Western Dealers Cautious About Long-Term Prospects

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WINNIPEG – The Western Retail Lumber Association has just completed a new survey of its members in the Prairie provinces. The results reveal that, despite the current buoyancy in the marketplace, dealers aren''t completely confident about a turnaround for the longer term.

The survey asked several questions about the dealers' current business conditions and outlook. When asked about the state of the housing market, only 32 per cent believed that the market will increase through the rest of this year and in 2011. More than half expected it to remain the same; another 16 per cent said they believe it will decrease.

The renovation market is expected to be more positive, however. More than half (54%) said they believe that residential renovations will increase through the end of 2011. Thirty-nine per cent said that the market will remain the same, while only seven per cent expected it to decrease.

The mood of the dealers' customers was, perhaps, most telling in its indication of how far we've actually pulled out of the economic downturn of 2009. When asked if they felt consumer confidence among their customers had returned to its pre-recession levels, only 38.2 per cent said yes, while almost half (45%) said no. Another 16.7 per cent said they weren''t sure whether their customers were as confident as before the recession.

(Article taken from Hardlines, July 5th edition - www.hardlines.ca)