The times are precarious for those of us engaged in lumber related businesses. If you based your business planning on the news, and you have experienced the shrinkage of the market, you would be wanting to know: Will the government bail me out too? Of course we know the answer to this, unless we have large lobby firms representing our interests, no.
Our business has contracted to a small degree. I prefer to see this as our evolving business. We have always been about high quality materials, customer service, and fair value. For the forseeable future we will be able to maintain these essential elements. The biggest change has been the loss of business for commodity driven enterprises. If your business depended on tract housing or lower priced residential construction, you may be experiencing difficulties.
Now is the time to reconsider the core values of your business. We are looking at every aspect of our operation to ensure our maintenance of what we feel makes our business relevant. Our clients want high quality lumber and wood products. We are making sure that we live up to their expectations.
Some things are out of our control. The devaluation of the dollar and the increasing cost of fuel is creating an environment of ever escalating costs. In some cases mills are dumping inventory, in other cases mills are shutting down and there are inventory shortages. And, we have all been faced with increased transportation costs.
Through all the drama of the economic travails and the political showdowns, we are doing our best to maintain a steady specific focus of who we are and what we do!
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