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High interest rates continue to K.O. home building, thewoodindustry's no. I customer: more than 330,000 unsold homes nationally, worth $16 billion, overhang the market, interest cost to builders exceeds $3 billion annually . . home building is in the 32th mo. of its longest slump since wwII ...

Lumber and plywood mills hang on grimly, nearly 50Vo are either at reduced levels, or are closed. wholesalers arehunkering down for what some see as "the worst winter ever" ,, , retailers, hard hit by a major decline in contractor trade, note a continuing drop offin the shouldertrade...

The psychologically important I million level was pierced in Aug. when housing starts sagged to 937,000 on a seasonally adjusted annual basis, 3rd lowest monthly level since 1946 bldg. permits fell5.59o indicating ofuture construction rate of only 863,000 units .

Weyerhaeuser, GeorgiaPacific and Willomette Industries have been found guilty in a federal appeals court of charging "phantom" freight rates as part of a conspiracy to maintain high plywood prices; damages could total $2 billion, appeals to the Supreme Court are expected

Louisiana-Pacific has been sued by the feds for failure to sell its Rocklin, Ca., medium density fibreboard plant, acquired when L-P purchased the Fibreboard Corp. assets two years ago . . business conditions precluded its sale, L-P avers lumber production in July (latest figs.) was 1.890 below June, but slightly above a year earlier . . both softwood & hardwood production were off . .

A railroad rate war is heating zp, BN, SP and UP have instituted a no. of rate cutbacks . .

The 67-unit Fred Meyer stores, Portland, Or., have been sold to Kohlberg, Kravis & Roberts & Co., N.Y. investment bankers for $420 million Sowtelle Lumber, West Los Angeles, Ca., has been sold to developer Donald Bren for a figure that could reach $9.3 million

Andersonia Forest Products plans a Jan. '82 opening for its new mill, dry storage and office complex in Arcata, Ca. . . researchers Frost & Sullivan, Inc. predict a strong rebound of mobile home sales from '81-'85 . -

Mitsui Co. is liquidating its Nationol Plywood, .Inc. subsidiary, Carson, Ca., market conditions are blamed; winding down of the company is expected to be finished in eafly '82 . Genstar Building Materials Co., now actively using its corp. name for the FI in t k o t e Supp Iy y ar dsit acquired two years ago, has closed its Santa Paula, Ca. and Sparks, Nv., facilities. .

H o meow ners Do-I t- Yourse lf Centers is opening a store in Nov. in La Puente, Ca. Handy Dan is opening a unit in Littleton, Co., No. 6 in the Denver area . Diamond International has purchased G&B Enterprises, Pine Grove, Ca. O'Malley Lumber, Phoenix, Az., plans to build a 15,000 sq. ft. retail store in El Paso, Tx.

Oceanside Lumber and Hardware, Oceanside, Ca., suffered $l million in damages in a recent fire blamed on an electrical malfunc- tion .. Sundance Lumber and Hordware, La Verne, Ca., has a spring opening date for a second store in neighboring West Covina.

Ole's Home Centers will open new sites soon in San Leandro and Oxnard, Ca., with plans for additional stores in South Pasadena and Monrovia, Ca. NeimonReed Lumber ond Supply, which operates l3 Neiman-Reed's Lumber City home centers and a wholesale lumber and building material business in So. Ca., has sold 5l9o of theco. to UBMGroup, Bristol, England, with an option for the Brits to purchase the remainder in 1986. .

Diamond International Corp. is acquiring the77-year-old Troy Lumber Co., Lewiston, Id., . . Horizon Forest Products was one year old in Sept. Al Hinkle has come out of retirement to open a lumber and building supplies brokerage in Alpine, Ca. Lumber Products, based in Portland, Or., has had a successful open house for their Boise, Id., warehouse . .

Louisiana-Pocific is keeping its Garden Grove, Ca., d-iy yard open, but closing the Warington contractor operation Stanline,lnc., Norwalk, Ca., has closed its Salt Lake City, Ut., of- fice Hodge Lumber Wholesale and Supply, Inc., Boise, Id., has completed the purchase of the Boise industrial sales division of ldaho Forest Industries,Inc.,,,

Gortner Forest Products, Inc., is a new firm formed by Gordon Garrett and Fred Gartner with offices in Reno, Nv., and Sacramento, Ca. Stiles Machinery, Inc. has opened a West Coast technical center and show room in the City of Industry, Ca. International Paper Co. has sold its Longview, Wa., cabinet div. to Long-Bell Cabinets, Inc,, a new co

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