2001. Wood chip shipments, which accounted for roughly 10 percent of total industry shipments, declined from $3.04 billion to $2.86 billion over the same time period. Shipments of sawmill products, not separated by kind, which also accounted for roughly 10 percent of total industry shipments, fell from $2.61 billion to $2.01 billion. Shipments of wood ties, siding, shingles and shakes (hand-split, thicker shingles) dipped from $235 million in 1999 to $193 million in 2001. Cooperage stock is also included in this industry classification. This includes stock for both tight (used to hold liquids) and slack (for nonliquid use) cooperage, including buckets, hot tubs, storage vats, and

SIC 2429 Special Product Sawmills, Not Elsewhere Classified

barrels. Another industry segment is excelsior, also known as wood wool.

During the early 1990s, the use of wood shingles came under attack in areas prone to fires. In California, for example, several local governments banned new roofs made of wood products, due to the number of homes lost to fire during summer droughts. Wood shingle producers also faced competition from companies that made nonwood roofing materials, such as asphalt shingles. Throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s, alternatives to wood shingles continued to gain market share.

Shakertown 1992 Inc. (Winlock, Washington), previously known as Shakertown Corp., also made cedar shakes and shingles in addition to siding. It had 150 employees and sales of $24 million. Colonial Cedar Company Inc. (Kent, Washington), which made cedar lumber and siding products, had 40 employees and sales of $14 million.

Another industry leader was Blue Grass Cooperage Co. (Louisville, Kentucky), with 200 employees and sales of $26 million. This subsidiary of Brown-Forman Corp. made white oak whiskey and wine barrels. Independent Stave Company Inc. (Lebanon, Missouri) made white oak tight barrels, staves, and headings. It had 400 employees and sales of $23 million in 1998.

Most special product sawmills were small operations with fewer than five employees. By the early 2000s, one of the largest firms in the industry was Miller Shingle Company Inc. (Granite Falls, Washington), with 150 employees and estimated sales of $36 million. In addition to shingles, the firm made cedar logs, lumber, and shakes.

The sawmill products industry employed 116,000 people and spent $3.3 billion on payroll in the early 2000s. A large share of the operations in this category was located in the state of Washington. In fact, during the 1990s and 2000s, the majority of shakes and shingles were made of red cedar, grown mainly in the Pacific Northwest. Other woods used for shakes and shingles were northern white cedar, bald cypress, and redwood.

Further Reading

U.S. Census Bureau. "Statistics for Industry Groups and Industries: 2000." February 2002. Available from http://www.census.gov/prod/2002pubs/m00as-1.pdf .

——. "Value of Shipment for Product Classes: 2001 and Earlier Years." December 2002. Available from http://www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/m01as-2.pdf .

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