1955 Wcls Yecrr of Upsets in fhe Douglcrs Fir Region -But ldeqs Were Never Brighter for Yeqr Aheod

By Arthur IV. Priaulx Public Relations Director IVest Coast Lumbermen's Association

When Douglas Fir region millmen look back on 1955, they will probably recall it most vividly as the year of the big car shortage. The f reight car shortage has lasted longer and has been more severe than in any year since World War II. Oregon lumber shipp ers have been most unhappy. They do not like the idea that the shortage of f reight cars in Oregon is greater percentagewise than for most other regions. There has been a freight car shortage nationally, the railroadshave taken pains to point out, but in no instance has it amounted to the severe proportions suffered by Oregon shippers.

Some lumbermen are n ondering t,hat u,ould happen in case of another national emergency, for it is obvious the railroads do not have nearly enough freight cars to handle peak shipping business during tl.re long summer months rvhen perishable crop shipments collide head-on rvith the car needs of year-around commoditl' shippers of lumlrcr and other products.

Lumber freight tonnage out of the west is the difference between big red figures for all transcontinental railroads and a profit position.

The other highlight of 1955 r"nost certairrl,v lrill lte thc sharp drop-oIl in demand for green lumller aiter the Fourth of July shtttdowns. I)emand hers been belou' procluction :rt most fir sau'mills since latc in July, especiallv in green dimension and studs. No one seems to lcnon' exactly u-hy.

Some economists in the industry sav the softening of clcmand for green lumber \rery closely parallels the tightening up of home finar-rcc nloney. \\rlrcrr irrterest rates \\'erc ellort to slorv dor'r.n the inflationar_v spir:rl, the nunrber of new home starts dropped off as speculative builders tightened their belts.

Despite four straight months when production exceeded orders at fir mills, total figures through the first ten months showed production, orders and shipments almost in balance. Drop-off in new orders showed up in the shrinking file of unfinished business.

Demand for dry fir has maintained a fairly even pace