Market deia vu

fF YOU are pleased wirh your Ioverall building materials business perfonnance for 1993, you could be pleased at this time next year, judging from key economic indicators. Although some of us might experience a sense of "malket ddjl vu" from tine to time in 1994, the coming year will not be an exact carton copy of 1993.

Demand indicators point toward modest growth in domestic wood markets. We are looking for a slight uptick of about 3Vo n the national economy with continued-productivity.and consumer spending levels that will keep inflation in check. Interest rates might not hold at their surprising current levels, but can be expected to remain stable through the near tefln. For wood markets, all of this pgints _tgy4q h-ousing starts of about 1.4 million units, up about 100,000 from this year. Looking ahead over a fiveyear pgriod, we see housing starts remaining stable and averaging about 1.4 million.

Repair and renodel and nonresidential ssgllt"nts of the wood_products sector will show more accelerated growth over the n€xt year or two, each in the range of l07o gains in expendinrres, before slowing somewhat.

The nation's demand for lumber will grow l-2Vo next year and should average that modest level of increase for the next five-year period. The U.S. appetite for panel products is anticipated to expand ata3Vo rate annuallt.

The volatility that has characterized wood products prices over the last two yea$ will likely remain n 1994.