NEWS tsR[ trFS

An almost audible sigh ol relieJ was heard through. a[ levels of the indrrstry as Phase IV lilted price cbnlrols on lumber a4d'plywood and allowed them tb move with supply and demand .. , ai. prices.have been dropping for some weeks, in reqponse to slack-. saing demand; it is a gocil 'example of the feds doing the right thtng, _ but not doing it soon

Housing starts were down 12.3Vo in June (latest available figures) causing some worry that rising money rates would continue to depress starts, but later U.S. Treasury news that it would & doing little or no borrowing :, in the public money markets in r., the second half of '73, thus free- ing more $$ for housing, seemed to calm some of these fears , .

Money rates remain high tho, the prime rate having recently hit . 83/*Vo, byeaking the SVzVo re<' ord sst during the 1969:70 credit crunch, with some seers sighting a possible 9Vo prime or minimum lending ratQ soon . , opinion is currently divided on just how tight the money supply is likely to be in'73's remaining mos., tho no one expects a replay

of the'69 credit crunch

. Despite the decline from his- '' torie peaks in home bldg., lumber and plywood prices, and the oc, curence of some. overpriced inventories, business remains good in most areas of the West . , .'73 is still expected to see ?. million starts, a good slug by any measure and hardly cause for some of the more fevered wailing . .

It appears the savings & loans have been suffering an outllow ol .[S since the early July Federal Reserve Board changes in savings plans and interest rates which tend to draw funds out of s&ls;

. SecurityPacfficBank's research dept. opiries'that 'lWhile mortgage rnarket conditions will be tight .this summer, .the situation should. be of short duratiqn'and is .not'likely .to disrupt the real estate and home buildihg indpstries la any great e*tent" . , : ..-

Softening plywood mkts. caused some slowdowns and shutdowns at a Ecatterin7 of plywood plants in the West, esp. in Ore.; most observers are hopeful that the condition is temporary . . . a3alarm fire caused some $100,000 damage to Stanton-Cadahy Lumber Co., Beaverto& Ore. .

Eagle Forest Products, Sacramento, Ca., has a new sales/ warehouse facility in Denver for the Rocky Mt. market ...Lincoln Lumber, a div. of Payless Cashways, Inc., has opened Oregon's largest bldg. supply s/ore, in Eugene; 21,O00 sq. ft. for sales, 44,000 for warehouse, entire facility: 10 acres . .

The Denver office of Oscar E. Chrytaus Co. has been named a Colo. & Wyo. distributor for Corning appliances; thefu Anaheim, Ca., branch is now handling Roper appliances and their Salt Lake City warehoase is now distributing !!A tvs and,other "browngoods";..

National Lumber Co. has opened store no. 5, a 40,000 sq. ft. job in South Gate, Ca. Simonson Lumber Co. is into their new 7,600 sq. ft. HQ in Smith River, Ore.; it is built on a bluff overlooking their mill, Rowdy Creek, Smith River Yatley and the Pacific Ocean

Sutherlin Lumber & Supply, Roseburg, Ore., is building a 60' x 100' addition for boats, RVs and the like . . Georgia-Pacific plans an Oct. opening for their new 55,6O0 sq. ft. bldg. atls. dis-

United Forest Products, Inc. is a newly incorporated firm in Eugene for buying/selling of lumber . . .

Sharpf s Twin Oaks BIdg. Supply, a downtown Eugene, Ore., landmafk, since the early'20s has moved to leased facilities on lst Ave. . . . Richard's Pay Less Lumber Co. has opened on hwy. 82, west of Island City, Ore. Northwest Plywood Sales, on Idaho's Nampa-Caldwell hwy. rv cently suffered a $40,000 fire

G-P plans to buitd a 61,356 sq. lt. distribution yard rn Santa Rosa Ca., (see above); completion set for next mo. . . . Evans Products plans to qpen a 30,000 sq. ft. bldg. mtls. distribution center in Beaverton, Ore., this fall; it will be their 59th . .

Plumb Creek Lurnber Co. is building a $10.5 million plant in Columbia Falls, Mt., to make medium density fiberboard, pru duction/distribution slated for June,'74 . Fiherboard Corp, plans to build a $10 million plant near Sacramento, Ca., that will also produce medium density fibreboard, with a late"l4 startup date planned . . . slould be very interesting to watch . .

. . Lumber Specialties Industries, Vancouver, Wash., plans to build a millian dollar plant in the Port Dock area of Aberdeen that will employ 50, completion is due in '74...

Borg-Warner's plumbing div. will cease all cast iron plumbing production-$ept. I; reflecting the trend to steel and plastic

Seattle's econamic' cameback from the Boeing blues is impressive indeed, the $10 million valuation of new bldg. penriits for new apartments in the Lst 4 mos. d '73 is only $3 million shy of the valuation of all of '71

National Particleboard Assn. says its members'production was y^!.tr" in'72 over the ptdo*.,,