Third annual wholesalers' luncheon

A HOST of wholesalers hosted a happy holidays party .CL in Sacramento, Ca., recently for wholesalers and retailers who came from a wide area to attend the third annual luncheon party.

More than a hundred and a half attended.

Picking up the tab were: Oregon Pacific Industries,

Inc.; Gabbert Lumber Sales; American Lumber Species; Karren & Frank Lumber Co.; Hedlund Lumber Sales; Lancer Wholesale Lumber Co.; Dier Lumber Co.; Nikkel lumber div., DG Shelter Products Co.; Pooser Lumber Co.; Direct Lumber Co.; Red River Lumber Co.; and Neely-Nelson Lumber Co.

Housing starts in December (latest figs.) slumped to a 3Vz year low, in Dec., down more than 20Va from the previous mo. and ( s hu d d e r) nearly 437o below Dec.'72 . . . bldg. permits looked equally bleak, dropping 7.3Vo from Nov. and a record 49Vo below a year previous

Doom and GloomAward soes to the National Assn. of H6me Builders which released a report saying that Dec.'s 1 ,355,000 were not the bottom line of the slide in starts . . how bad they expect it to get was not exactly stated, just worse

The West's biggest single home market, California, reported in with 205,000 units for '7 3, dow, n I 97o from' 72, according to Bank of America, which foresees tt further l57o decline this year, assuming a pickup of activity in the 2nd quarter . .-

The federal government plans a$6.6 billion tronsfusion in gov. backed mortgage loans to revive the sagging building industry . . builder groups immediately denounced the plan as o'unrealistic" and "ineffective"

Atlrlitionul $'$$ for housirtg also came over the horizon with the bankers' move to a 9/z7o prime rate s&ls reported decreased inflows of savings in Dec. that could eventually go for mortgage money for home buildlng

The important sectiorzs in the Federal Energy Office's Petroleum Allocation & Price Regs. are Sec. 2ll.1l, 2ll.l02 and 2n.lA3, the entire piece is 37pp. of small type written in dreary "federalese

Crown Zellerbach plans to buy Biles-Coleman Lumber Co., Omak, Wa., for about $26.6 million in CZ stock: a closelv held concern, Biles Coleman has annual sales of about $65 million . . . Ingersoll-Rand intends to acquire Schlage Lock Co., San Francisco, for about $85 million instock...

Georgict - Pocific' and Brooks-Sconlon have ended talks concerning the possible sale of Brooks-Scanlon to G-P .Russeks, Inc., hasagreedto sell its wholly owned Fir Ply, Inc., Medford, Or., to Southwest Forest Industries for about $4.6 million in cash with Fir Ply retaining cash, CDs and receivables of about $1.8 million plus some $300,000 liabilities . . final agreement has yet to be reachedo tho deal is expected to closeAprill...

Hamman - McFarland Lumber Co., Phoenix, plans to take over the formerR E. Coble Builtling Materials Co. yard, at Deer Valley and Coble willtake over the Hamman-McFarland truss plant and yard on S. 59th Ave. and operate it as a Coble facility Fitzsimmons Lumber Inc. dba White Pine Lumber Distibutors. Fresno. Ca.. has opened a spanking new store and warehouse (same location) and added a complete line of builders hardware

International Forest Prodrcls, Pomona, Ca., has open- ed a new sales office in Fresno . . . Spear Lumber Co., Cheyenne, Wyoming's oldest lumber and building materials dealer, has successfully converted over to become Spear Promart Home Center . . . R ancl L Building Supplies, Boring, Or., has expanded its sales area, plans to add a garden center later this year

The usualmoving hassles plus fuel/energy shortages delayed Oregon-Pucific's move to their new hq. at Wilsonville, Or.; mid-Feb. is the present target date . they have added distribution of Anderson Windowalls from their new Fairfield, Ca.. warehouse

Simpson Timber has made what is, apparently, the lst sale of bleached softwood kraft woodpulp from a U.S. mill to Red Chino; no word as to whether more trade is expected ...in the 1930s, there was a considerable lumber trade with the Chinese mainland done throueh West Coast ports .

Boise Cascode has purchased the Eugene, Or., modular housing plant of Bohemia Inc., terms were not disclosed . . BC plans a $l.l billion cupital program beginning this year, some 777a to go to improve and expand their basic businessblde. materials and paper. .

Simp.son Timher and the Conudiun Province of Alberta plan a $30,000,000 forest products development 100 miles east of Edmonton; included will be a dimension sawmill with a capacity of 95,000,000 board feet and supporting logging and timber developments Potlatch plans to spend $8 million for 3 whole-log chipping plants in ldaho plus sawmill modernization in Arkansas . .

The oak floorins industrv rerluced the thicknes{of nominil I " flooring from 25132" to 314" the lst of this month . . the Cost of Living Council has removed wage and price controls from the mobile home and recreational vehicle industries . .

Portland's Fred Meyer, Inc., a large Northwest discounter, is opening 8 new home improvement centers this year if all goes well Handyman, Inc., based in La Mesa. Ca. (San Diego). which presently has stores in Ca., Or., Az. and Tx., plans several new ones for the Chicago area

Except for autos, the cons.umer is still spending, according to most recent gov. figures for Dec., wilh retail sales up $319 million