STOCK OF THE WEEK: JEWETT CAMERON

The Jewett-Cameron Trading Company, Ltd., Incorporated in 1987 and is headquartered in North Plains, Oregon. Jewett Cameron. Through its subsidiaries, they primarily operate as a wholesaler of lumber and building materials, as well as processor and distributor of agricultural seeds in the United States. The Company also processes and distributes industrial wood and other specialty building products.

JCT’s operational facilities are located in North Plains and Portland, Oregon, and Ogden, Utah. Its wood products include fencing, residential decking, lattices, garden timbers, gates, arbors, pine shelving and furring, dimension lumber, plywood and oriented-strand-board, fire-retardant dimension lumber/plywood, and dowels.

The Company’s non-wood products comprise kennels, greenhouses, portable storage buildings, metal gates, and metal fencing. Its customers include transportation and recreational boating industries, original equipment manufacturers, and home improvement retailers.

The Continental Western United States is the focus of most of their distribution and is an area which includes the Pacific and Rocky Mountain Regions, as well as Alaska and Hawaii. This market area includes the five fastest growing states in the country; Utah, Idaho, Colorado, Nevada and Oregon. This region has seen an increase of 30% in building material sales during the past five years.

They also market the value-added lumber products to customers in the Eastern and Southeastern United States, shipping truckload and rail car shipments of fencing and cherry-tone garden ties.

JCT’s major customers are the leading home improvement retailers in the Western United States, including The Lowes Companies, based in North Carolina; Fred Meyer, Inc., in Portland; HomeBase, Inc., in Irvine, California; and The Home Depot, in Atlanta.

For its home improvement center customers, JCT is an inventory hub. They provide a unique and excellent level of service that is characterized by consistent quality, responsive deliver, specialized packaging, UPC labeling and most importantly, inventory levels that are based on customer needs. Most customers stores are within a days driving distance from their two main distribution centers, allowing less than full truck load shipments on a "Just-in-time" basis.

In spite of the home improvement centers huge "super stores" and mammoth inventories, their major customers still have inventory and space problems. In this fact lies the key to JCT’s growing success and superior levels of service. In addition to inventorying the large items; lumber, decking, fencing, garden timbers and lattice panels, they have developed a specialized packaging system that literally "sandwiches" and shrink-wraps each mixed load of products that might include anything from small fence post caps and dowels to handy-panels and lattice, into pallet-sized packages for rapid delivery to the individual retail outlets.

It is their fast, flexible and highly efficient distribution system, coupled with savings and efficiencies that customers value. Leveraging their many years of lumber industry experience, JCT is able to purchase product at favorable prices with savings passed on to customers. Many products are pre-tagged with the customer bar codes which translate into additional savings for home improvement center customers who can get inventory on the selling floor immediately.

Experts feel the sizzling lumber markets of 2004 will cool slightly this year and into 2006. Despite the decreases, lumber demand should remain at historic highs. The Portland-based trade association reported preliminary totals show lumber demand in 2004 reached a record 61.8 billion board feet, an increase of 8.4 percent above the previous high of 57 billion board feet set the year previous. In 2005, lumber demand is forecast at 59.6 billion board feet, down 3.5 percent, while 2006 demand should slip to 58.9 billion board feet. Although, lower, the 2005 and 2006 demand volumes would be the second and third highest in history.

All of the growth in lumber consumption came in residential construction and repair and remodeling. Housing starts roared to 1.96 million units in 2004, pushing residential lumber use to a record 26.7 billion board feet. Use of lumber in repair and remodeling also reached all-time highs of 19.5 billion board feet, fueled by record numbers of existing home sales.

They anticipate housing starts and remodeling activity will decline over the next two years as interest rates begin to move higher. Since both markets together comprise nearly 75 percent of annual lumber consumption, the drop in housing and remodeling activity will be the chief reasons for the decreases in lumber demand this year and next they feel.

However, JCT has positioned themselves with strong Non-wood areas of interest like their (4) new dog kennels produced under license for the American Kennel Club highlighted in May at the National Hardware Show. They also make an “adjustable” all steel Gate Kit System that fits all homeowners needs.

JCT continues to achieve deeper market penetration within the home improvement center market, while at the same time, expanding their territory, product mix and the services they provide clients.

In April, Jewett-Cameron announced earnings of $0.19 per share versus $0.03 for the same 6 month period last year. Trading under (JCTCF) Don Boone, President of Jewett-Cameron stated “Our earnings increase was in keeping with management’s expectations.” July 11th showed a closing price of $ 8.58- Up $.45

Just another company on a Bull run? Or is JCT diversified enough to with stand a drop in the housing market?

STOCK OF THE WEEK: JEWETT CAMERON

The Jewett-Cameron Trading Company, Ltd., Incorporated in 1987 and is headquartered in North Plains, Oregon. Jewett Cameron. Through its subsidiaries, they primarily operate as a wholesaler of lumber and building materials, as well as processor and distributor of agricultural seeds in the United States. The Company also processes and distributes industrial wood and other specialty building products.

JCT’s operational facilities are located in North Plains and Portland, Oregon, and Ogden, Utah. Its wood products include fencing, residential decking, lattices, garden timbers, gates, arbors, pine shelving and furring, dimension lumber, plywood and oriented-strand-board, fire-retardant dimension lumber/plywood, and dowels.

The Company’s non-wood products comprise kennels, greenhouses, portable storage buildings, metal gates, and metal fencing. Its customers include transportation and recreational boating industries, original equipment manufacturers, and home improvement retailers.

The Continental Western United States is the focus of most of their distribution and is an area which includes the Pacific and Rocky Mountain Regions, as well as Alaska and Hawaii. This market area includes the five fastest growing states in the country; Utah, Idaho, Colorado, Nevada and Oregon. This region has seen an increase of 30% in building material sales during the past five years.

They also market the value-added lumber products to customers in the Eastern and Southeastern United States, shipping truckload and rail car shipments of fencing and cherry-tone garden ties.

JCT’s major customers are the leading home improvement retailers in the Western United States, including The Lowes Companies, based in North Carolina; Fred Meyer, Inc., in Portland; HomeBase, Inc., in Irvine, California; and The Home Depot, in Atlanta.

For its home improvement center customers, JCT is an inventory hub. They provide a unique and excellent level of service that is characterized by consistent quality, responsive deliver, specialized packaging, UPC labeling and most importantly, inventory levels that are based on customer needs. Most customers stores are within a days driving distance from their two main distribution centers, allowing less than full truck load shipments on a "Just-in-time" basis.

In spite of the home improvement centers huge "super stores" and mammoth inventories, their major customers still have inventory and space problems. In this fact lies the key to JCT’s growing success and superior levels of service. In addition to inventorying the large items; lumber, decking, fencing, garden timbers and lattice panels, they have developed a specialized packaging system that literally "sandwiches" and shrink-wraps each mixed load of products that might include anything from small fence post caps and dowels to handy-panels and lattice, into pallet-sized packages for rapid delivery to the individual retail outlets.

It is their fast, flexible and highly efficient distribution system, coupled with savings and efficiencies that customers value. Leveraging their many years of lumber industry experience, JCT is able to purchase product at favorable prices with savings passed on to customers. Many products are pre-tagged with the customer bar codes which translate into additional savings for home improvement center customers who can get inventory on the selling floor immediately.

Experts feel the sizzling lumber markets of 2004 will cool slightly this year and into 2006. Despite the decreases, lumber demand should remain at historic highs. The Portland-based trade association reported preliminary totals show lumber demand in 2004 reached a record 61.8 billion board feet, an increase of 8.4 percent above the previous high of 57 billion board feet set the year previous. In 2005, lumber demand is forecast at 59.6 billion board feet, down 3.5 percent, while 2006 demand should slip to 58.9 billion board feet. Although, lower, the 2005 and 2006 demand volumes would be the second and third highest in history.

All of the growth in lumber consumption came in residential construction and repair and remodeling. Housing starts roared to 1.96 million units in 2004, pushing residential lumber use to a record 26.7 billion board feet. Use of lumber in repair and remodeling also reached all-time highs of 19.5 billion board feet, fueled by record numbers of existing home sales.

They anticipate housing starts and remodeling activity will decline over the next two years as interest rates begin to move higher. Since both markets together comprise nearly 75 percent of annual lumber consumption, the drop in housing and remodeling activity will be the chief reasons for the decreases in lumber demand this year and next they feel.

However, JCT has positioned themselves with strong Non-wood areas of interest like their (4) new dog kennels produced under license for the American Kennel Club highlighted in May at the National Hardware Show. They also make an “adjustable” all steel Gate Kit System that fits all homeowners needs.

JCT continues to achieve deeper market penetration within the home improvement center market, while at the same time, expanding their territory, product mix and the services they provide clients.

In April, Jewett-Cameron announced earnings of $0.19 per share versus $0.03 for the same 6 month period last year. Trading under (JCTCF) Don Boone, President of Jewett-Cameron stated “Our earnings increase was in keeping with management’s expectations.” July 11th showed a closing price of $ 8.58- Up $.45

Just another company on a Bull run? Or is JCT diversified enough to with stand a drop in the housing market?

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