International Wood International Wood 2005 | Page 25

“There’s no end to issues out there FAST FACTS AND FIGURES that can hurt businesses like ours, so we all need to stay on top of them and get involved.” JOHN HOFELICH The National Association of Home Builders builder members will construct about 80 percent of the more than 1.84 million new housing units projected for 2005, making housing one of the largest engines of economic growth in the country. The latest housing statistics show that home sales and housing production in 2005 will surpass last year’s performance. DID YOU KNOW: People who can do this are increasingly rare. “Using imported lumber products helps me keep my costs under control so I can still deliver the quality customers expect at an affordable price. We would never sacrifice quality for price, but price is truly the bottom line for most people.” In addition to the Canadian softwood products, Hofelich sees a growing demand for imported species from his customers. “Exotic hardwoods are becoming more and more within reach for more consumers,” he says. “The price of an installed African cherry floor is not much different than red oak these days. “Builders in the U.S. don’t really have a choice but to use imported lumber because forestry has gotten so restricted here, while the need for housing lumber is growing im- mensely. This is how the economy works – as long as money is cheap and housing is strong, things are usually pretty good for the country.” ■ * It takes an average of 13,396 board feet of lumber to construct * * a new home. The typical home has 3.5 bedrooms, 2.6 bathrooms, 5.7 closets, 14.5 windows and 3.8 exterior doors. The most common species of lumber for light frame ex- terior and interior walls were spruce/pine/fir and Douglas fir/hemlock fir, coming mostly from the U.S. and Canada. Between 6 to 7 percent of exterior and interior walls used southern yellow pine. The NAHB is a Washington-based trade association representing more than 220,000 members involved in home building, remod- eling, multifamily construction, subcontracting, design, and other aspects of residential and light commercial construction. Known as “the voice of the housing industry,” NAHB is affiliated with more than 800 state and local home builders associations around the country. ■ We care, we plant. ■ PINE TROPICAL HARDWOOD VENEER CORE PLYWOOD ■ PINE LUMBER CORE PLYWOOD TECO TESTED ® � ����������������������������������������� ��������������������������������� ■ PINE EDGE GLUED FINGER JOINTED PANELS ■ PINE BLANKS / MOULDINGS ■ TROPICAL HARDWOOD SAWN TIMBER AD – KD – S4S FLOORING – DECKING – ETC. WE ARE YOUR NATURAL CHOICE BRASCOMP COMPENSADOS DO BRASIL S.A. COMPENSADOS E LAMINADOS LAVRASUL S.A. Rua Luigi Galvani, 42 – Cj 73 – SP – Brasil – CEP 04575-020 TEL: [phone] – FAX: [phone] E-MAIL: [email protected] IMPORTED WOOD 25