By Brian Luoma, President and CEO of the Westervelt Company in Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Dear Industry Colleagues, Thank you for your outstanding support. Through our combined investments, the Softwood Lumber Board (SLB) continues to grow incremental demand for the Softwood lumber industry and exceed its annual goals. The mission of the SLB is to increase demand for Softwood lumber by growing market share for lumber-based products in commercial, residential, and outdoor construction in the United States. We aim to make Softwood lumber the preferred building material from both economic and environmental standpoints.
In the 2019 referendum, the lumber industry voted overwhelmingly in favor of continuing the Softwood Lumber Checkoff Program and the work of the SLBfunded programs. The reason for such a strong mandate for another seven years is SLB’s proven track record for getting meaningful results. Since 2012, SLBfunded programs have generated an incremental 7 billion board feet of Softwood lumber demand. This amount equates to an average return of about $25 of value for every $1 spent since the inception of the SLB, and the return in the past couple of years is much higher. These kinds of results are very significant; they move the needle for our industry, not to mention raising environmental benefits created by building more with wood. The SLB has a highly professional staff, well-thoughtout and effective programs like Think Wood, and solid partners in the American Wood Council and WoodWorks. The SLB is an industry-led and -driven program with an active and engaged board of directors that is focused on taking meaningful market share from concrete and steel in the non-residential and multifamily building space.
Since inception the board has kept the assessment rate at the initial level of $0.35/thousand board feet, inflation over that same time period exceeded 11.4 percent. SLB has been successful, but to maintain that success, the board made the thoughtful decision to increase the rate to $.41/thousand board feet in 2021. I’m very proud of the success and many accomplishments the SLB has delivered to our industry thus far, and I am eager for all of us to roll up our sleeves and do whatever is necessary to support the Softwood Lumber Board and our industry to continue to grow and prosper.
As part of the process to move forward with the proposed assessment increase, the industry will have an opportunity to submit comments during a formal 60-day period that began August 13, 2020.
Separate industry feedback and input on our programs and initiatives are welcomed by the SLB. Send feedback to info@softwoodlumberboard.org. Thank you for your continued support.
