OCR Text |
Show Coinistracttoi forecast . citing the irrefutable fact that Utah is one of the nation's fastest growing states. Lumber yard managers in , Heber and Kamas though are hot convinced that the construction industry will . slow . down. For one: they were not as directly affected by last season's boom in Park City, for another they can be assured of a certain ; amount of business as a result of the steady rate of growth jn the local communities. communi-ties. Jack Sargent of Kamas has added a new mill to his pperatipn and a manager in ;y Heber , commented that expectation ex-pectation of a slump would certainly bring one on. , 'The .news is not all bad. Gurski speculates that the . upcoming soft market , will help to stabilize the price of materials for the consumer. ; Anderson's is able to offset the increase in . shipping costs by utilizing a local rail spur. 160 rail cars of lumber were delivered to Anderson's Ander-son's last year. Each car carries approximately twice ; as much as a truck yet costs only a third more than one truck load to ship. Much of the lumber comes : from ANCO wholesalers . in Og-den. Og-den. Gurski emphasizes that it is the railroad which allows Anderson's to offer lumber in Park City at competitive prices. At least one other lumber dealer refused to speculate on the price of materials. That is really an unknown factor, I wouldn't even venture a guess,'' he stated. "The thing I 'can't tell is how much it will affect us," concluded Gurski. With prime interest rates at 19 the housing industry, which1 has been booming in Park City and steadily increasing in surrounding communities, is preparing for a slowdown this season. Local lumberyards are reading read-ing far fewer plans than they read at this time last year. Anderson's in Park City reports a decline of 60 in residential housing starts. This reflects a country-wide trend ! which has been miti-: gated up to now by this area's rapid growth; Most feel that the ; .growti, will continue but many agree that the peak was reached last year. . "If we could be anywhere, we would want to be in Park City," says Willi Gurski who built the Park City branch of Anderson's Lumber in 1972. Gurski realistically expects that a decrease in sales is inevitable but he maintains an optimistic attitude "about: : the future. 'Despite, the ; ? Housing slowdown, he points out . that "We . have - more commercial plans on the drawing board." Having weathered past recessions (1974-75) Gurski Us able to look further into the future. |