LatestMillClosure, Log Supply Report Available

Mill closures in Oregon, Washington, California, Idaho and Montana since Dec. 1993 number 18 plus one permanent closure in Colorado and one in Wyoming, according to the July/August Forest Products Industry Report on Mill Closures, Operationi and Other Related Information. At present three mills are currently closed with uncertain futures and onl has announced a spring 1995 closure, making 23 mills closed at present and one projected closure, the report by Paul F. Ehinger & Associates and Robert Flynn & Associates notes.

Closures will continue 0o be a certainty as long as there is a major difference between the volume of federal timber harvested and the volume sold. Ehinger and Flynn report. Contrary to all expectations and running counter to the continued loss of lumber and plywood production capacity through the continued closure of Pacific Northwest mills, the first six months of 1994 saw an increase in los availability in Western Oregon anI Western Washington. Some mills have larger than norrral inventories and many are refusing attractively priced logs, because of the lack of storage room and the need to turn over older inventory, the report notes.

The authors explain this has come about because:

(1) Pushed by high prices and tie prospect of new timber harvest regulations, Oregon private land timber harvests increased 500 million board feet in 1993, the highest level since 1971.

(2) Log exporrs to the pacific Rim from the West Coast declined 440 mmbf in 1993 and an additional 200 mmbf in the first six months ot 1994, headed for what appears to be a 1.6 billion board feet 1994 annual volume.

(3) Continued loss of mill capacity eased pressure on log availability.

(4) Westem mills are aggressively pursuing foreign sources which have provided 40 million bf since January 1993.

(5) States outside the pacific Northwest have provided approximately 25 million feet of additional timber.

(6) Plywood producers are increasing veneer purchases from Canadian,

South and Central America and Pacific Rim sources, offsetting timber requirements by an estimated 25 mmbf.

The decline in federal harvest since January 1993 appears to be about 900 million board feet with the state of Washington's private harvest declining 500 million board feet in 1993, Ehinger and Flynn report. However, they expect this continuing decline to level off.

Building Material Resellers

Meet National Construction Resellers Expo & Training Conference (Ndtcon) will be held Nov. 19-21 at the Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta, Ga.

Robert T. Slater, Natcon president, expects nearly 300 exhibitor booths and 31 seminars and workshops.

Exhibitors include the Wood Moulding & Millwork producers Association, Wing Enterprises, White Lighuring Products, Quila, ete Companies, Senco Products, Silver Melal Products, Jdmes Hardie Buildins Products, Duo-Fast Corp., Deckrnasl ter, CSR Beadex, Jessup Door Co., National Nail and BriteMillwork.