Douglas Fir Producers Plan for 1951

Bv H.V. Simpson, Executive Vice President West Coast Lumbermen's Association

Biggest story of 1950 by long odds, as far as the lumber industry is concerned, is the amazing, booming home construction record of 1.3 million new non-farm homes undertaken during the year.

This is an all-time record for number of homes started in a single year. It tops 1949 by 30/o or 300,000 units. It proves beyond question the tremendous capacity of the building industry to expand rapidly and absorb almost any volume of demand on short notice.

All but a fraction of these new homes were built by private industry, which is the best evidence we have seen to bolster the argument against need for public housing.

All segments of the building industry deserve credit for making possible the record ccnstruction volume. Retail lumbermen, key link in the distribution of lumber and building materials, dicl a magnificent job in handling what the military chooses to call the logistics of collecting, transporting and supplying the vast quantity of materials needed-

Here in the West Coast region, rvhere much of your framing and finish lumber originates, we expect to have our greatest procluction year in history. We will cut 10.5 billion board feet in 1950, topping record-breaking 1929 by 300 million.

One of the handicaps we faced for virtually half of the year was the crippling freight car shortage in southern Oregon and northern California. From May through October cars \\'ere scarce-as low as 30/o of needs. Retailers suffered as well as manufacturers in this road-block to orderly distribution of our product. Trucks took up much of the slack to California p'oints and intercoastal tonnage of lumber doubled over volume carried in 1949.

We know pretty well now what else has happened in 1950: The large volume of single-story school construction, which promises to continue for at least fifteen more years; the unusual pickup in church construction, good for more years as parishioners jingle more money in their pockets; and commercial, industrial and some defense spending topped off the year.

Most everybody in the lumber and building industry would like to know what's going to happen in 1951. Frankly, so would we.

Two related question marks seem to hold the key. One is the big, vital, all-important question of whether we are to have war or peace, whether we are to continue a huge armament program without war, or whether the shooting will actually get under way. The second question is the extent of credit controls which will be applied to building, assuming we stay on a non-war, but heavy armament basis.

\Me are a long ways from filling the needs for new homes in the nation. It will take an average of 630,000 a year to care for new families and new population, plus another 200,000 to replace those worn out and destroyed. There is your homebuilcling backlog minimum for the next decade--{50,000 new homes.

Liberality of credits and availability of scarce items like nails, and items made from steel and critical metals will govern the volume of home building. It rvill determine, too, how many churches, schools and non-defense industrial and commercial structures are built.

\\/e u'ould like our retail friends to kno*' this fact. Here on the \\'est Coast \\'e are prepared to supply vou rvith vast quantities of .lumber to handle most of your usual require' rnents, ancl rve will still have enough volume to meet military and clefense requirements that have developed so far. We have the timber out here, we have the plant capacity and the rnanufacturing know-hou', and lre have the men unless the government needs them, to maintain our present high production volume.

Here's what rve are doing and anticipating for 1951. Our board of directors has authorized us to continue our very successful national lumber promotion camp3ign of full-color advertising in the nation's top shelter magazines, tu'o-color schedules in leading farm journals and specialized campaigns in trade and technical journals.

\\te plan no let up in our efiorts to help retail lumbermen sell more lurnber. We featrrre the retailer in all of our advertisements, urging the consumer to see his retail lumbermen when he is ready to build.

We are enlarging and improving our full ofiering of dealers' aids, adding ner,r' ideas as conditions warrant. Among our helps to dealers are free newspaPer advertising mats, and a variety of aids at cost, such as radio platters with lumberselling spot announcements, imprinted blotters, farm books, billboard paper. \\Ie will supply any of the lumber retailers r.r'ithout cost rvith quantities of our colorful, eye-appealing lumber promotion literature. tr[uch of this is in four-colors, all of if is short, compact, easy to read and carries a punch-

This literature is business-getting for the dealer who will use it. It can be mailed with monthly statements and is equally attractive on th.e display counter.

Dealers may also book u'ithout cost our new Z?-minute, rnotion picture, "Lumber for Homes" w'hich comes in 16 mm in color and sound and is ideal for service clubs, schools, sales and staff meetings, conventions and other uses. Available for booking after January lst is another Z2-minute all-color and sound motion picture, "Ntagic of Lumber" made by the West Coast Bureau of Lumber Grades and Inspection.

We are not going to let the consumer forget about our four farned \\'est Coast \\'oods-Douglas fir, West Coast hemlock, Sitka spruce and Western red cedar, even though we should move into a more rigidly controlled economy. We believe that continuity of advertising through the years will pay dividends to our manufacturers and to the retailers as well.

Tacoma lumhor $ales, Inc.

714 W. Olympic Blvd.

tOS ANGEI.ES 15, CALIF.

Telephone PRospect ll08

Branch Office:

1030 G Street, Arccrtcr, Cclif., Phone 705

GABGO and EAIL fIR and REDWOOID REPnESETITING

sr.

Pcrul & Tccomcr Lumber Co.

Tcrcomq, Wcsh.

Defiqnce Lumber Co.

Tcrcomcr, Wash.

Dickrran Lumber Compcny

Tqcomc, Wcsh.

Kcrlen-Dcvis Compcny

Tcrcomc, Wcrsh.

Tacoma Hqrbor Lumber d Timber Co.

Tccomc, Wcrsh.

G. t. Spier Co.

Arcctcr, Cqlif. Also Northern Ccrlilornic crnd Southern Oregon

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