Factors Affecting the Use of Lumber By Truss Fabricators in the United States

The truss fabricating industry used about 1.1 million board feet of softwood lumber per firm in 1975 to produce an average of 17,000 floor and roof trusses. It is one of the youngest forest products industries in the United States–about 60 percent of the firms are less than 10 years old. The total market value of all trusses produced exceeded 1 billion dollars. Builder prejudices and architect influences were major obstacles to greater use of trusses. Regional differences existed in the species, size, and grade of lumber used. Southern pine was the major species used for trusses nationally–the Midwest is shifting more and more to this species. Lumber was usually ordered by specified grade and length. Thirty-five percent of the fabricators had some problems with their lumber; the major problem was warp. Fabricators were concerned about the significant variations within sane lumber grades, different interpretation of the same regulatory codes, and builders’ lack of knowledge about trusses.

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