INTANI) TUMBXR COMPANY

senting an inter-regional liaisort committee on lumber , grades. It was the first meeting since the association was formed in 1931 to convene without the services of S. V. Fullaway, Jr., Portland, who retired at the end of 1959 as secretary-manager.

Pine Industry Spurs Trade-Promotion Drive

The Western Pine lumber industry is now investing more than $Ir/a millions a year in industry-wide product advertising and trade promotion, declared J. D. Bronson, Yakima, Wash., president of the Western Pine Association, at th? annual meeting of the lumbermen.

Bronson, pointing to "dynamic change and development" taking place in the building materials market, told the gathering of more than 4O0 manufacturers that the Western Pine industry is pacing its trade-promotion efforts with continuous emphasis on quality control and consumer preference attention.

"The idea of collective promotion of lumber stands high in the minds of our members," Bronson said. More than 85/o of the l2-state region's lumber production capacity is represented in the 450 member mills of the association, he pointed out.

Dues paid by these mills, on a basis of output, go heavily into a promotion program on behalf of the 10 lumber species manufactured in the region and marketed in all the states. Advertising programs 'of individual companies add substantially to the total effort.

"But without merchandising and effective quality control, no prom<ition program can succeed," he . warned.

"No industry's market will stay stationary these days. There is no guarantee that what we produce today will satisfy demands of the consuming market 10 years hence. Market analysis and research will point the way. The market will grow for those who wisely plot their changes to the needs of today's and tomorrow's markets."

Brisk Lumber Demand Forecast for 1960

Lumber demahd during 1960 will continue brisk but probably won't match the record-breaking volumes of 1959, W. E. Griffee, acting manager of the Western Pine association, told the annual meeting.

"Most home construction forecasts for this year seem to range from 1,200,000 to 1,250,000 units," Griffee told the lumber manufacturers. "This'would be a drop ol 7 to l0% from last year. This does not mean, however, that we expect a corresponding drop in lumber shipments. We look for a lumber volume within about 5/o of the very high marks reached in 1959.

"There will be a further increase in apartment house construction, which requires less lumber, but at the same time thete will be an increase in home modernization and repair work."

Griffee said housing starts "held up amazingly well" during the fall, despite higher interest rates. Starts during December rose to an annual rate of 1,300,000 units and resulted in a total of 1,341,500 private starts for the year. This was only 11,000 below the all-time high mark set in 1950, he added.

Availability of mortgage money at rates attractive to