NTEWS B

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After approximately three years of the worst business conditions since the 1930s, the lumber industry has staged a major bounce back . . prices on some commodity items were up more than $100 in recent trading; prices have since retreated from some of thehighs...

Whether this is the start of The Great Turnaround no one knows at this stage, though many feel it is; more say they hope it is . . lower mortgage interest rates, an I l9o prime rate, and sharply reduced inflation indicate tbat an end to the bod times has begun . . no one is presently forecasting a rapid return to boom times .

Mortgage lenders plan a wider selection of choice for borrowers and to originate more loans in '83 reports a Mortgage Guarantee Insurance Corp. survey . . . giant conglomerate International Telephone and Telegraplr plans to purchase Newport Balboa S&L, Newport Beach, Ca.; the acquisition marks ITT's lst entrv into the S&Lbusiness...

On Mar. 7 the International Trade Administration will issue a preliminary ruling on the question of a possible duty for Canadian lumber brought into the U.S.; final resolution of the complex subject may be effected by mid to late summer .. The Waferboard Association is a new Atlanta, Ga., basedgroup of producers. .

Housing starts in Dec. (latest figs.) slipped l3Vo ftom the preceding mo. to a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 1,222,000 . single family starts were off 9.40/0, multiples fell 1990 .. starts were off in every region of the country except the West .

For all of 1982 housing starts were off 2.20/s to 1,060,600 units, the lowest level in 36 years Dec. building permits for future construction rose 8.390 from November figs., indicating a continuation of housing's slow climb from recent lows

Ca. resale housing rose 24Vo in Nov. to 271,330 units, highest volume of the year sales topped Nov. '81 by l.l9o, exceeding the previous year for the lst time in 2l mos. Home building in the state rose 37Vo for the same period

Major banks have dropped their prime lending rote to IlVo, lowest in 2Vz years Government mortgage insurance applications for single family homes set a new record in Dec. for the 2nd month in a row . . Applications have nearly tripled since Aug.

A state report concludes that asbestos insulation used in air ducts and furnaces in thousands of California homes may pose a heslth threat and warns homeowners not to take precipitous action in removing or disturbing the asbestos until more is known . no question of manufacturer, builder or supplier liability has yet been voiced most of the homes were built before 1960

International Paper Co. has sold cutting rights on 103,000 acres in Siskiyou County and 30 acres in Trinity County (Ca.) to Sunkist Growers Inc. and Fruit Growers Supply Co. for a reported $85.37 million . .

Las Angeles Harbor Dept. is developing a 60 acre, $60 million

Iumber handling facility in Wilmington, Ca. Tri-State Distributors, Inc., whose facility was destroyed by fire last fall, has relocated to S. ll0 Sheridan, Spokane,Wa....

Litigation against Manville Corp. officers and directors has been barred by a federal bankruptcy judge to protect the co.'s Chapter ll status . . . LouisianaPacific Corp. has been fined $4 million by a federal judge for violating a 1979 FTC order to sell its Fibreboard Corp.'s Rocklin, Ca., fiberboard plant within two years; agreement has been reached to sell the plant to Roseburg Lumber Co. . .

C.J. Redwood Inc., El Cajon, Ca., is moving to five acres at I 179 W. Washington, Escondido, Ca., where they will build a 10,000 ft. structure to supplement an existing 14,000 sq. ft. warehouse Superior Building Co., Columbia Falls, Mt., has been purchased from Paul Dowler and Francis Guest by Ron Perry; David Larson stavs as sales mgr....

Coast to Coast Corp. will build a $15 million redwood sawmill and retail lumber yard in Soledad, Ca., start up targeted for Jan. '84 . . Roseburg Lumber Co. has bought a Weed, Ca., wood products plant including alumber mill, veneer plant and millwork facility from International Paper Co..

Willamette Industries has sold its retail div. to Lanoga Corp. (see p. 33 for details) Jack Tweedy is celebratinghis Tweedy Lumber Co.'s 20th successful year in business; firm is in Laguna Niguel,Ca....

Cavanaugh Lumber Co., Tacoma, Wa., has closed after 82 years Sanford C. Sigoloff will star in two new Builders Emporium commercials for Ca. tv . The fire which destroyed Wrightwood Lumber Co., Wrightwood, Ca., has been traced to spontaneous ignition of an unknown substance