JAPANESE MARKET

THE JAPANESE MARKET IN LAUAN PLYWOOO AND RAW MATERIALS CONTINUALLY INCREASES IN ITS INFLUENCE OF SUPPLYING SOURCES PRICES CONVERTEO TO U.S. OOLLARS AT CUFTRENT FIATES

Averaged from Indonesia, East Malaysia and the Philippines and averaged to C + F main ports per 1000 board feet Hoppus scale the %" A.D. fir of Japan used in millions of pieces. Price averaged FOB supplyinq countries for sale to Japan $ glue line is the concrete form of Japan. Price averaged FOB supplying countries for sale to Japan $ 396.00 ltlt$l$ PRICES i??'.:'"T#:'"'.'"T,It:"'t?"'stLTIf"?issI"'Jit"";""EsE G'lvE A GooD pFilCESABENET(NODISCOUNTS)F.O.B./EXMILL; FOBEARLIESTDELIVERYOUOTEDATCLOSE

Softwood (Fir) Plywood /2"x4'x8' :4or Sply: CDUnsandod Sheathing $169.00 M.S.F. 1000 Sq. Ft. M.B.F. 1000 Board Ft. $141.80 $150.80 hear, and ask questions of, G. Hunter Bowers, Jr. Deputy Assistant Secretary of HUD for single family housing and mortgage activities, a former building material dealer.

Lumbgr whit€ Fir z" x 4" x B'/2o' S4S Construction Grade (Max, 35% strndlrdl Published monthly by International Trade Consultants, Box 7784C,8, San Diego, Calif. 92I17, U.S.A. Available by private subscription only. Editor, Gregory Frumkin, contributors as shown. oCopyright by International Trade Consultants. All rightsreserved, reprcduction not allowed. IMPORT REPORT is a trademark of International Trade Consultants.

Bowers gave the audience some straight, painful talk but with the promise of meaningf ul improvements in the future.

"Eight months ago, few people could have believed the budget cuts which have been made could be a reality," he told the dealers.

He also promised the administration is completely serious about further cuts.

The administration isnot antibuilding industry. It was a segment of the business world that gave the president a base of support and Reagan is a man who is aware of his political obligations, the HUD official noted.

The government is interested in finding a way of helping the housing industry by making it financially possible for the buyer, especially the first-time home buyer, to get a home without being subsidized, the government official said.

Bowers is one of the leaders of a department busy making itself smaller. HUD will lose 2090 of its people next month, he said.

In another of the business sessions, Collins S. Lorimer of Lorimer & Associates, a consulting firm, offered the attending businessmen specific ways of improving profits by having an efficient yard and office.

It is possible to realize a 590 to 690 reduction in the cost of handling and storage, and $1000 in savings is worth $20,000 in new business, he told the dealers.

The former mid-west dealer showed the audience examples of types of buildings and layouts that would substantially improve their profit picture.

By analyzing equipment and personnel cost, comparing the difference in time, handling materials in efficient warehouses and in oldfashioned buildings, the expert proved a dealer cannot afford to keep the old style sheds.

Pre-assembly of orders and having a staging area for orders can improve order shipping by 10090, he said.

Tuesday's program was kicked off by an analysis of the Northwest's economy by one of the speakers from last year's program, Dr. Kevin R. Kelly, economist, vice president and manager of corporate development and planning for the U.S. Bancorp.

Kelly painted a picture of more tough times but with the prornise of improvement for 1982. He forecast a slow improvement in the building industry during next year.

Bankers were surprised at the amount of borrowing during the past summer. His view of the phenomenon is that businessmen were borrowing from weakness; that they had done so to keep a cash flow expecting the economy to snap back.

It was this credit demand that drove the interest rates up, he explained.

Speaking of the interest rates, the (Please turn to page 45)

Ponderosa Pine

Sugar Pine lncense Cedar

Douglas Fir

White Fir

11th Annual Sacramento Area PartY

In terms of attendance, and certainly of conviviality, one of the largest gathering of lumber people in the West each year is the annual Sacramento Area Wholesalers Party.

The last few years the event has drawn in excess of 400 peoplewhile this year's count was about 350' The lower attendance figure represented the poor level of business in the wood industry as well as a move back to the original idea behind the party. It allowed Sacramento area wholesalers to invite their mill suppliers down to the California capital city for a thank you lunch. The meeting was held again at the Red Lion Motor Inn, December 4.

Unlike previous years, no industry person was selected as "Lumberman of the Year." It was felt by the organizers that a worthy candidate had not been presented for the honor. Previous winners include Bob Bonner, California Sugar and Western Pine Agency, Sacramento, 1977; John Casey, owner-president of Sierra Mountain Mills, North San Juan, Ca., in 1978; Fred Passmore, Forest Products Marketing, Oroville, Ca., 1979; and Jack McKenzie, Old Town Moulding, Sacramento, 1980.

Market conditions were felt in other ways, including the absence of parties preceding the event, which had often been held in prior years. Observers noted that the talk was light to business, commenting that there had already been so much discussion about poor market conditions that most attending preferred other subjects.

The main organizing committee included Gary Simmen, Gabbert-Simmen Lumber Co.; Ralph Heath' California-Cascade Industries; and Bob Bonner. All three are from Sacramento firms.

Sponsors included: American River Materials; J.H' Blevins Co.; Caldwell Lumber Sales; California BuildersSupply; California-Cascade Industries; California Sugar and Western Pine Agency; Dier Lumber Company; Ensworth Forest Products; Gabbert-Simmen Lumber, Inc.; Georgia-Pacific; Hedlund Lumber Sales; J.E. Higgins Lumber Co.; Louisiana-Pacific-Rocklin; North Sierra Forest Products; North Star Lumber Co.; Old Town Lumber & Millwork; Pooser Lumber Co.; Ridgewood Sacramento, Inc.; Siskiyou Forest Products; Stockton Wholesale; Sunrise Forest Products; Trinity Forest Products; Waldron Forest Products; Western Woods, Inc.; Whittaker Forest Products; and Rocklin Forest Products.

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