Are hardwood dimension exports hurting the domestic market?

f RE exports of hardwood dimen- sion products hurring the domestic market? Are they creating shortages and inflating prices?

Negative thinkers in the industry love to blame increasing exports for the woes of their businesses, but it's not so, says Steven V. Losser, executive director of the National Dimension Manufacturers Association, Marietta, Ga. Losser and his association members are working hard to build exports by attending European trade fairs and participating in Hardwood Export Trade Council activities.

Dimension products are gaining popularity abroad because it costs much less to ship dimension products than rough lumber and logs, Losser explains. Dimension buyers also have to dispose of less waste, sometimes no waste, from dimension products.

Statistics show that their work is paying off. In 1988 hardwood dimension exports increased 510/o to $79.7 million. This figure includes exports of various dimension products such as cut-to-size blanks, solid and laminated squares, flooring, edge-glued panels, machined furniture parts and kitchen cabinet doors and parts. Also specialtyitems like musicalinstrument parts and picture frames. All are part of a $ I billion total hardwood product export figure.

The top l0 markets for U.S, hardwood products in 1988 were Japan, Canada, West Germany, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, Italy, Belgium, Mexico, Spain and The Netherlands.

To those who protest that these dimension products come back to

What ls Hardwood Dlmension? Who Buys lt?

Hardwood dimension encompasses a wide assortment of machined parts ranging from edge-glued panels and cut-to-size blanks to fully machined component parts for use by furniture, cabinet and other wood product manufacturers. Wood turnings of all shapes and sizes can be made to specifications.

Most hardwood dimension goes to a manufacturer to become part of another product. A small part is used as architectural millwork, interior trim and moulding, flooring, stair case parts, fireplace mantels and such. This market is expected to continue to increase as the home improvement market become more important.

The furniture industry is the hardwood dimension market's largest customer. Cabinet manu-

Story at a Glance

Defenders clalm exports stablllze supply, prop up domestic prlces and modulate buelness cycles. the only negatlve: temporary spot shortages exports contlnue rlslng.

the U.S. in finished products, NDMA points out that imports of furniture into the U.S. in 1988 rose only l%r while exports of American furniture climbed 350/o for the second consecutive time. However, they concede that the trade gap in furniture remained high at more than $3 billion. Wood furniture accounted for 57o/o of the total import. Imports from Taiwan declined while those from Canada, Mexico and Thailand increased.

facturers, decorative wood manulacturers and architectural millwork houses are other important customers.

Very little hardwood dimension is sold to the d-i-yer. Weyerhaeuser with the ChoiceWood program is the first company to actively pursue this market segment. They are packaging classic and premium hardwood with knots, checks, skip and warp removed. Labeled 10006 usable, the hardwood has no waste or scrap and is blemish free and dimensionally stable.

The line offers S4S, precision cut in six widths and five lengths as well as accurately milled mouldings and shelf edges. Project plans for the home woodworker are part of the marketing package.

Losser maintains that exports have a stabilizing effect on the dimension market, preventing an oversupply. "Exports help in rounding out production cycles," he explains, "avoiding ups and downs, creating steadiness."

When asked what would happen if the exports of hardwood dimension ceased, he pointed out that without exports, there would be a severe oversupply of hardwood dimension. This would lower domestic prices, he said, resulting in producers going out of business. "The cost of overhead keeps increasing," Losser said. "Machinery expenses and costs of employee benefits such as health insurance keep going up."

The only negative to exports, Losser maintains, is some spot shortages, primarily in ash, cherry, red oak and certain other select species, but this is only temporary and offset by the many advantages of hardwood dimension exports.