THE CALIFORI\IA LT]MBER MERCHAI\T

Jack Dionne, Publisher

Incorporcted uader lhe lcws oI Cclilomic Publiahed the lst and lSth ol each month ct Roomg 508-9-10, 108 West Sixth Street, Ios Angeles, Cclil., Telephone VAndike 4565 Elrtorod as Second-clcsg nctter Septembet 2l, ll2, ct the Post Offic€ qt Los Angoles, Cclilomiq, uader Acl oI Mcrch 3, l8?9

LOS ANGELES 14, CALIFORNIA, MARCH 15, 1958

Subscription Price, $3.00 per Year

How Lumber Looks

Patalyzing effects of recent eastern blizzards were felt by the west-coast lumber ind'ustry in the latest Market period, which ended February on a slow note, reported Crow's Lumber Market News Service. Lack of demand was felt by transit cars of dimension started east. However, the market has held its position remarkably well for this season, considering the consuming area storms, reported the Service. Dimension and boards from California mills exhibited strength in the California market trut lost ground for water shipment in the March 7 period.

Shipments of 483 mills reporting to the National Lumber Manufacturers Assn. in the t'eek ending March I were 6.2/o ,below production; new orders were l09Vo below. Compared to the previous week, however, production was 3.6/o, shipments were 1.8/o and orders 5.0/o above National prodnction of lumber totaled 2,476,000,000 troard feet during January, estimated the NLMA-I3/o above the previous month but 6/o below January 1957. Softwood production was 2,038,000,000 b.f.; hardwood, 438,000,000 b.f. Shipments rose 9/o over December and new orders gained l0lo.

Orders of 84,518,279 feet were 17.3/o rtnder production at 159 mills reportine (130 operating) to the West Coast Lumbermen's Assn. in the week ending March 1. Shipments werc L3.2/o below . Douglas fir region sawmill production during February averaged 156,298,000 b.f. weekly, reported WCLA Secretary Harris E. Smith. Orders averaged 137,235,N0 b.f. weekly in the month, and shipments, 140,871,000 b.f.

Shipments of 75,391,000 feet were 2.6/o above production at 124 mills reporting to the Western Pine Association in the week ending Febr'uary 22. Orders were 0.6/, below.

Douglas fir plywood orders climbed to their highest weekly total in history in the week end.ing March 1, reported the Douglas Fir Plywood Assn. A total of 134,732,000 feet in new orders was reported, with production in the period at 112,4U,000 feet. For the year to date, production was 13.2/o and ord,ers 17.7/o above the same 1957 period. The surge in orders early this month reflected a flurry of buying by jobbers at the new low price for tl-inch thick sanded grade. One plywood maker declared, "Jobbers are simply convinced that this is the bottom of the recent price declines." Orders in the rveek were 27.7y'o above the previous week and 6O/o above the same 1957 week. Orders taken at the old price will be shipped to buyers up until April I as some mills were already quoting a $4 higher price in the "new boom."

Wetcome

In this issue, we welcome these new advertisers into the family of California Lumber

By N. Floyd lllcGowin, President, Notionol Lumber Mnnufgcturers Assn.

.America's lumber inanufacturers are about to make a historic

,' dbcision:'whether or not to unite ,;'in.r national merchandising cam- pargn.

There have been some inquiries.as to why distribution segme{rts of the lumber industry have not 6een asked to join initially in the financial support of this overall promo- tion program. 'fhe reason is this: I}nless the producers in the lumber iirdustry ftrst agree on a program,-and then also agree on the financial support for thaiprogram, such a program will never come about.

, an. industry-wide promotion campaign to sell wood as opposed to {'.Palgn to wood to i,,,.ot*rer,building materiliis. The iol general attitude for the past quar- century has been that either

," Not since 1932 has there been the industry couldn't afford such r a program, or else it wash,t i needed.

; It is needed norv. There is

Since members of the National Lumber Manufacturers Association produce about 4A/o of. the lumber in this country, their market loss, comparing 1955 with 1957, was almost a quarter of a billion dolhrs. Their loss in profits was more than ffi million.

_O-ur first job is to get the produce.rs who make up NLMA to make the basil desision to fund such a prograni, and this is being done. When such agreement is riacf,ed, I am certain other segments of the industry will be asked to tie in with the profam in sornt wa5 sh-ape or fashion, so that we can carry out an integrated promotional effort for the benefit of the entire industrrt.

This national program also ofteis a tremendous opportu- nity to NLMA's federated associations to augment and expand their own hard-hitting merchandising: efiorts. Certainly, the producers who finance tlre cdmpiign for woodas-wood will stand to gain by expanding their own species prornotion activities to tie 'in with'the overall eftort.

This would seem to be the only,approach, since selling, to a great'extedt, has become the mirrufacfurer's respoi- sibility. Consumers must be pre.sold a product before they enter a store, or lumberyard to buy.

' This prd-selling wiil make it-easier for the lumber retailer to sell wood. Without merchandising help he canirot be expected to push wood aggressivily, siince the greatest prrt of his profits Fow comes from nonlumber items.

When a customer comes in to the retail vard for a metal building material, it takis excellent salesminship to change him to wood. That type of selling talent is in very short supply. We are forcei-to educate -the customer to iome in and ask for wood and to be satisfied only with wood, to the slump in'sales. Oddly enough, professionals as well as laymen cling to fa-lse ideas that wood is difficult and expensive to use, that it w-ill burn and rot more readily than even simple reason and everyday experience would indi- l:r, Outmoded and discriminatory building codes also have 1; afiected .sales. Wood's. compe.tiiors. have"done their job so artected sales. Wood's competitors have done job fi- well that in some localities il is against the law to use wood fr in the way it can and shguld be used. rn Ene lt ano snguld be

Misconceptions about wood and its uses have contributed il-. cate.

In 1955, the post-World War II shrinking of lumber's marke-ts prompted NLMA to retain McKinsey and Com- p1n;'_-for an an-alysis of the industry's future pr6spects. The

McKinsey study indicated that the future was bliak indeed

The manufacturer'must also be responsible lor maintaining contact with the quantity users and specifiers of lumber, the architects and tract builders. Mani retail yards do this. But these retail representatives are settlttg niany dif- ferent and competitive products, and if a yard hlndles both wood and metal windows it will attempt to sell the particular brands it has in stock and the type on which it makes its greatest profits.

At the Tucson meeting of NLMA's Wood Promotion Planning committee, the industry'made its plans to do the marketing_ job the manufacturer must do if he is to compete success{ully unless a vigorous and oositive aooroach was mede forwer-d and positive approach was made toward

First, the role of NLMA was clearly defined in order to avoid cbnflict and duplication of effori wiih the federated associations.

, reversing the downward sales trend.

NL\4A's board of directors took the first important step tqry?ld this end in the spring-of 1956. They requested each

Then, the advertising agency of VanSant, Dugdale & Company, Inc., of Baltimore, Md., was appointed to develop and present the outline of a merchandising program to manufacturing segments of the industry. Before this program can be undertaken as a joint NlMA-federated association project, it must be approved by regional groups responsible for at least 8Q/o of. NLMA's dues income.

Iow&ro Inrs eno tne Sprlng-Ol f y)O. I ll.: of NI,MA's-16 federated' asS-oiietiOus to of federated associdtictns'tb appoitl! a commif: tee to discuss a merchandising program:"-In November of !!56 a Special Merchandising iommittee was appointed.

A $1250,000 program is proposed,for the flrst year, to be underwritten by a dues increase of "10-cents per'ithousand board feet shipped by members of the federited essociations.

1' Fummer Uni- i.,, This group in turn named a-subcommittee, whiCh in the i' pummer af 1957 retained Dr. James D. Scott of the Uni- versity of ,Michigan to survey the marketing problem and

. offer his recommendations.

',The Scott report was accepted in NoVember 1957, at which time NLMA's board of directors appropriated $25,000 so the outline of a merchandising progiam could be presented to lumber manufacturers eaily it 1958. The following month, a Wood Promotion Planning committee met in Tucson, Arizona, to approve ground rules for the merchandising effort.

As detailed by the Tucson conference, the merchandising program would provide for:

1. Advertising in the trade journals read by builders, architects, engineers and school officials,

2. Advertising in other opinion-tnolding publications, to create a favorable public image of WOOD.

3. EmphaSizing to building code and fire insurance officials the many uses and advantages of lumber and wood products.

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