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December 14, 2007

SPC, APA Join Forces to Ramp Up Raised Floor Effort

Staff members from SFPA and APA-The Engineered Wood Association met this week at SFPA headquarters to determine how the Southern Pine Council and APA can team up to create a stronger push for raised floor systems in the flood-prone Gulf Coast region.

The Raised Floor Living campaign is a joint marketing effort launched several years ago by SFPA and the Southeastern Lumber Manufacturers Association (SLMA) through the Southern Pine Council. The campaign was already set to receive a huge boost in 2008 thanks to a $1 million grant SPC received from the Bi-National Lumber Council. In addition, APA will use a grant it received from the Bi-National Lumber Council to support the program by training building professionals to design and construct raised floor systems, setting up demonstration homes in key markets and sponsoring technical research projects to improve raised floor systems.

“We are extremely pleased to secure this funding from the Bi-National Council,” said SFPA President Digges Morgan. “The raised floor promotion will be a key element to bring demand for wood products into the housing market as it rebounds. Members of SPC crafted and fine-tuned the promotion over the years, and now we are excited about expanding it with APA and others in the industry throughout North America.”

“It’s essential that we work together,” said APA President Dennis Hardman. “We each represent different wood products that are all used in raised floor systems, and our common enemy is concrete. If we can convert a concrete slab to a raised wood floor, we all win.”

Raised floors benefit homeowners by lowering their flood risk, increasing curb appeal and decreasing problems that can come with concrete slabs on grade. The industry benefits through increased sales. For example, SPC estimates raised floor systems add as much as one-third additional lumber to the framing package for a home; and APA sees the potential to boost the use of wood products by 1.5 billion board feet for lumber and 1.7 billion square feet for panels. And, of course, when considering the complete life cycles of wood and concrete, wood is the more environmentally-friendly choice.

“We’ve always had a great relationship with SFPA and look forward to working together to promote raised floor living,” Dennis said.

Suppliers, Distributors Come Together at NAWLA

NAWLA's Traders Market held recently in Dallas, Texas, drew a nice crowd despite the currently depressed housing market.  Russell Richardson, SFPA’s director of industrial markets, represented the Southern Pine Council at the event, which attracted about 1,800 lumber wholesalers, dealers, manufacturers and remanufacturers. Russell reports he distributed quite a few patterns and pressure treated booklets to attendees who stopped by the SPC kiosk. 

“A number of our SPC members also attended the show, which gave me an opportunity to talk with some of them and gain a better understanding as to how we can help market Southern Pine products,” Russell said.  “Much of the purchasing activity originates from the relationships between suppliers and producers. Some of our marketing efforts could adapt to help strengthen those relationships, which are generally the key to moving Southern Pine lumber.”

For more information, contact Russell at 504/443-4464, ext. 239, or rrichardson@sfpa.org.

Hurricanes Noted as Largest Disaster for Forestry

For those who missed it, the Washington Post recently reported satellite imaging has revealed that Hurricanes Katrina and Rita produced the largest single forestry disaster on record in America, killing or severely damaging about 320 million trees in Louisiana and Mississippi. The article’s main focus was on environmental impact, rather than economic damage, which is not surprising considering the intense spotlight thrown on green issues these days.

Regarding economic impact, however, the story says the U.S. Forest Service and Farm Service Agency had estimated the damage from the two hurricanes at 5 billion board feet of timber valued at about $2 billion. Buck Vandersteen, executive director of the Louisiana Forestry Association, tells SFPA that 1 million acres of forest totaling more than 5 billion board feet were damaged in Louisiana, and Patrick Glass, director of operations for the Mississippi Institute for Forest Inventory, reports about 1.3 million acres were affected in Mississippi. Most of the damage in Louisiana occurred on privately-owned lands, and about 20 to 25 percent of the damaged timber was salvaged. In Mississippi, 20 to 30 percent of the timber on private lands was salvaged along with 75 percent of the timber that was damaged on federal and state lands.

As to the effect on timber supply, Patrick said he doesn’t see a short-term impact since mills are currently curtailing production. Because the storms took out the mid-rotation class that had just been thinned, he said there could be a “slight dip” in supply in 12-15 years, depending on what the demand is at that time.

There is an upside. “Sustainability has not been affected at all, but this has actually spurred a renewed interest in reforestation,” Patrick said.

Click here to read the Washington Post story.

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