Problems to conquer

By Charles W. Bingham Executive Vice President Weyerhaeuser Company

I\EMAND for wood products in V the 1990s is expected to grow modestly, similar to what we've seen in the latter part of the 1980s. Although overall housing start trends are expected to remain near 1.4-1.5 million units, demographic factors favor a somewhat higher percentage of single family starts.

Strength in repair and remodel and growth in export product markets will be positive factors.

However, this outlook for continued strength in product demand is dependent upon improvement in the federal budget deficit and our trade deficit. The large deficit, coupled with low personal savings, has led to an ever increasing flow of foreign investments into the U.S. These now account for 250h of net credit raised.

The implications are sobering. As more of our GNP goes to service our foreign debt, less money is available to spend on housing construction or on remodeling our homes. U.S. interest rates will be increasingly affected by world rates, and we, as a country, will have less control over our economic future. It's quite evident that responsible fiscal and monetary policies are vital not only to the health of our economy, but to the future of our industry.

Story at a Glance

Economic, supply and production implications complicate the future, but the repair and remodel market is a positive factor.

environment and natural resources. Growing numbers of people are responding with calls to restrict, even deny, industry access to forest lands, both public and private. We have not done an adequate job of providing the public with factual information about modern forest management techniques, that, in fact, timber harvesting represents responsible stewardship of a renewable resource.

Our industry should be viewed as leading the environmental movement, not at odds with it. Weyerhaeuser Co., for example, owns and manages nearly six million acres of forest land in the U.S. The company has planted over two billion trees over the past 20 years (five trees planted for each one harvested), developed the first industrial tree farm in North America nearly 50 years ago, invested over $65 million during the past 10 years on hightechnology forest research.

Basic forest management efforts are, in every sense, good environmentalism. The forest products industry needs public understanding and support to maintain and achieve public policies that are essential to an adequate supply of raw material to meet the projected demand.

The combination of continuing demand for wood products versus the changing character and availability of raw material supply will accelerate the need for and development of new technologies and new products. Current examples include laminated beams, which are increasingly being used as alternatives to solid sawn timbers. Kiln-dried, rather than green products, offer more stability in some applications. Composites and laminates will substitute for some traditional solid wood products.

Our company is committed to technological advancements in all aspects of our forest products business, from tree planting and genetics to the engineering and design ofnew products and new product applications. We believe this will pay off in the '90s in our ability to continue to serve our customers' needs.