Hadwood salesstandards uryed by PCWHDA

rF HE hcific Coast Wholesale HardI wood Distributors Association has reaffirmed its strong stand on selling hardwood by net footage and avoiding the blending ofgrades.

At its 63rd annual convention, the group officially reaffirmed its resolution on net footage and blending passed last year. It further moved to have its members investigate buying all lumber on a net footage basis. They said the purpose was to "encourage all mills to sell West Coast distributors on an equal basis of net

Story at a Glance

Group again calls for selling hardwood only by net footage with no blending of grades proposed code of ethics would require members to do all their buying and selling on this basis Don Moreland elected president.

footage so that all sales, whether truckload, carload or out ofwarehouse, are sold on net footage."

Additionally, the idea of a sales code of ethics was discussed, though no formal resolution was forthcoming from the Aprll29 meeting. Under a code, all signatories would agree to do all their buying and selling on a net footage basis and would not sell blended grades of lumber. Any violations from code practices could result in a member's expulsion from the PCWHDA.

The business meetings kicked off with the traditional Sectional Reports, wherein various members report to the group on business conditions in their area. Jack Butson reported on Washington State, noting that business was up 25%-30%, that credit, collections and short tallies remained problems. He added that they were seeing a shift away from hardwood to sheet stock.

Werner Richen, outgoing president of PCWHDA, told how some distributors (Sequoia Supply and U.S. Plywood) had closed their Oregon DCs. In Oregon, "1985 beat 1984 and 1986 is starting strong," Richen said.

The Northern California report was made by Joe Long who forecast business closures due to profit squeezes aggravated by the large number of competing firms. Sales volume is "pretty good," he said. Adding that "our customers are better off (due to the competition), even if we aren't." Water quality, leaking fuel tanks and increasing trucking costs remain problems, he reported.

Clint Bower related that Orange/ Riverside Counties had lots of business, but many competitors, including small (4,000 sq. ft.) retail hardwood stores "that sell our customers." Margins remain the number one problem, according to Bower.

The San Diego report was presented by Bruce Frost who said that his area was similar to the rest of California, especially in respect to slowing collections. He noted the difficulty in forecasting demand for exotic imported hardwood, making inventorying difficult.

Tim Spellman said Phoenix business was good, but currently in a dip. Housing starts are up in Arizona, he said, but he described them as being low end, with little hardwood used. The custom home market has slipped from previous levels, Spellman concluded.

The final sectional report, on Los Angeles County, was made by Don Moreland who echoed earlier reports of credit and slow payment problems. "While business is good," he said, "some of the furniture manufacturers have been lost as customers due to business closures."

Next up on the program was a talk by David Cutler, editor-publisher of The Merchant Magazine, whotraced the early development of warehouse home centers. He related their early successes and contrasted that with the declining profits and savage competition that marks today's home center market. He observed that their market penetration had probably peaked, but that warehousers would remain an important factor, though the warehouse units would likely come to more closely resemble traditional stores in the future.

Emmet Vaughan, Jr., speaking on behalf of the Appalachian Hardwood Manufacturers. Inc.. related recent marketing and promotional moves to increase the use of poplar. He said that "past problems with poplar's finishing and other characteristics had been overcome and that its future was bright." Noting that the wood is being used in case goods for the first time since the early 1900s, he said that poplar's competitive pricing meant a large profit potential for its sellers.

The following day's meeting was highlighted by a presentation by Dick Rinde, a wood products consultant. Included was a film by Columbia Plywood on the manufacture of fine quality hardwood plywood.

The balance of the meeting was devoted to association business before breaking for some social events, including the annual Regatta, a fun and games competition between members that more or less defies description.

New officers elected at the meeting are: Don Moreland, Lane Stanton Vance Lumber, City of Industry,Ca., president; Tim Spellman, Spellman Hardwoods, Phoenix, Az. , 1st v.p.; Bruce Frost, Frost Hardwood, San Diego, Ca.,Zndv.p.; Jack Butson, Brady International Hardwoods Co., Renton, Wa., sec-treas.; Butch Pope, Weber Plywood, Tustin, Ca. sec-treas.-designate.

Directors include Hal Kerry, Brady International; Brent Mullen, Southwest Hardwoods; Joe Long, J.E. Higgins Lumber; Butch Pope, Weber Plywood;

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5 Home Centers In ToP 1000

Five home center chains made a new list of the top 1000 most valuable companies in the United States.

Lowe's, in 335th place on the master list, ranked l8th among the 51 non-food retailers; also included: Payless Cashways

(578th out of 1000) was 3lst; Wickes (675) , tTth; Hechinger (700) , 39th, and Home Depot (885), 47th. Positions were granted on the basis of market value, sales, profits, assets, margins and return.

The list is compiled annually by Business Week using data from Standard &

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Forest products companies included Weyerhaeuse r (92) ; Georgia-Pacific (138); International Faper (165); Champion International (187); Union CamP (209); Boise Cascade (309); TemPleInland (366); Crown Zellerbach (367); Louisiana-Pacific (460); Willamette Industries (485) ; Bowater (517); Potlatch (635).

Building material manufacturers included Masco (140); USG (232);OwensCorning Fiberglas (316); SherwinWilliams (356); Jim Walter (403); National Gypsum (422); Ceriainteed (644); Calmat (7t7);l,one Star Industries (87), and Lafarge (839).

Hardwood Wholesalers

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Jim Frost, Frost Hardwood; Pete Bower, Mariners Forest Products; and K.E. "Mac" MacBeath, MacBeath Hardwood. Next year's meeting is slated for the Maui Intercontinental Wailea in Hawaii, April5J, 1987. This year's meeting was held at the La Quinta Hotel, La Quinta (Palm Springs), Ca.