MANCHURIAN SOURCES OF TIMBER, STEEL, AND CEMENT

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00926A003200010006-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 17, 2012
• Sequence Number: 6
• Publication Date: February 26, 1951
• Content Type: REPORT

4
.f.;
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/10/17: CIA-RDP80-00926A003200010006-1
11 CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
INFORMATION REPORT
COUNTRY China
SUBJECT Manchurian Sources of Timber, Steel, and Cement
PLACE
ACQUIRE
DATE
ACQUIRE
DATF OF
DATE DISTR.
50X1-H UM
Feb 1951
NO. OF PAGES 3
NO. OF ENCLS.
(LISTED BELOW)
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NO.
50X1-H UM
THIS DOCUMENT CONTAINS INFORMATION AFFECTING THE NATIONAL DEFENSE
OF THE UNITED STATES WITHIN THE MEANING OF THE ESPIONAGE ACT 50
U. S. C.. 91 AND 32. AS AMENDED. ITS TRANSMISSION OR THE REVELATION
OF ITS CONTENTS IN ANY MANNER TO AN UNAUTHORIZED PERSON IS PRO-
HIBITED BY LAW. REPRODUCTION OF THIS FORM IS PROHIBITED.
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATIrmi
50X1-HUM
TIMBER
1. The area under forest in .Northeast Asia in 1941
Manchuria - about 600,000 square kilometers, of
were in ManChuria; Siberia - about 4,382,000 sq
sq km.
2. The Manchurian forests cover the slopes of the mountain ranges of Great Hsngan,
Little Hsingan, and the Eastern Mountain Region,.extanding northeast"to the con-
fluence of the Amur and Uasuri rivers. The best regions, which have been etploited
to tome extent, are, as follows
., '4.
was as follows: China, including
this total about 290,000 sq km
. km; and Japan - about 366,000
50X1-H UM
) --1. on sketch - The Eastern Forest Region, situated in the Eastern Mountain
Country on both sides of the former Chinese Eastern -Railroad, This area
provided most of the large timber to the,CERR,and to Harbin;
(b) 7.2. on sketch - The Western Forest Region,-which includea.foreits on the
western line of thaCERR, on both slopes of the Great Hsingan'alountain range.
It provided 'sleepers for. the CERR and stanchions for mine shafts;
(c) on sketch - The Lover Sungari Forest Region, which .extended along both
sides of the Sungari River. The forests began about 250 km downstream from
Harbin and extended to about 11.00 km from that city. Some of the timber
from this area was transported by water to Harbin;
(d) -,4.-on sketch - The Yalu Riveryorest Region, which extended along the
upper reaches of the Yalu,Jprovide4 timber which was transported down
-
riVer to the port of Antung;
CLASSIFICATIONCONFIDENTIAL/US OFFICIALS ONLY
STATE
NAVY
NSRB
DISTRIBUTION
ARMY
X\AIR
FBI
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/10/17: CIA-RDP80-00926A003200010006-1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/10/17: C1A-.RDP80-00926A003200010006-1
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- 2 -
(e) - 5. on sketch - The Upper Sungari Forest Region, which extended throughout ?
:the reservoir of the Upper Sungari River, provided timber which was rafted down
' the river to Kirin and Hainking (formerly Changchun); and
- 6. on. sketch The Forest RegiOn of Middle Manchuria, served by the
TuEhwa-Tumen and Tumen-Ninguta-Mutankiang railroad lines, constructed in
the 1930's 'by the J'Apanese. Timber was transported to the North Korean
ports of Yuki and Seishin.
3. The volume of standing trees in Manchuria was estimated by the Japanese in 1941
at approximately 3,719,000,000 cubic meters. Of these, about 1,476,500,000
cubic meters represent needle leaf trees and about 2,242,500,000 cubic meters
represent broad leaf trees. Timber output in 1938, for example, was' approximately
2,300,000 cubic meters.
IRON AND STP.itL
4. Iron deposits in North Manchuria were neither explored nor exploited up to 1941.
However, Professor E E Anert, a consultant to the Chinese Eastern Railroad and
author of Useful Minerals in Manchuria, published in 1928, believed that deposits
there may well be richer than those in South Manchuria. Iron deposits in the
south are not large. The main iron belt lies along the Mukden-Dairen and
Mukden-Antung sections of the former South Manchuria Railroad, with its center
around Anshan and Penhsihu. The Anshan district deposits are the most important.
They lie in a semi-circle, with a radius of 10 km, around Anshan. The largest
steel plant in Manehuria, the 'Shwa Steel Works (formerly The Anshan Foundry),
was located in Anshan. The production of iron ore in Manchoukuo in 1936 was
1,904,593 metric tons Two plants in Manchoukuo processed iron ore: The larger
was tile Showa Steel Works, the other was the'Penhsihu Plant.
5. Before production was expanded, total output, in 1937, was 762,138 metric tons
of pig iron; 426,544 metric tons of steel; and 369,666 metric tons of steel materials.
Manchoukuo's five year plan, beginning in 1937, was designed to increase production
capacity to 4,600,000 metric tons of pig iron, two million metric tons of steel
bars, two million metric tons of semi-manufactured steel products. snd four
million tons of ingots. In 1938, production of pig iron rose 17%, semi-manu-
factured steel 50%, and steel ingots la% above the previous year. Tnese rigures
represented 99%, 113%, and 95% of the goals fixed for. 1938,"?r'the second year
-of the plan. In 1945, both steel plants were stripped of their equipment,
which was sent to the USSR. If the plants have now been reactivatea the above
figures ley give an idea of their capacity.
6. Until 1932, Manchuria had only two cement plants: the Onoda cement plent near
Dairen; and the cement plant of the Penhsihu Iron Works. Japan supplied most
of the cement for the Far East. With the founding of Manehoukue, however, local
demand for cement increased rapidly because of great activity in strategic con-
struction and the rapid development of industry. Many cement factories were
therefore established. Their total capacity served to make Manchoukuo almost
self-sufficient in cement. At 1939's end, eleven cement factories had a com-
bned capacity of 2,153,000 metric tons. Factories and their capacities,
in metric tons, fellow:
Factory
Dairen'
Anshan
Liaoyang
Wenchun
Fushun
-Kirin
dhinsi
Penhsihu
Chuantou
Harbin
Mutankiang
CONFIDENTIAL/US OFFICIALS ONLY
.Capacity
250,000
' 200,000
240,000
? 150,000
300,000
280,000
. ? 120.
350,000
160,000
73,000
150,000
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Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/10/17 : CIA-RDP80-00926A003200010006-1
Declassified in Part- Sanitized Copy Approved forRelease2012/10/17 : CIA-RDP80-00926A003200010006-1 -HUM
. CONFIDENTIAL/US OFFICIALS ONLY
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Comment: Should more detailed information be desired on Manchurian Timber,
steel,
(a)
and cement, the following books would be of value:
Forests and Lumber Industries in Manchuria, V.I.
Sourine, 1930. Published by CERR (Chinese Eastern
Railroad).
(b)
Economic Atlas of North Manchuria, 1931. CERR.
(c)
Useful Minerals in North Manchuria, E.E. Anert, 1928.
Published by the "Society to Study the Manchurian Krai."
(d)
Mineral Products and Resources of the Far East, B.P.
Torgashoff, 1927. CERR.
(e)
Japan - Manchoukuo Year Book, 1941.
The first four are in Russian, the fifth in English:7
-end-
CONFIDENTIAL/US OFFICIAIS ONLY
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/10/17 : CIA-RDP80-00926A003200010006-1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/10/17: CIA-RDP80-00926A003200010006-1
ETCH
0F MOST IMPORTANT thtit6orr40 FOREST lkiECiONS
M AINC URI-Ac.
1111,
co. Le -W., 700, 440
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Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/10/17 : CIA-RDP80-00926A003200010006-1