by the American Mission for Aid to Greece. HHFA participated with other agencies in preparing an exhibit shown at the Pan American Congress of Architects in Lima, Peru. A member of the HHFA staff visited Venezuela to advise the administrators of the government housing program in that country and to effect exchange of housing experience.

Exports and Imports of Building Materials

In connection with exports of building materials, a chief matter of concern during 1947 was preparation for the European recovery program. In the early months many export limitations were relaxed. However, the mounting volume of exports which followed relaxation of controls led to continuance of export-control powers. At year end, export-control policy had become more strict in some respects than in 1946.

In all of the year's developments, HHFA actively participated. Throughout the year it was represented on the interdepartmental committees which recommended the commodities that should be under export control and also the size of export quotas. Its representatives served on four of the interdepartmental committees which developed the United States aspects of the European recovery program. HHFA representatives, moreover, aided in determining the housing aids and exports under the Greek Aid program, and advised concerning exports of potential building materials under the program of interim aid to France, Italy, and Austria.

In order to assure that European recovery program would not seriously affect the supply of building materials in the United States, HHFA maintained, from September on, a week-to-week scrutiny of all developments under aid-program proposals that might affect the domestic supply of building materials, equipment, and machinery.

All told, the 1947 impact of exports on domestic housing construction was not severe. Some building materials items were removed from control as domestic scarcity eased. Including shipments to Canada, which are not controlled with respect to any commodity, the 1947 exports of softwood lumber amounted to about 3.5 percent of production; hardwood flooring, about four-tenths of 1 percent; plywood, about 3 percent; cement, 3 percent; gypsum board and lath, one-half of 1 percent; cast-iron soil pipe, 1 percent; nails, 3 percent; bathtubs, 3 percent; toilet tanks and bowls, 4 percent; sinks and lavatories, 6 percent; asphalt roofing, 2 percent.

Stimulation of building materials imports continued, although some measures were of necessity withdrawn. With the substantial repeal of the Veterans' Emergency Housing Act of 1946, the waiver of import duties on lumber and lumber products could not be continued. This waiver of duty went into effect under a Presidential proclamation

in October 1946, and was terminated by a second proclamation effective August 15, 1947.

Appendix A

STATISTICS AND TABLES

TABLE 1.—Estimated number new permanent nonfarm dwelling units started, by type of financing and by year, 1920-47

1 Adjusted downward for lapsed building permits and for lag between issuance of permit and actual start of construction.

Sources: National Bureau of Economic Research, 1920-29. U. S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1930-47.

TABLE 2.-Estimated number new permanent nonfarm dwelling units started, by type of financing and by month, 1946-47

1 Covers both conventional and prefabricated units.

Adjusted downward for lapsed building permits and for lag between issuance of permit and actual start of construction.

Source: U. S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.

500

79,700

78,900

800

58,800

58,500

300

TABLE 3.-Estimated number of new permanent nonfarm dwelling units completed by type of financing and by month, 1946–47

TABLE 4.-Production of selected building materials by years, 1989-45, and by Quarters and Months, 1946-47

? Data for 1939-43 represent production for sale; for 1944-46, shipments; and for 1947, production. Data for gypsum lath for 1939-46 represent shipments.

Sources: All data compiled by Construction Division, Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, Commerce Department, from the following sources: Lumber: U.S. Forest Service, Department of Agricul ture, and for 1947, National Lumber Manufacturing Assn; plumbing fixtures: Civilian Production Administration, Office of Housing Expediter, and Census; gypsum board and lath: Bureau of Mines, Interior Department and U. S. Commerce Department; cast-iron soil pipe: Bureau of Census, Commerce Department, American Iron and Steel Institute; cast-iron pressure pipe: Bureau of Census, Commerce Department, American Iron and Steel Institute.

NOTE.-Monthly and quarterly figures have been rounded independently and therefore may not add to totals in all cases.