N EWS BRI EFS

The removal of price controls on lumber produced dramatic price jumps immediately; std. & btr, green Doug. fir 2x4s F.O.B. Portland went from $127 to $165 and then proceeded to move higher, similar price moves marked most other forest products . the long term trend, however, is to lower prices "eventually," when supply matches demand, tho most industry seers don't expect it until Spring, at the earliest .

Price Commission officials have come thru loud and clear thatthey will continue to eye the lumber industry in particular lor price violations during Phase 3 of President Nixon's controls on the economy . . they still consider it a "problem area," tho plans are to try and control prices thru the voluntaryprogram...

Log export volumes have continued to skyrockel,' softwood log exports from the Western U.S. during the lst 10 mos. of '72 were 2.3 billion bd. tt. vs. 1.4 billion bd. ft. during the comparable period in '71; the total for last year is expected to be about 3 billion bd. ft.

To no one's surprise final housing start figures for the pqst year were an all+ime record, 2,377,000, a gain of l47o svsl the year previous opinions now on this year's probable total vary between iust over and iust under the 2 million mark co-chaired by two powerlul members of the Congress, Sen. John Sparkman (D-Ala.) and ReP. Wright Patman (D-Tex.), is beginning a staff study of the whole supply-demand-price situation lor lumber, plyu,ood and timber . they threaten public hearings if their study findings show anythingquestionable...

Higher interest rates are boing seen increasingly as the federal government takes more steps to control inflation; despite higher rates (d prime ol 6r/+Vo is expected soon) most observers see an ample money supply at least thru the first quarter . .

The Senate-House Joint Committee on Defense Production.

Cal Forest Lumber has purchased Mutual Moulding and Lumber Co. for an undisclosed price, both firms are in Gardena, Ca.; new owners plan no changes and are running it as a separate company Service Lumber Co., a Novato, Ca., retailer, has been bought and phased out by Kelleher Lumber, a San Rafael wholesaler, which plans to build a 25,000 sq. ft. warehouse on the site, which may eventually become HQ..

Slaughter Bros.,Inc., Dallas, is seeking land for a distribution yard in Denver it plans to build later this year . agreement in principle has been reached for Palmer G. Lewis Co., Seattle, to buy Portland's Pacilic Yard Service, Inc. for an undisclosed amount of PGL common stock; Pacific Yard Service will retain its identity and will operate as a separateentity...

The s&ls are awash in money, growth in deposits broke atl records, increasing to a walloping $33 billion Calvert Knudsen, 49, a Weyerhaeuser senior v.p., is being considered tor a post on the powerful Securities and Exchange Commission, which regulates all stock, bond and cther securities trading in the U.S.

Santa Cruz Lumber has purchased a 24 acre sire in Santa Cruz, Ca., containing 105,000 sq. ft. of plant and office space in three bldgs. lor $1.4 million . . ground has been broken for a new multi-million dollar complex in South Gate, Ca., that will house, among others, National Lumber & Supply Co. .

United Gilsonite Laboratories, Scranton, Pa., has bought Beverlee's Satin Stain, Visalia, Ca., no price revealed; Robert I. Peachey is heading up the new div. Howard Kingman has sold Chelan Lumber, Chelan, Wash., to a group of local investors, headed by Don Schmitten, which plans /o close the 5O year old firm

Cashway Lumber, Baker, Ore., plans a new 60'x100' bldg. suP' ply center, according to Cashway's Dick Hindman, Jr. .Midway Building Supply, Sweethome, Ore., recently celebrated its 10th anniversary zoning battles are continuing for Northwest Building Supply, Eugene, Ore., which seeks a change from commercial to light industrial .

Building Materials Unlimited is the new name for Eichrome Building Materials, San Mateo, Ca. . . . Goodman Building Supply had some 3' of water in their Mill Valley store during the big Jan. rains . Merritt Lumber, Northridge, Ca., has had two recent cases of vandalism resulting in several hundred dollars damage . 7 Oaks Home Centerhas been newly opened in Morgan Hill, Ca. by partners Phil Torres and Ted Oakley.

CBS Plywood, a S.F. Bay Area retail bldg. mtls. chain, has been purchased by a group of investors headed by Tom Bentley, ex-gen. mgr., Publishers Forest Products, Portland, Bob Smith is vp., lon mer pres. Jack Favors has left the co.; CBS has 5 outlets: Oakland, Fremont, Dublin, San Leandro and Concord . their stores in Napa, Berkeley, San Pablo and East Oakland have been closed.