Wholesale

In the transaction, Western also purchased timber licenses, existing capital improvements and infrastructure, machinery, equipment, railway rolling stock, and some contracts and equipment leases.

The acquisition provides Westem with "a secure source of logs for our lumber mills," according to president and c.e.o. Reynold Hert.

Weyco Temporarily Cuts Back

Market conditions necessitated a one-month closure of Weyerhaeuser's Lebanon mill in Lebanon, Oregon.

As of March 10, 39 hourly workers at the mill were laid off for a month. The log yard that supplies the mill was also closed. Weyerhaeuser acquired the mill in 2002 with the purchase of Willamette Industries.

"This is a business decision driven by declines in market prices and market conditions," said company spokesperson Mike Moskovitz. "We're working closely with customers and suppliers to minimize disruption."

Even though lumber production reached a new annual record last year, demand for lumber continues to drop as the housing market cools. The price of logs has also risen, to $700 per 1,000 bd. ft. In addition, new mills being built in Washington state are expected to take logs that would have gone to Oregon mills.

"The mills will get logs-about 500-600 million bd. ft. per year-from land managed by the Washington Department of Natural Resources," said Jim Geisinger, executive director of Associated Oregon Loggers. About half of that amount traditionally came to Oregon mills, he said, but "those logs won't come to Oregon once the mills so online."

D.BLAZE

Armstrong Builds Up lts Flooring

To meet increased demand for rvood flooring, Armstrong World Industries Inc.. Lancaster. Pa.. has purchased two U.S. companies and agreed to a joint venture in China.

The acquisition of Capella Engineered Wood LLC. Vicksburg, Ms., rvhich has annual sales of $15 million, will increase Armstrong's manufacturing capacity in the U.S., and add another brand of engineered rvood flooring. HomerWood. which is based in Titusville. Pa.. and sells $26 million of unfinished. prefinished and "hand-scraped character wood" rvill expand Armstrong's line of premium solid-wood flooring.

"Last year was the first year that Armstrong's sales of rvood floors in North America surpassed sales of vinyl floors," said Armstrong World c.e.o. Michael D. Lockhart. "We struggled all last year to keep up rvith demand for this product."

The joint venture is with Nature Floors. a Chinese company that has supplied sliced-face veneer to Armstrong for the last five years. Together. the two firms are building a veneer plant in Shanghai. When it opens later this year. the plant will make l5 million sq. ft. of flooring annually.

Depot Supply To Hughes Offices

Once it completes its $3.47-billion acquisition of Hughes Supply, Home Depot rvill relocare its professionalsupplies division from Atlanta. Ga.. to Hughes' headquarters in Orlando. Fl.

Home Depot Supply executives and national sales, operations, marketing and human resources personnel rvill end up in Orlando.

The deal, rvhich rvill double Home Depot Supply's annual revenue to $12 billion. is expected to close this month, pending Hughes shareholder approval late last month.

Asked if Depot might retain the Hughes name. rhe pro division's executive vice president Joe DeAngelo said a brand study is currently undenvay. "We'll call ourselves rvhatever the customers says we should call ourselves." DeAngelo said.

Fencing Sales Post Strong Gains

Powered by a vibrant economy and strong housing and remodeling markets. sales of metal. vinyl. rvood and other fencing products are expected to reach $3.5 billion by 2010, according to a new report from Specialists in Business Information.

SBI projects that the fencing market rvill nearly touch $3 billion in 2005 alone. up 4.8% from 2004. Not surprisingly, growth in the construcrion indusrry fueled sales of non-wire ornamental iron, steel. and aluminum fencing in 2005 with sales reaching $349.6 million. Similarly, rvith increased ownership of nervly constructed homes. consumers made provisions for gardening and landscaping activities driving sales in the rvood fencing sector.

Changing consumer preferences. however. are also changing the face of the market. While customers appreciate the classic look and feel of rvood fencing, they also want a product that is low cost and relatively maintenance free.

"Consumers have fallen in love rvith polyvinylchloride fencing as an alternative to rvood and it has been used extensively, particularly in the building and construction industry. But PVC is going to have a difficult rime over- coming its non-eco-friendly image now that word is out that vinyl is hazardous and non-recyclable," said Don Montuori, the publisher of SBI. "The industry has responded quickly with innovations such as plastic lumber made from l00%o recycled or virgin plastic resins, often with wood fiber included, and advances in pre-cast concrete fence panels, which combine the beauty of wood with the durability of concrete. These innovations and others are making serious inroads into the market."

Dealers Sue OSB Producers

At least five LBM dealers and wholesalers have filed separate antitrust lawsuits alleging that North American OSB producers conspired to fix prices and restrict supply.

The plaintiffs are seeking to have their cases certified as a class action, estimating that thousands of OSB buyers may be affected.

OSB producers including Louisiana-Pacific Corp., Norbord Inc., Weyerhaeuser Co., Ainsworth Lumber Co., Georgia-Pacific Corp., Potlatch Corp., J.M. Huber Corp., and Tolko are accused of illegally working together to set OSB prices and reduce supply from June 1,2002, to the present.

Suits have been filed so far by wholesaler West Lumber Co., Upper Darby, Pa.; dealer/component manufacturer Norwood Sash & Door Manufacturing Co., Norwood, Oh., and retailers Sawbell Lumber Co., Philadelphia, Pa.; Frontier Lumber Co. Inc., Buffalo, N.Y., and Columbare Inc., which operates Everydays True Value, Jamestown, N.Y.

The suits claim manufacturers conspired to remove production capacity from the market in four ways: by shutting down mills, delaying or cancelling the construction of new mills, buying needed OSB from competitors instead of manufacturing it themselves, and having low operating rates at mills.

According to the suit filed February 24 by Columbare, "absent collusion, defendants would not have undertaken a reduction in capacity without assurances that their competitors in the market would not raise output and undercut their efforts to charge higher prices for OSB."

Norbord and Ainsworth, among other producers, have said the charges "are entirely without merit" and plan vigorous defenses.

The suits are seeking treble damages, injunctive relief, and reimbursement of attorneys' fees.

Proposed lead counsel for the plaintiff class, Washington, D.C.based Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll, was among the firms filing the successful class action suit against Masonite hardboard sidine in the 1990s.

NHS Dishes Up Housewares

Next year's National Hardware Show in Orlando, Fl., will incorporate an adjacent housewares show. After adding Lawn & Garden

World and now The Homewares Show, the May 8-10, 2007 event will feature most product categories currently sold by home improvement retailers.

"We created this event in direct response to our retail customers' purchasing needs," said NHS's Rob Cappiello. "The National Hardware Show, along with the co-located Gourmet Housewares Show, currently attracts over 750 housewares manufacturers who are already participating in the events and attracts 23 of the top 25 housewares retail buyers who are already coming to see those products lines."

BVC Doweled

Lodgepole pine post, poles & rails l-112" to 12"

Diameter in Stock

Doweled Rail Fencing

2" BVC Tree Stakes

.

.

3" BVC Tree Posts

Light Posts

Standard and Fancy

Bollards

. Special Milling: Split, Quartered, Slabbed. Sanded, Smooth Peeled & Hand Peeled

Available Textures

Natural (No Bark)