WWPA hanging tough

Roberts forecasted that domestic lumber consumption in the U.S. should be up 790 during 1982to33.2 billion board feet, 2.2 billion b.f. more than will be consumed during 1981. The Western producing region should provide l3 billion board feet of that consumption, or I billion feet more than in 1981. Canada will account for 3090, or 9.9 billion feet of total consumption, while the Southern producing region will contribute 6.6 billion board feet. Other U.S. regional producing areas should provide 1.2 billion board feet of lumber.

Bringing inflation down through tight controls on the nation's money supply and reducing federal deficit spending are the keys to lowering interest rates, noted Dr. William M. Burke, v.p. of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, in an address to the members.

"We'll never get interest rates down until we have inflation under control once and for all," Burke said.

The underlying tone of Burke's ad-

Story at a Glance Forecast of housing units

prime rate by by mid'82. .. production up dress was cautiously upbeat, however, citing the all savers' certificates as a "boom to housing," and noting that they could provide for an additional200,000 new homes to be built in 1982.

200,000 more in'82...17o/o year end, 157o West's lumber 7o/o nexl year.

"While housing will be competing with some heavy hitters in the nation's credit markets," he said, "we may see 1.5 million units built in 1982." Burke also predicted that the prime interest rate would drop to

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