Lumber is an integral part of your business and how America builds its housing. The Softwood Lumber Board’s (SLB’s) mission is to make it much more than that. Our unique programs are showing what is possible when building with wood across residential, commercial, mid-rise, appearance, and even tall building segments. In doing so, we are supporting and expanding the healthy, vibrant markets you need to grow sales. So far since 2012, our investments have resulted in 2.59 billion board feet of new demand—reflecting a fivefold increase through 2016.
Our impact means more than increased sales. A recent report by Forest Economic Advisors, commissioned by the SLB, shows that softwood lumber is not only vital to the industry itself, but also a key economic driver for households across rural America. The average wage for someone working in the softwood lumber industry in America is $54,500 per year, which is $11,000 more than the average rural salary. These earnings mean greater financial freedom and purchasing power, expanding the industry’s overall economic impact.
How do we do it? With support from the softwood lumber industry, the SLB is focused on programs that grow market opportunities for producers, manufacturers, dealers, and distributors like you. We look at single family housing and outdoor applications like decking, where wood has traditionally been dominant, and also target new or underrepresented market segments like low- and mid-rise non-residential, multifamily, and taller wood buildings using mass timber products. Penetrating these new market segments will significantly increase demand for lumber and create new opportunities for your business.
However, no amount of market development will be effective without understanding regulatory barriers, which is why the SLB is the largest investor in the American Wood Council (AWC). The SLB’s investment in AWC supports efforts in existing markets, supports a regulatory environment that puts wood on an equal footing with other materials, and ensures that wood is a part of the building code. For developers, designers, builders, and other end-users considering wood, the SLB’s reThink Wood program provides valuable information and resources they need to understand the benefits of wood and make informed decisions when specifying. Our WoodWorks program goes one step further and provides direct, high-quality person-to-person technical support to help architects, designers, and engineers overcome barriers to using wood in their projects.
Read more on this from the Softwood Lumber Board at http://www.softwoodlumberboard.org/lifting-lumber-sales-and-your-business-2/.