The paper addresses the issue of justifying the possibility of reducing the production costs of construction birch plywood with phenol-formaldehyde binder. Reducing the binder consumption to 95 g per square meter of veneer surface and lowering the pressing temperature to 105 ℃ necessitates providing the required mechanical properties – plywood static bending and glue joint shear strengths, as well as water resistance, i.e., low thickness swelling after 24 h in water. At this pressing temperature, the phenol-formaldehyde binder does not achieve the maximum degree of curing. To make a stronger network of cured binder, modifiers – aluminum-ammonium and aluminum-potassium alums – are used, added in amounts of 0.5 to 1.5% of the phenol-formaldehyde binder mass. Using two-factor dispersion analysis, the significance of the effect of the modifier type and content in the binder on the plywood parameters was mathematically assessed. The plywood manufactured under economy production conditions and containing 0.5% of the modifier has high elasticity (static bending strength) and low thickness swelling. The obtained results can be recommended for use in the manufacture of sheathing plywood with the required physical and mechanical properties.