NEWS tsMIEFS

In a major statement on the Nation's Energy Policy, the 15,000 member National Lumber & Building Material Dealers Assn. urged the feds to let the construction industry install or retro ftt insulation and to keep public utilities'role advisory

NLBMDA called for use of a tax policy "as an incentive mechanism rather than as a negative or punitive device" plus "reasonable development" of federal & state lands in expanding natural energy resources . . it also called for Washington to be the catalyst and provide the incentives for private industry to meet the situation

Latest housing start figs. (Aug.) were down 2.6Vo from the mo. previous, but were still 3rd highest of the year at 2,422,000 units on a seasonally adjusted annual basis; the rate was 32% ahead of the year-earlier pace . . .bldg. permits, a future construction indicator, rose 87o in the 14,000 communities across the U.S. that require them . .

Starts of single family homes at 1,440,000 were off 6,000 units from July's rate . . . multifamily construction dropped 7.6%, from 630,000 to 582,000 . . economists called the changes "inconsequential" and continued to forecast a rate near 2 million for the balance of '77.

Insulation and drywall short. ages, among others, are expected by some observers to slow the housing construction pace in the mos. ahead, as are the soaring costs of lumber & plywood and other bldg. mtls increases in the prime rate to 7Y+%, and widely expected to go higher, plus fall and winter weather are expected to slow the pace

Yet demand is strong in most, tho not all, areas: the supply of homes in the San Diego, Ca., area for example, recently hit a lO-year low . F. W. Dodge, the construction forecasting firm, sees no slowdown and notes "construction of all types continued at a 'blistering pace"' in Aug., with $14.2 billion in new projects initiated

As of Feb. of this year, Reno, Nv., pop. 100,000, had a greater total bldg. permit valuation than any other l{est Coast city, including L.A., S.F., Seattle, etc. . . latest forecast on how long the insulation shortage will last is l8 mos., according to the National Association of Home Builders, other observers say 12 mos. ...

AII-Coast Forest Products plans to immediately develop 14 of 2O acres they recently bought in Chino, Ca., for a major distribution center with a full mill; an addition to their present business, they plan to be in next spring and complete the $2 million project in L-2 years . inventory includes cedar, hemlock, spruce, D.oug fir, pine, rough timbers, redwood & hardwood...

The Redwood National Park expansion hit an unexpected snag when Sen. James Abourezk (D-S.D.) requested further hearings on the park expansion's impact on the local economy; the move could delay final action until this winter

R&L llood Products is all settled into its new Rialto, Ca., offices after the recent move from Whittier, reports Ray Lizotte. Bert LeBeck is busy re-building Indian Valley Lumber, Carmichael, C&., after a late summer fire destroyed much of it . . . Coming Lumber, Corning, Ca., recently remodeled its showroom

Tri Lumber Sales & Building Supply is a new Eugene, Or., lumber firm . l4teyerhaeuser is building a new dealer service center, Salt Lake City Lynn Forest hoducts, Buena Park, Ca., is a new wholesale firm recently opened by Jeff Lynn..

Ganahl Lumber rs building a $4 million facility on 16/z aqes in Anahiem, Ca., with a 70,000 sq. ft. retail & storage bldg. plus another 79,OOO sq.ft. (approx.) under cover; they plan to have their offices in by Feb . their previous storage facility across town has been purchased by Reel Lumber Service, which is closing out its L.A. property and expects to be in the new two-acre site by the end of '77...

H&M hlholesale has acquired 23 acres in Etiwanda, Ca., and plans to start work on their new 1Yz acre distribution yard early next year . . . Bielec Build' ers Supply sold its City of Industry, Ca., retail store to American Kal of El Monte, Ca., a group of Japanese businessmen, who renamed it AK Builders Supply; Bielec has two stores left, both retail: one in Rolling Heights, the other, a new one they're building in Chino, Ca., is expected to be finished late Nov. ...

Simonson Lumber, Smith River, Ca., is now in full production (two shifts) with their new stud mill . Nical, Inc., Holister, Ca., is coping nicely despite a recent Teamsters strike, office personnel manned many of the jobs in the plant Cross Lutnber Co., Merced, Ca., has been sold for an undisclosed amount to Boise Cascade, former pres. Dick Cross remains gen. mgr. of the nearly 100 year old firm.