Engineered lumber growth to continue

IIEFYING recession, a weak housUing industry and restrictions on timber harvests, use of engineered lumber poducts continues to grow.

Consumption of laminated veneer Irrmber (LVL) has grown 8% in tbe last two yers; parallel strand lumber (PSL), 4%; wd I-beems, 47%, md parallel chord trusses, 10%, George Carter & Affiliates (GC&A) points out in its latest study of market size and growth for engineered lumber products. Only glulam beams felt tbe re@ssion, falling 19% in usage.

Total consumption is now 690 mil-

Story at a Glance

Engineered lumber use forecast to grow from 3oolo to ltO% depending on product.

lion linear feet (1-3l4"x12" basis).

since some products arc report€d on a cubic foot basis, figures have been converted to linear feet for direct comparisons. *And remember, this (growth) occurred during a period when housing starts in the United States rose less than l% ard starts in Canada actually fell over llqo,* George M. Carter points ouL

As environmental consciousness increased during the '80s and took off in the '90s, the availability of wood resources, prinarily large dimension, old-growth timber, continued to shrink, forcing wood product manufacturers to examine their manufacnrr- ing operations. Pressure from the conservation movement bas curtailed the cutting of old-growdh rimber in particular, but 'even wi0out these pressures, Oe supply of standing timber cryable of producing large dimension lrrmber is becoming ever morc scante," the Oradell, NJ., resercher notes.

In the slowly recovering new housing maket and burgeoning repair and remodeling maftet denand for wood keeps growing. Bigger, open, airy rooms with large clear spans are tbe trend in single family construction and will continue into the next oentury, C:rter forecasts.

As the current recovery gains momentum, a stong movement to utilize low interest loms to fix up exising homes is expected to spur the repair and remodeling market. Recovery from Hurricane Andrew, lhe "Noreastet of '92" in tbe Northeast and a varbty of tornadas in tbe South last year will further Oe demand for wood building malerials. Additional ma*et growth also will be redized as rebuilding begins following the ftooding along the Mississippi River and the fires in Califqnia this yejr.

In updating the daabase of tbe ftrst analysis of produoion and use of ELP in the United States and Canada, researchers harn€d many retailers and builden still know little about engineered lumber products.

However, growth hrs occurre4 as shown by the information on the opposite page: