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 ®
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■ 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: 55 (11) 5112 1088 – FAX: 55 (11) 5505 4597
E-MAIL: [email protected]
IMPORTED WOOD
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