2010 Looks to be a Better Year

There's no way to get around it. 2009 was ROUGH! I don't know of one family in the industry that wasn't struggling in one way or another.

Here's to a much-improved 2010.

I'd like to think we're headed out of the hole. I'm optimistic, in part, because I'm not the only one that sees things gradually improving. In the last few days, I've read the following stories — none of which were around at the start of 2009:

1. Lumber market showing sign of rebound

2. Camfor, Tembec plan to start up

3. Home resales jump 7.4 Percent in November

4. California home sales, prices improve in November

5. Wyden bill for forests bring sides together

Here's a successful and profitable 2010. Happy New Year everyone!

Roseburg Death — a Reminder to Stay Safe

There was an accident yesterday at Douglas County Forest Products, a lumber mill in Roseburg, Oregon, that took the life of a 39-year-old Holger Fussell.

The Oregonian reports that he was found severely injured and trapped under a lumber stacker. Although co-workers administered CPR, he was pronounced dead at the hospital. What caused the injury is still being investigated.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and their incredible loss.

It's a sobering reminder of how important it is for everyone to stay safe and to keep an eye out for our co-workers to keep them safe too.

Weyerhaeuser to Convert to REIT

On Tuesday Weyerhaeuser announced that it will be converting to an REIT (real estate investment trust) in 2010.

The Associated Press reported that Weyerhaeuser had been under pressure to lower its income tax rate — which currently totals 35 percent. This move will definitely lower the company's tax burden because an investment trust can distribute 90 percent of the taxable income to shareholders each year and then deduct those dividends from the corporate taxable income. In fact, some REITs pay no corporate income tax at all.

Dan Fulton, Weyerhaeuser's president and CEO, said the conversion "will position us to be more competitive in our timberlands business. It addition, we are able to convert our existing business mix of timberlands, wood products, cellulose fibers and real estate."

It will definitely be joining the others who are followed this path — Potlatch, Rayonier Inc. and Plum Creek Timber Co.

The conversion isn't set to take place until 2010. In the meantime, Weyerhaeuser stock is up.

Housing Market Recovers SLOWLY

We just sold our house. It's been on the market a year and half, and over that time prices for our sized home dropped over $100,000.00. A year and a half ago I never thought I'd says, "I feel LUCKY to have sold it even after that big of a cut."

On the bright side, there are signs that the of this horrible housing ordeal may be in sight. The Wall Street Journal recently published an article where economists weighed in on the subject.

Here are just a few of the signs the pointed to:

• The supply of homes on the market has dropped to it's lowest levels since 2007. (I like to think I helped with that stat).

• The declining rate in home prices has slowed. It would be nice if they just stopped and turned around, but it does suggest that a recovery in home resale market has begun.

• With mortgage rates at historic lows, housing affordability is at a historic high. This is one silver lining to this whole mess — folks who couldn't get into the housing market before now can.

In short, the economists didn't say the housing market would recover quickly, but they did say that all the signs of a recovery are there.

Having just sold our house, I am inclined to agree.

Paying Homage to an Original Smokejumper

What would it take to get you to parachute into a forest fire? Most people would answer, "Nothing. Because I wouldn't do it."

Luckily there are people like Early Cooley, who make a career out of it. Mr. Cooley died earlier this month at the age of 98, but will be remembered for being one of the original smokejumpers.

A Montana native, he made is first jump in 1940. His career spanned 35 years, and he went on to become the first superintendent of the U.S. Forest Service and also see the first smokejumper casualties in 1949 when 12 of his crew died in the Mann Gluch fire.

Smokejumpers 2009

Cooley's first jump the technology to fight fires has changed, but the firefighters and the fires haven't.

If you want to find out more about smokejumpers, check out the National Smokejumper Association website. In many ways, it's the legacy of those first smokejumpers like Cooley.

Get Rich Quick . . . Buy Timber

Will investors soon be flocking to timber to . . . get rich?

The author of an article on iStockAnalyst.com, Timber is the Next Silver, believes Timber could be the next great buy for investors. I hope he's right. Wouldn't it be great to know you were sitting on some valuable assets — even if they aren't going to be valuable for a while yet.

Important Future Asset

This article stated several reasons for timber rising in value:

• There will be a need for more housing as the population expands

The Population Reference Bureau expects the population to grow at 0.9% per year through 2050. If we extrapolate the results of recent Texas A&M University study, Housing Market Mirrors Population Growth, which correlates housing and population growth excluding the recent bubble years, the 0.9% population growth means housing demand will increase 1.12% per year.

That means 1.26 million new homes (105 million currently + 1.12% per year growth) will need to be built each year.

• The pine beetle will make softwood in U.S. & CA less available, and the price of what does remain will rise

• New tax credits for homebuyers — new and old — will improve the housing market

• Russian wood may become even more expensive.

The author of the article, Andrew Mickey, actually said . . .

. . . now is the time to get really interested in timber.

The industry has been decimated by the housing collapse. The sector is completely out of favor and assets are selling for pennies on the dollar.

I think he's right. I just hope it happens SOON!!!

It Takes Guts to Launch a New Product

I can tell the industry is in a slump because I'm receiving fewer press releases showcasing new products. People don't have the money for new machinery, which, I guess, translates into fewer innovations coming to market.

Now when I see a press release for a new product, I'm both excited and nervous. Excited to see a new product, but nervous for the company that's trying to find buyers in such a harsh environment. If someone asked me today, "Would you rather launch a product or wrestle a gator?" I'd have to give it some thought.

That said, I received three press releases this week for new products, which I've listed below. My hat goes off to them. I wish them well, but it's you, the buyer, who will be the ultimate decision maker.

New Products

1. AWMV's Portable Sawmill — A recent piece of equipment out there is AWMV's (a division of Wood-Mizer) new HR120 Horizontal Resaw. It has a 16" width capacity and is powered by gas, diesel or electricity. The bed can title to an angle cut to produce lapsiding and moulding blanks.

2. Deere's D-Series Skidders — Deere has launched the new D-Series skid steer loader and compact track loaders. The biggest change is in the cab. These smaller machines now have the comforts of the larger equipment. There's 24% more room, a 50% reduction in noise and better visibility.

3. CO2 Detector Monitors — If you're curious about your greenhouse gas emissions, Sensor Electronics has developed a Co2 detector that can "see" atmospheric CO2 levels from zero to 1 million PPM. This detector will work inside or out and -40 to 150 degrees. The company says that readings are within .03 percent.

Good Luck

I used to find it fun to read info about new products. Now I'm inspired as well. It's hard enough to launch a new product, and doing it during a recession takes guts!