1400 convene at Pacif ic Northwest dealer annual

IIEITHER gloomy economic l!climate nor blustery, rainy weather could prevent the 78th annual Western Building Material Association convention and products show from being a shining success.

Members from the Pacific Northwest states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Alaska, 1400 strong, met for four days in Portland, Oregon's Marriot Hotel. The attendance figure was only off slightly despite many months of depressed economic conditions and the promise of more to come.

Story at a Glance

Conventioneers warmed to the theme of the meeting "The Only lVay /s Up" with a Western Hawaiian reception Nov. 14, and followed up with a preview of the new products exhibit.

During the Quick Pitch Selling Talks, a feature which has become an annual event for the show, exhibitors were offered a short shot at pitching the merits of their products to the dealers.

Government's present role in housing . . . handling, storage and layout savings . . . competing with mass merchandis. ers . . Frank Powers elected new president. the to

One of the highlights of meeting was the opportunity

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A proposal to cut 100,000 saDsidized housing units from the fed. budget has been made by President Reagan as parf,,,,r6f hig budget cutting . whether it will pass Congress is unclear . . , Sen. Mark Hatfield (R-Or.) has withdrawn his bill io ameird the Jones Act to permit Western lumber shippers to use foreign vessels . , :,,.::,.,:, .:rr:r;rlr,.

',',,,::r,',,,The U.S. Senat, nu, oraoidl the International Trade Commission to investigate the effects of imported Canadian lumber on U.S. industry. the final report is expected to be made public in about t&ree months . . . a series of meetings also have been held around Oregon by a panel ap- pointed by Gov. Vic Atiyeh to examine the impact of Canadian lumberimports...

Hpysing sturts were @":"''truc- tionally in Nov. (atest figs.) as home bldg. ltaggered through what may-be its worse year ever . . llp 0.890 Over Oct.;. 'u t.* sonally adjusted annual rate of

Home building in every western state was off last mo.; in Ca, it hit a 15 year low.. nationally, ioles of new single fomily homes rose ISVo in Oct. Qatest figs.) after hitting a record low in Sept. .. sales of existing homes plunged below the annual rate of 2 million in Oct., their lowest level in 10 years

Nov. hardwood lumbsr':,,production in the South wasi:down 1790 from the previous mo. softwood lumber production nationally was off 0.5V0 (a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 26.9 billion bd. ft.) almost I'S,!h,"'r'below the year earlier mark . . western sawmill employment continues to run more than 259b unemployed, with abouiZSm o*1l.: shortshifts...

Construction spending hit its lowest level in a yea;r in Novflatest figs); it was the l0th decline in II mog . . . U.S. homeowners are defaulting at a record pace on their mortgage payments; more than I in 20 is now in arrears, with the Mortgage Bankers Assn. predicting an

All-American Home Center, Downey, Ca., is preparing again to gxpgnd and rwrodel . . . "' t6:1191';,,;L. Fello,ws & Sor, Burbank;.::l96., i$ i si$g its O,range County, Ca., loCdion . ' '',X.rur/s har opened a new store ii|Clendale, Az. . . Anderson Lumber Co., Ogden Ut., has opened new building m'di'iii'al cgnrii:rs in Evanston, Wy., and Si::l'Oeorgc;,' '1, ut.

GAF Ca@,:.is sellingl,its flooring businesc: to TarkCtl.'iAB, par!,,,, sf the Swedish Match Group, f6f",,' about $56.6 million Paul Bunyan Lumber Co. has been modernizing its Anderson, Ca., plant during a recent Curtailmernt period . Bohemia Inc. has moved if'$:,Ca. sales office at Grass Valley to Eugene, Or. .

Kaiser Cement is said to be on schedule for an early 1983 startup of itsmodernized Lucerne Valley, Ca., plant .'J;& l{igg&&,,,San Franeisco, Cr., is firrting r mechines for a start up this mo&&:'at its *erY $l million mill in Union City, Ca.

.Los Angeles Count!, Cs., has :':'l extended the ban on untreated wood roof shingles to include unincorporated flatland areas