2A
|
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 22, 2022
|
APPEAL TRIBUNE
Lumber
Continued from Page 1A
He said wholesale prices of plywood
– 1,000 square feet – have been on a roll-
er coaster in the same span, from $400
before the pandemic to a high of $2,100
in the summer of 2021 and now down to
$700.
To the average consumer, that means
a 4-by-8 sheet of plywood went from
about $13 to high of about $48 down to
about $24.
“We’re really quite concerned at $700
because we’re losing money at that lev-
el,” Freres said. “To be 40% higher than
your previous all-time high and to lose
money is kind of the situation we’re in.
It’s just, it’s absolutely mind numbing
how we are dealing with the wild swings
in the marketplace and dealing with the
challenges of finding a work force. I
don’t know that it’s ever been so un-
pleasant, all the various challenges
we’ve had the last couple of years.”
Highway’s like 99 and 126 maintain
steady streams of log trucks taking
scorched logs out of the fire zone. State
and county officials and private land-
owners have felled thousands of danger-
ous and burnt black trees and are send-
ing as many as they can to the sawmill.
It was rare when burned logs were
processed by a mill before the wildfires.
“We have a tremendous amount of
black logs coming at us. We’d never run
a black log through our mill prior to re-
cently,” said Seneca Sawmill Co. Senior
Vice President of Marketing and Com-
munications Casey Roscoe. “Every tim-
berland owner that had salvageable
timber wanted to get value from it be-
cause they’re up against a timeline.”
But lumber prices have been on the
rise, and a number of conditions related
to the pandemic are expected to keep
lumber — and new homes — expensive.
Marion County community develop-
ment manager Chris Eppley said
Wednesday that 451 homes that were
destroyed in Marion and Linn counties
have applied for septic permits. That
about 75% of those that were destroyed.
“Our building official is aware of a
handful of projects that have recently
been canceled or delayed by applicants
who cite rising lumber prices as the rea-
son for the withdrawal of their building
permit applications,” Lane County
spokeswoman Devon Ashbridge said.
Lumber markets
The average price of a new single-
family home increased by more than
$24,000 between April 2020 and
A H
AR
Freshly cut lumber heads through a sorting station in April at the Eugene sawmill formerly owned by Seneca Sawmill Co.
California-based Sierra Pacific Industries bought the Eugene-based Seneca companies and plans “to continue investing in
these mills and providing jobs at these mills.” CHRIS PIETSCH/THE REGISTER-GUARD
March, according the National Associa-
tion of Home Builders. On Thursday,
lumber closed at $1,260 per 1,000 board
feet, a record high price and up nearly
280% from the same time last year.
Freres said finding enough workers
has been a challenge, especially since
the wildfires. There are fewer workers to
draw from in logging and manufacturing
in wood products in the Santiam Canyon
with over 2,800 people displaced.
He said the company that produces
wood products like plywood and mass
ply paneling has about 410 workers. Pre-
viously it would have close to 500.
“Last year, for example, we could only
make 55% of the plywood we would nor-
mally make and 75% of the veneer prod-
ucts,” Freres said. “And this was in an ex-
traordinarily high market. It was com-
pletely labor driven, lack of labor driven.
“We need 100 people to get back to
our normal levels and we are not unique
in our industry and the entire manufac-
turing sector across America.”
Prices are expected to rise further in
coming months.
See LUMBER, Page 3A
VE TO BE SO HARD!
A
H
T
’
N
S
E
RK DO
O
W
Y’S
A
D
D
• 56 Gross HP † 4-Cylinder Kubota Diesel Engine
• Fully Synchronized, Hydraulic Shuttle Transmission
• State-Of-The-Art External Hydraulic
Cylinders Improve Lifting Power
M5660SUHSD
w/ LA1154SU Loader
T2290KW-42
Sheets of freshly lathed wood is scanned at Freres Enineered Wood in Lyonson
June 9. BRIAN HAYES / STATESMAN JOURNAL, BRIAN HAYES
Permit
Continued from Page 1A
In the petition, they say the facility
poses a serious risk to ground and sur-
face waters, endangering fish habitats
and the Willamette River basin ecosys-
tem.
The facility is a quarter-mile from the
North Santiam River.
“ODA and DEQ cannot ignore this
mega-chicken operation’s likely pollu-
tion of the North Santiam River, a feder-
ally protected waterway,” said Amy van
Saun, senior attorney at Center for Food
Safety.
The facility’s permit only addresses
discharges to groundwater. But oppo-
nents say there also is the potential for
discharges to surface water.
“This includes aerial deposition of
ammonia from chicken barn fans into
the river, and runoff of contaminated
stormwater,” they wrote in the petition.
The petition also argues that four
inches of compacted soil in the barns,
required by DEQ, is not enough to pro-
tect groundwater. Other states require
12 inches, it says.
• 24.8 Gross HP † Kubota Diesel Engine
• Optional Hydraulic Angle Blade
• Deluxe Suspension Seat
Address: P.O. Box 13009, Salem, OR 97309
To Place an Ad
Phone: 503-399-6773
Classifieds: call 503-399-6789
Retail: call 503-399-6602
Legal: call 503-399-6789
Fax: 503-399-6706
Email: sanews@salem.gannett.com
®
OES MCMINNVILLE
2700 ST. JOSEPH RD.
MCMINNVILLE, OR
(503) 435-2700
“Formerly OVS ® ”
®
OES AURORA
19658 HWY. 99 E.
HUBBARD, OR
(971) 216-0111
800-653-2216 • www.orequipmentsales.com
HOURS: Mon.–Fri. 8–5 • Sat. 8-NOON
FULL SERVICE SHOPS WITH MOBILE CAPABILITIES!
$0 DOWN, 0% A.P.R.
FINANCING FOR UP TO
60
And the groundwater monitoring re-
quired by DEQ is inadequate, it says.
Other petitioners include Willamette
Riverkeeper, Friends of Family Farmers,
Humane Voters Oregon, Food & Water
Watch, Animal Legal Defense Fund and
Center for Biological Diversity.
Tracy Loew is a reporter at the States-
man Journal. She can be reached at
tloew@statesmanjournal.com,
503-
399-6779 or on Twitter at @Tracy_Loew.
KX033-4R1A
• 21.5 Gross HP Gasoline Engine
• 42” Mower Deck
• Hydrostatic Transmission
Oregon Equipment Sales
Signs opposing a factory chicken farm
are posted along a road in Scio on Feb.
16. BRIAN HAYES/SALEM STATESMAN JOURNAL
Web site: www.SilvertonAppeal.com
Missed Delivery?
Staff
Call: 800-452-2511
Hours: until 7 p.m. Wednesdays;
until 3 p.m. other weekdays
News Director
Don Currie
503-399-6655
dcurrie@statesmanjournal.com
Advertising
Westsmb@gannett.com
Deadlines
News: 4 p.m. Thursday
Letters: 4 p.m. Thursday
Obituaries: 11 a.m. Friday
Display Advertising: 4 p.m. Wednesday
Legals: 3 p.m. Wednesday
Classifieds: 4 p.m. Friday
News Tips
MONTHS
*
ON SELECT NEW KUBOTAS
* 0% Down, 0% A.P.R. financing for up to 60 months on purchases of select new Kubota BX, B, LX, L, MX, M60 & M4 equipment from participating dealers’ in-stock
inventory is available to qualified purchasers through Kubota Credit Corporation, U.S.A.; subject to credit approval. Some exceptions apply. Example: 60 monthly
payments of $16.67 per $1,000 financed. Some exceptions apply. Terms subject to change. Offers expire 6/30/22. This material is for descriptive purposes only. Kubota
disclaims all representations and warranties, express or implied, or any liability from the use of this material. For more information, see Dealer or go to KubotaUSA.com.
† For complete warranty, safety and product information, consult your local Kubota dealer and the product operator’s manual. Power (HP/KW) and other specifications
are based on various standards or recommended practices. K1003-04-147191-12
The Appeal Tribune encourages suggestions
for local stories. Email the newsroom, submit
letters to the editor and send announcements
to sanews@salem.gannett.com
or call 503-399-6773.
To Subscribe
Call: 800-452-2511
$21 per year for home delivery
$22 per year for motor delivery
$30.10 per year mail delivery in Oregon
$38.13 per year mail delivery outside Oregon
Main Statesman Journal publication
Suggested monthly rates:
Monday-Sunday: $22, $20 with EZ Pay
Monday-Saturday: $17.50, $16 with EZ Pay
Wednesday-Sunday: $18, $16 with EZ Pay
Monday-Friday: $17.50, $16 with EZ Pay
Sunday and Wednesday: $14, $12 with EZ Pay
Sunday only: $14, $12 with EZ Pay
To report delivery problems or subscribe, call
800-452-2511
Published every Wednesday by the Statesman Journal, P.O. Box 13009, Salem, OR 97309.
USPS 469-860, Postmaster: Send address changes to Appeal Tribune, P.O. Box 13009, Salem, OR 97309.
PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID: Salem, OR and additional offices.
Send letters to the editor and news releases to sanews@salem.gannett.com.