Lumber Duties Update

Reacting to Canada's unilateral termination of the 1986 Softwood Lumber Memo of Understanding last month, the United States imposed bonding requirements equal to the MOU export tax on impofts of lumber from that country.

U.S. importers of lumber from Alberta, Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan provinces must post a bond of 157o. lmports from Quebec require a 6.2Vo bond. Lumber from British Columbia was exempt from impod taxes because higher stumpage fees are in effect in that province, but a0Vobond must be posted.

The Commerce Depaftment began a countervailing duty investigation to determine whether Canadian provinces are providing stumpage subsidies. If they are, an offsetting duty will be imposed on Canadian lumber imports with importers paying the lesser of the bond rates or the subsidy rates for the interim period.

A Coalition for Fair Lumber Imports spokesman said that the U.S. industry group was pleased with the ac- tion and that they are confident that the Commerce Department will find large subsidies still exist.

The importer of record will be responsible for paying the bond. tf implemented, permanent duties may be higher or lower than the amounts of the bonds. Bonds will be retumed if the investigation fails to reveal subsidies. If duties are applied only to provinces participating in the MOU, lumber from British Columbia will not be affected.

Because of the low demand for lumber, the action has had linle effect so far on the market. However, there is concern over lumber purchased in Alberta and Ontario in anticipation of the Oct. 4 tax cancellation. This lumber is now subject to the l5Vo bond and a possible l1Vo duty.

Palco Upgrades, Adds Staff

Mill improvements at Pacific Lumber Co. over the past six years have cost nearly $70 million and resulted in increased lumber recovery and a sig- nificantly larger sales volume.

More than 300 permanent employees have been added to the payroll including Michael F. Herbert recently hired as western sales manager. Her. bert will oversee redwood and Douglas fir sales west of the Rocky Mountains, on the Pacific Rim and all expoft sales, rcpoting to Will Reigel, vice president, lumber sales and marketing.

Upgrading includes construction of a new co-generation plant, a new hardwood chipping facility, an end and edge gluing facility at Scotia, Ca., a new fray sorter, several new dry kilns, a major sawmill overhaul at Forluna, Ca., and the acquisition of additional drying space with plans for future mill improvements at Carlotta, Ca.

Mlchlgan-Cal Runnlng Slowly

Limit€d production has resumed at Michigan-California Lumber Co.'s Camino, Ca., sawmill after a lengthy rebuilding from a March 3l fire.

Lumber production is limited during start-up while systems are checked out, synchronized and de-bugged. Full production is set for year's end with full employment early in 1992.

Big W Cuts Back In Oregon

Weyerhaeuser will close its Klamath Falls, Or., lumber operation in late spring or early summer of 1992 barring any unforeseen economic changes.

Approximately 300 employees, 225 ftom lumber and 75 from support operations, of the 935 employed at the facility will be affected. "This long lead time will give people as much notice as possible," Dale Williams, general manager, noted.

"By next spring we will have been operating continuously for 63 years, a long time for any business, particularly for a lumber manufacturing facility," he added. "We will run out of large logs for this mill, both from our Eee farm and from the Forest Service. We had planned on a transition to smaller logs from our own hee farm, but not on severe reductions in federal timber supply because of the spotted owl and other legal challenges."

"For example, local national forests sold 109 million board feet of timber two years ago that would be usable in our facility, compared to orty 42 million this year," he continued. "Our purchases, 35 million feet in 1987 alone, have fallen to zero in 1991."

There has been intense buying pressure from local companies and westside firms that are short of federal timber from traditional purchase areas. Weyerhaeuser reduced its lumber operation in March, 1990, and considered modernizing the facility to accommodate smaller logs. After analysis, they concluded that option was not economically possible.

Hardboard (Chuck Smith, general manager), particleboard (Donn Jensen, general manager) and plywood (Williams, general manager) operations will continue. All face tough markets, higher raw material and operating costs without the lumber operation, Williams said.

Loafers Cost $1 5.40/hr.

It costs the average private sector employer $15.40 to employ one person for one hour, reports the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Employees standing around doing nothing cost the average company $15.,10 each hour for each employee. The figure includes $ll.14 for straight time wages and salaries plus $4.27 for employee benefits.

rrrl r I I t t wnatever nappened to . . .!

By Matt Moulder

Whatever happenecl to Nels Sanchtrom? Nels is happily retired and living in Boulder City, Nv., with a winter home in La Quinta, Ca. An avid golfer, Nels is a member of the La Quinta Hotel Colf Club and Eugene C.C. in his former home town of Eugene, Or. Last summer, Nels participated in the prestigious "Magpie" member-guest tournament at Del Paso in Sacramento, Ca., with good friend Archie Lawson. They tied for fimt place and, just like on TV, found themselves pitted against their opponents in a nerve wracking exercise called the "sudden death" playoff. Nels birdiecl the first hole to gain fame and fortune.

During his working days, Nels was a general partner in Clear Fir Proclucts Co., a door rnanufacturer in Springfield, Or.ln 1971 the firm was purchased by Fibreboard Corp. and Nels was appointed sales manager for the Wood Products Division. Sandstrom retired in 1979.

Nels and his lovely wife, Myna, can be contactecl at 1400 Colorado St., Boulder City, Nv.89oo5. ,- :

OwlDroPPings&Etc.

Will someone tell us why, whenever the subject of spotted owls comes up in the media, their number is always given in pairs? lf there are deemed to be 6000 spotted owls in a certain area, the figure is given as 3fi)0 pair. I have seen a lol of owlsof varioustypes in my life, butlhave neverseenthem in pairs. llikethe sound of the higher figure myself. How about you?

In San Francisco a homeless person need reside in that city for only three days to be eligible for $35O per month in welfare payments from the city. Now you know why you see so many bums when you go to the WWPA meeting in SF in the spring. lf something isn't done to change the Endangered Species Act to make it more reasonable, we may see some faces we know on the streets of San Francisco when we attend the WWPA next year.

Ted Turner, head honcho at TV's CNN, recently announced that he is replacing the cattle on his 105,OO0 acre ranch with bison because they are easier on the environment. Speaking at the National Audubon Society convention recently, Mr. Turner stated that the Audubon'ers need to "chan6e their political agenda to a more activist stance." I suppose it would be foolish to expect any favorable coverage on timber matters from CNN, right?

A series of three TV programs on the environment were sponsored recently by General Electric. As usual, there was an abundance of logging scenes showing areas that had just been clearcut. I have yet to see on W a shot of a clearcut several years after logging with trees aplenty or a scene of a cutover area where clearcutting is not practiced. As for clearcuts, one of the best pictures one could possibly show is an aerial photo of the Lake Tahoe Basin. This entire area was logged very heavily in the late 180Os and early 1900s to benefit the mining industry in Nevada. Logs were sent from Tahoe to the Carson Valley below by flume. The entire Tahoe Basin is cutover land, much of it having been clearcut, yet it is very beautiful today.

Pacific Southeast Forest Products

P.O. Box 819, Diamond Springs, Ca. 9561 9 Larry White Curt

Baxter To Market New Chemical

J. H. Baxtt'r' & Co., San Matco. Ca., and Chernical Spccialties, Inc. (CSl), Charlotte, N.C., have folmccl a joint rnarketing allangement for Baxtef to introduce and sell ACQ, CSI's neu' r"ood presefvatiVe, in the west.

ACQ u,as recently registeled r.'uith the E,nvironmental Protection Agenc;' and accepted by' the Arnerican \\'ood Pleserver's Association (.set Tltt' Merr'lt,titt, Oct. P..l.lt. aflt'r'nine rct;s in developrnent.

''AC'Q offers iln lrltt'r'liritire l)rr'.t'r'vative to our custonrcl's." Nicholas V.

Poletika, Baxtel senior r'.pr.. saicl. "It will let treated r',ood p|ocluct nranuf actulels erpand into a prloduct line less subject to stringent EPA legulation. A positive bleakthlough in vu'ood prcservation, it',s cornplctelr in line * ith cun'ent consulner and public coltcclns for plotr--c ti ng the env ilonnrent. "

Engineered Wood Form Use

Conclete form designer.s and contl lctots a|e inc|cn'ingly tul'ning to engineered wood products for concrctc forrn framing, reports the American

Pl1'u ood Association.

\4ajor constluction projer'ts acltr.. the country have recentll' substitutcd laminated vcneer lurnbel and u,'ood Ijoists for conventional rnatelials due to strcngth and stiffness advantages.

-l'he switch f ields an inclease of neally'50% in panel volunte per squale foot of slab fonn. with the additional volume lesulting flonr I heanr n,eb stock and end panels.

APA seeks to up engineeled *'ood products' share of the conc|cte fonning rnarket b1' -50 nrillion sq. ft. over' the next five years.

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DELTA CEDAR PRODT'CTS. LTD. \'rrrrt'otrrcr', Il.C.

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Wlllamette Show And Tell

The fine art of tree-stretching took on new dimensions when Willamette lndustries toured 40 customers through three of its Oregon operations in mid-September.

Willamene has invested millions of dollars during the past year to increase yield and maximize qualiry at its Bauman sawmill in Lebanon and Foster plywood plant in Sweet Home. It has also added custom drying and surfacing services.

According to lumber and plywood general sales manager Gene Walters, "As fewer and fewer trees become available for harvest, efficiency is cru- cial to staying competitive. Willamette's committed to the solid wood business for the long term."

This was the foufthand largestremodel of the Bauman sawmill since Willamette acquired it in 1974, when larger logs were much more plentiful.

An entirely new section was added at Bauman, including a new PonY headrig which finishes cutting the logs after an initial cut is made on the older, larger headrig. A new twin band saw cuts three pieces of lumber on a single pass, using thinner, stronger blades, minimizing waste.

A new spindleless lathe at Foster peels logs down to a two-inch corc in a matter of seconds, resulting in a dramatic increase in veneer recovery from smaller logs, some only five inches in diameter. Designed for high efficiency, the lathe can process up to 8,500 peeler blocls a day into a highly valuable product.

The custom drying and surfacing operation at its custom services division in Sweet Home can dry and surlPlease turn to Page 35)

Cedar Redwood Douglas Fir Pine Hardwoods

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