What might explain the increase in the rankings of stone, glass, iron, and steel and the decline in rankings of forest products and leather products is that "Consumer products and other items were being increasingly made out of longer-lasting, more durable materials."
This is evident in the fact that consumers prefer products they can use for a longer period and materials such as stone, glass, iron, and steel are characterized by their durability, fire-resistant, weather-resistant, and fungi or bacteria-resistants.
Unlike forests and leather products which are susceptible to fire, weather, or microorganisms.
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