Adapting to a global wood moulding industrV

By Jim Gonsalves

grade is being shipped into this country, not only by Mexican companies. but many large U.S. concerns that have invested millions of dollars in Mexico. Will prices eventually equal that of radiata and domestic ponderosa? Most likely.

Medium density fiberboard (MDF), once considered as a substrate for furniture, cabinets, etc., has become another source of supply. This product is gaining acceptance as a substitute for wood mouldings, displacing fingerjoint in paint grade applications, and as a stability factor in controlling prices for a number of new homebuilders and remodelers across the country. If it hasn't been a factor in your market, it soon will be. Do we have a shortage of wood? Not hardly. Will we have market fluctuations in the future? Definitely. But, in my opinion, if we have a stable economy in the world, we will not have fluctuations as dramatic as we saw just a few years ago when moulding & better peaked around $2,600/M and#2 shop around $1,200.

What we are experiencing today is the result of environmentalists in this country speeding up a process that was inevitable. Globally, we have vast amounts of wood. While there's no question that North American forest products companies were the undisputed leaders in forest management, there are many global companies who have become just as smart as we are, and their government leaders are willing to provide them with the tools they need to compete internationally.

In a free market economy, change is inevitable. In a free world market. these changes can be frightening. Global wood supplies and engineered wood products (such as MDF, OSB, etc.) are having an impact on more than just pricing. Global competition is altering the way we will do business in the future. How we adapt will determine if we are a part of that future.

Jim Gonsalves is c.e.o. of Western Moulding Co., Inc. and Pueblo Millwork Co., manufacturers of softwood and MDF mouldings, and president of the Wood Moulding & M illwor k P roduc ers Association.