&VIEWS

fnnllteo PERSONNEL is still

I the key to a successful operation.

To assist retailers in improving the capabilities of their staff we have scheduled two seminars in November (one in Sacramento and one in Sunnyvale) on lumber. These seminars will be conducted by the Western Wood Products Association staff and will cover the use of the various grades and species of wood. The seminar is intended to teach sales and yard per- sonnel to provide the proper species and grades to the contractor and do-it-yourself customer.

Another seminar lead by the staff of the American Plywood Association will be conducted in February to train sales and yard personnel on the new grades and uses of plywood. It will serve the same basic purpose as the Lumber Seminars.

The Association's annual management seminar will be conducted at the Asilomar, Pacific Grove, January l6-18, 198 l. Merle Mensinger, chairman, education committee, has developed a program that will include an advertising workshop, a credit workshop and an internal operational organization seminar. This seminar will provide a great op-pornrnity for owners, managers and key personnel to gain knowledge.

During the 1980 annual management seminar, Bob Curtis piovided a three-hour securlty seminar, but most of those in attendance said it was too short and asked to have him return for more detail. The Association has arranged for him to conduct a one and one-half day security seminar, March 20 and 21 , in San Jose, for dealers and key personnel.

WHAT

IS BUSINESS LIKE?

Visits through the Association area by LMA pres. Don McCann have shown that we have not had an explosive growth during this past vear. but neither have we fallen into the death throes of iecession. Those businesses with foresight who developed a good do-it-yourself trade have found an increase in business of around l\Vo. Dealers who had planned for and executed a change in inventory from contractor to homeowner trade havt stayed even with last year. The ability to be flexible with capital and merchandise is the winning combination. Of course, there are some areas where construction is still continuing at a comfortable pace but, in general, home starts have dropped about 507o. - Companies which had not planned for a continual growth have found themselves in considerable hardship this year. The slowdown in sales has created a capital shortage.

For those lompanies which have had a reasonably successful year, there has been a major improvement in operations. There has been enough time to reorganiz-e, paint, clean up the yard, get rid of dead wood, make needed repairs and modernize the plant. The result has been spectacular. Lumber and building material companies have achieved the appearance of first-class operations, giving considerable pride to the employees, the operation and the association.

Congress Urged to Nix Plan

Congress should reject the Carter Administration's timber production plan, the National Forest Products Association says, because it doesn't meet the nation's wood demands or solve forest product export trade deficits and inflation.

The industry group submitted to a Senate Agriculture subcommittee its own timber program to meet U.S. consumers' future wood needs at reasonable price levels and to position the United States as a net exporter of wood products.

The subcommittee held hearines on the Administration's 1980 Proe=ram. Assessment and Statement of, P6licy. which are required periodically by the Resources Planning Act (RPA) as a federal blueprint for managing the nation's forests and other natural resources.

"What you have received is a program that is not responsive to the Assessment; is a no-action, businessas-usual approach; and has an im- plied national eoal of programmed inflation," said Gene S. Bergoffcn of the National Forest Products Association.

The Administration's statement of policy admits that the decadc of the 1980s will see unprecedented demand for wood for housins as the World War ll "baby boom" matures, and that the National Forests, the nation's commercial wood bank. are uniquely situated to help solve this problem, Bergoffen said.

But then the Administration's Program calls for a timber sale level of only I 1.9 billion board feet in fiscal 198 l. down 300 million board feet from the fiscal year 1980 sale level of 12.2 billion board feet. he said.

Under the Administration's recommended Program, it would be 1984 before the sale level is back to 12.2 billion board feet if the hieh tarcet is used. If the low target is"pursuE<l, the level will be only 11.0 billion board feet in 1984. or 10Vc below the 1980 level.

Under the industry's timber pro- gram of wood consumer goals. Bergoffen said, softwood lumber prices would bc about JOQ lower in-20-10 than under the Administration's high production target; softwood plywood prices would be about l-57c lower, and the United States would be a net exporter of softwood producLs.

Bergoffen said industry's program! as opposed to the Administration's high target, means that by 2030: (l) total softwood timber harvests would increase by 52c/", as opposed to the Administration's 36clo: (2) National Forest timber sales must increase by 15% by 2000. as opposed to the Administration's l5%: (3) timber harvests on industry-owned lands must increase bJ" 25%, as thc Administration also concluded: and (4) harvests from non-industrial private lands must increase by 807c, as opposed to the Administration's ,167c. Bergoffen said the forest industry agrees with the Administration that, in the long run, private lands will be a major source of the nation's wood supply.