Yard Direct Mill Shipments

Industry Management Conlab

The Western Building Materials Association in cooperation with Armstrong World Industries, Inc. will sponsor the 20th All Industry Management Conference, May 20-22 at Cavanaugh's Inn at the Park, Spokane, Wa.

Tiaining, management by objectives, management succession and a tour of Spokane area building material stores are on the educational agenda. James R. Baldwin, manager, organization research, Armstrong World, Industries, will take part in the program.

Golf tournaments and a special tour of Spokane for the ladies are planned for leisure hours.

More Lumber for Remodeling

Repair and remodeling is expected to use 8.3 billion board feet of lumber in 1984, according to forecasts from the Western Wood Products Association. They expect western softwood will capture more than 3.4 billion board feet of this market.

Last year residential property owners spent $49.3 billion on r& accord- ing to the Department of Commerce, up from $45.3 billion in 1982. Residential alterations accounted for $11.7 billion of this with additions using an additional $4.7 billion.

In the third quarter of 1983 home improvement construction expenditures were $10.8 billion, $2 billion higher than any quarter since 1978, a record high even in 1977 dollars.

Fourth quarter '83 dropped to $6.6 billion, $1.6 billion under fourth quarter 1982, with the weather taking the blame. Consumers spent $31.2 billion in 1983 on construction improvements after spending only $28.5 billion in 1982.

Schlage Joins Torch Relay

Schlage Lock Co. will participate in the 1984 Olympic Torch Relay by sponsoring a Youth Legacy Kilometer. James Bergman, a Schlage sales representative/hardware consultant in the State of Washington,will run on the company's behalf.

Proceeds from Schlage's sponsorship donation will benefit the Special Olympics of San Francisco, a program designed to promote athletic participation on the part of mentally handicapped individuals.

Color Outlook ls Gray

Everything is coming up gray in current building products and architectural work. John Gleason, color director of Ameritone Paint Corp. and chairman of the Color Marketing Group, reports that the cool gray hues are predominating the color palette in the West this year.

A further reinforcement of the popularity of gray is found in the choice of colors such as slate neutrals, umber neutrals, gray greens and gray blues for interiors.

In the past Southern California, Arizona and New Mexico residents have selected warm colors and shades over the cooler tones favored by the Northeast and Midwest.

Woodworking Tool Orders Increase

New orders for woodworking machines and tools which soared to near-record levels in the fourth quarter of 1983 are maintaining their strength, according to the Wood Machinery Manufacturers of America.

Manufacturers of woodworking machines, cutting tools and related equipment for the sawmill, furniture, casegoods, cabinet, plywood/veneer and general woodworking industries see 1984 as a year of solid gains after nearly three years of recession.

The new orders index of 185.7 at the end of 1983 was the second-highest recorded since initiation of the index in 1979.