Iraq rebuilding helps drive up wood- product prices, demand

[Nambe]

USA Today

A government order for plywood panels destined for Iraq is pushing key wood- products prices to all-time highs.

The Defense Logistics Agency, the military's prime supplier, is buying more than 20 million feet of plywood sheeting, most for U.S. forces' base camps, guard posts and other projects, spokeswoman Dawn Dearden said.

The $13.3 million purchase is relatively tiny; about 300 million feet of plywood sheeting is sold monthly.

But in an industry facing surging demand, the deal, and rumors of more lumber headed for Iraqi reconstruction efforts, is fueling an already overheated market, says Shawn Church of Random Lengths, an industry newsletter in Eugene, Ore., that charts prices. ---


We are going to change history -- we're going to have a ton of fun doing it.

[Systematic Chaos]

1. Please correct me if I'm wrong here

but isn't this going to further damage housing sales?

Won't this cause the cost of building materials here to go through the roof, as it were? And if so, won't that cause a pretty steep increase in the price of new homes?

This does NOT sound good to me. :eyes:

[treepig]

4. softwood lumber tariffs on canadian products

are probably the biggest factor in play here . .

U.S. threatens to double softwood lumber tariffs
Last Updated Thu, 30 Jan 2003 17:48:58
VANCOUVER - U.S. politicians introduced legislation Wednesday that would nearly double duties on Canadian softwood exports.

Both the Senate and the House of Representatives will consider bills that could raise U.S. duties from 27 per cent to 45 per cent.

Reports from Washington suggest the bills have wide support from both Democrats and Republicans.

But Doug McArthur, who helped the B.C. government negotiate the softwood lumber agreement, said the bills are probably just a tactic to increase pressure on Canada.

"It's very unlikely that this action, which is blatantly illegal under WTO rules and under NAFTA rules, will actually proceed, even though the Americans will threaten," said McArthur.


http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2003/01/30/lumber_duties030130

on a somewhat related topic, let's pick on canada somemore:

U.S. raises tariffs on Canadian wheat
Last Updated Fri, 29 Aug 2003 14:08:55
REGINA - Tariffs imposed by the United States on Canadian wheat will be raised, following a decision by the U.S. Commerce Department on Friday.

The tariffs, which were imposed in the spring, had been between 10 and 12 per cent. With Friday's ruling, they will be raised to 14 per cent.

http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2003/08/29/wheat_030829

[LizW]

2. "US forces base camps, guard posts, etc."

Doesn't sound like "Iraq rebuilding" to me. Sounds like building a massive and permanent presence of US occupiers in Iraq.

This is another step in the funnelling of US taxpayer dollars to corporations via no-bid contracts. Plus, they're using our own money (with tax dollars, price is no object) to jack the price of goods for US consumers. Nice.

Thanks, Whistle-Ass.:puke:

[Athame]

3. There was an article on DU last year

about Halliburton and lumber supplies for a base in Germany, I think, where Halliburton ordered the lumber from the US instead of right there in the Black Forest, upping the costs for shipping and the wood, but also cutting the local businesses out of expected economic boosts. Seems like standard SOP.