Semi-Annuol Western Pine Meeting Finds 1956 Will Be Neor Top Yecrr for Shipments

Portland-The Western Pine Region lumber industry directly employs 91,000 people in 300 communities earning a payroll of some $400,000,000, Pres. A. L. Helmer told his Western Pine Association semi-annual meeting here. The Polson, Mont., mill operator reported the industry's 1955 lumber production could have built 850,000 homes, or could have filled 250,000 railroad cars-enough for a continuous train from Spokane to Philadelphia. Some 300 representatives of member lumber mills scattered across the big, l2-state \Mestern Pine region attended the three-day sessions, presided over by Helmer.

In a report to the association on lumber, Asst. Secy.Mgr. W. E. Griffee called the present market situation "neither bright nor gloomy," and listed as brakes on housing-both natural and imposed-the slow-down of mortgage money, some overbuilding in certain areas and increased costs of property, labor and materials for building.

He noted that, despite the recent slump, volume of shipments this year should be the second best in the industry's history.

"It is the sweating out of these stiffly competitive periods," Griffee declared, "and figuring ways to hold its costs down while improving its products which has enabled the Western Pine industry to steadily increase its share of the national softwood sales."

The association itself has shown accelerated growth with the industry as evidenced in a report to the group's board of directors by Association Secy.-Mgr. S. V. Fullaway, Jr. In 1946, the region's lumber production stood at 6 billion board feet, and the association membership at 170 companies. Its staff numbered 44.

In the decade since that time the region's production and shipments have reached Bl billion board feet. There are 369 member companies (as of Sept. 1, 1956) and 440 plants representing about 85/o of the region's production. The association staff now numbers 81 persons. A record of association activities shows an increase from 111 tree farms covering 2.3 million acres in 1946 to 1077 tree farms covering more than 6 million acres today, a promotional program including an enlarged national advertising campaign, a newly expanded laboratory, increasing grading bureau activity and continued heavy statistical and steady traffic service.

Specific actions taken by the group's board of directors at the meeting included the establishment of an association safety committee and authorization to add a safety expert to the association staff, approval of an expansion in the research program, and approval of committee action on important problems in grading, research, promotion, traffic, moulding, statistics and forest conservation.

An important group action was the approval of a proposed change in American Lumber Standards for the standard finished thickness of one-inch lumber f.rom 25/32 inch to 3/a inch,.provided "such finish size is related to a definite moisture content provision." FHA had requested the American Lumber Standards Committee to relate ALS