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Happy Halloween!

 *image from thefunnyplace.net 

Post Washington shutdown, the next major hurdle for the world's currencies, risk and the US market will be the continuation of the budget discussion in the week ahead and the ultimate debt ceiling debate going into mid-October. We don't expect a "grand bargain" that materially addresses long-term structural imbalances and fiscal issues.

Essentially, everyone is poised to just "kick the can further down the road," with a few possible concessions on spending. On balance, we see a temporary slight risk-off until mid-October, risk-on until late Q4 when the Fed begins the taper discussion, and then a tapering environment where the yield curve steepens and moves higher, driving the USD higher in the first half of 2014.

Emerging market currencies will be on the defensive throughout, especially as US rates begin to rise next year and the developed world, namely the US, begins to take over being the engine of global growth from the emerging markets world.

Last week,  Cambridge Mercantile's October 2013 issue of Currency Insights released the latest commentary and market forecasts on whether the Fed will begin to remove monetary stimulus, or taper later this year (or in early 2014) and the impact on global currencies for the remainder of the 2013. Click on the above link to access the report. 

Jas Binning exported $25,000 worth of softwood lumber to India in 2006 with the hopes the move would compensate for a slowing North American market. "I started with small volume," said the owner of Abbotsford's Jazz Forest Products. "Now (we're) shipping close to a half-million dollars every month."

With its huge, increasing population and growing economy, India has been identified by both the provincial and federal governments as a priority market for export growth. While many B.C. exporters agree, experts say distance, economic uncertainty and heavy government regulation mean it is still no easy task to break into the market, the world's tenth largest by GDP.

Export Opportunities

In 2012, India was ranked as the 11th-highest destination for B.C. origin exports. Nation-wide merchandise exports to the country rose 27.7 per cent - to $2.6 billion - in 2011, according to Statistics Canada.

Commodities, specifically coal and copper, dominate B.C. exports to India. Coal ranks No. 1, with the province shipping $160 million worth of coal products in 2012 - 50% of total exports by value. Copper ranked second ($83 million in 2012).

But Trade and Invest B.C. has highlighted significant opportunities for local exporters in forestry, mining, international education, clean technology, liquefied natural gas and agrifoods.

Sort of like the bumper sticker that asks 'How's My Driving?', FPInnovations has developed a benchmarking tool that uses a company's own data to identify strengths and weakness within their current operations, and provide recommendations for action.

Confidential benchmarking studies are established, well recognized methods that provide individual companies with the information they need to prioritize their improvement efforts. The information collected during benchmarking establishes a framework for businesses to measure and improve their performance year over year, and compare their performance to others in their industry sector.

Maintaining confidentiality during benchmarking is crucial. A company is not individually identified, nor is individual company information released to the public. Only aggregate sector information is used to compare an individual company's performance to that of the sector.

Recently, FPInnovations has been working closely with Canadian businesses in the Kitchen Cabinet, Millwork, and Furniture sectors to define the performance criteria most useful to company owners and managers.

These criteria range from qualitative factors such as the presence of safety programs and sales and marketing practices, to quantitative criteria such as total sales, and average manufacturing labour rate. For example, businesses have indicated that they would be interested in knowing their sales per employee in comparison to their peers, while others have indicated that having a sense of their average labour rate in comparison to the sector would be useful to them.

Here are some ideas in key trade show areas:

Promotions:

1. SAVE TIME: Can you find a promo that works across multiple shows, so you don't have to create, source and buy a promo at every trade show?

2. INVEST TIME: Take time to define your buyers' demographics - age, gender, mindset, occupation. Get into their head, get promotions they will crave, and then they'll be more people in your booth every show.

Lead Management:

3. SAVE TIME: Qualify the leads in your booth, so you don't have to take the time after the show. Only send the sales ready leads to sales.

Roy Manion  

The past two weeks have been very active for the Specifiers Program which included: 2 Lunch & Learn sessions (Formwerks Architecture and Kasian Architecture); an all-day series of seminars and tour for architects and designers at Live Edge Design in Duncan; attending an AWMAC dinner meeting; a 3 day Conference with AIBC and AIA; and participation in the Wood Solutions Fair. Next week, we are off to Calgary for a 2 day Buildex show.

AIBC / AIA 2013 Conference:

This was the first time that two associations, AIBC (Architectural Institute of BC) and AIA (the American Institute of Architects) - Northwest & Pacific Region joined forces in a combined annual conference. This was also the first time that BC Wood participated in AIBC's annual conference. As a result, BC Wood elected to participate as an exhibitor. As is the "norm" when BC Wood exhibits at events related to the Specifiers Program, we include a cross section of the products from those companies who participate in the program. Also exhibiting at the conference were BC Wood members, Coulson Cedar and Brisco Manufacturing.

While we don't have final numbers as the conference just ended on Friday, I can say that we were very pleased with the results as it allowed us to make many new contacts with architects from both the AIBC and AIA. We also visited with many architects who are very familiar with BC Wood - and the benefits we offer.

Our new AIA contacts are especially important to us because we will be targeting AIA architects, primarily in the Pacific Northwest, to educate them on BC's value-added wood products industry. We will begin this process by arranging group seminars in key markets in the Pacific Northwest. Now that we are equipped with contact information and are AIA Registered Providers, we are able to effectively begin setting up seminars.

Live Edge Design Seminars and Factory Tours:

Live Edge Design, for those who are unaware of this company, produce furniture with a "live edge" as per the dining room set shown in the photograph to the right.A total of 35 architects and designers attended the day long set of seminars, one of which was given by BC Wood. There was also an interactive seminar where the attendees knowledge on a variety of issues, most of which were related to wood, was challenged - with answers being given by John. An example being, "what is the best cleaner for wood furniture?" Clue: not one was an off the shelf product. Sandwiched between all this was a very informative factory tour which took us from the log to the finished product. John Lore and his people are to be congratulated on a great day of learning and fun. I am sure all who attended benefited from the day. It was great for Live Edge as it gave them some great exposure and the registered architects and designers learned much and were able to earn valuable learning credits.

We have just completed the Wood Solutions Fair at the Vancouver Convention Centre (Tuesday, Oct 29th) and next week, we are off to Calgary for Buildex, Nov 5th and 6th. As with last week's AIBC / AIA Conference, we are looking at Buildex in Calgary to make contacts that we can build on as we also take our seminars to the Alberta Architects and Designers. For both of these events, BC Wood will be joined by a number of BC companies from industry. I'll report on both events in our next Wood Connections.

In the meantime, we continuously work with the local architects and designers through our popular and ongoing Lunch & Learn sessions.

As always, should you want more information on any aspects of the Specifiers Program including the associations we are now registered with and participation in the US and Alberta events for their respective architects, please let me know by contacting me at  rmanion@bcwood.com.

BUILDEX Vancouver is one of Canada's largest tradeshows and conferences, welcoming over 13,500 Design, Construction, and Real Estate Management professionals each year. Over 600 exhibits and more than 50 educational seminars impacting three distinct professional markets, all under one roof:

• Interior designers and architects
• Property and real estate management
• Construction and renovation

BC Wood is coordinating member participation at the upcoming Buildex Vancouver on February 19th and 20th, 2014. This event is for decision makers in the construction industry and is targeted towards professionals who need to know what wood products are available and how they can be used.  

The Buildex Show will give you an opportunity to talk to key architects, engineers, and the municipal officials on commercial, industrial and residential projects.  

Who Should Participate?

Companies manufacturing finished building materials, pre-fabricated structures and engineered wood products for commercial and large multi-family residential construction projects would benefit by participating in the BC Wood Pavilion at the 2014 Vancouver BUILDEX Show.

Very limited space is still available so please contact us as soon as possible if you are interested in exhibiting at this cost-shared event. Call Randi or Roy at 604-882-7100 or email rwalker@bcwood.com or rmanion@bcwood.com.

Recently, much has been made of the emerging opportunities for BC's forest products in India. In collaboration with Forestry Innovation and Investment's office in Mumbai and the Canadian High Commission office in Delhi, BC Wood will coordinate a mission in February 2014 for Industry members to investigate opportunities for sales of forest products in the India marketplace. Industry members will be invited to participate in the INDIAWOOD trade fair in Bangalore, Feb 21-24th, and a 3 day mission in Bangalore and Delhi to meet with timber importers and tour the manufacturing facilities of end-users.

The INDIAWOOD trade fair is one of Asia's biggest sourcing platforms for the manufacturers of furniture, building materials and giftware as well as domestic architects and interior designers. This event is expected to attract around 600 exhibitors from more than 40 countries and approximately 40,000 visitors from all over the world. The exhibitors at the 2014 event include a significant representation from overseas companies & country pavilions from Germany, Italy, Malaysia, China, USA, Taiwan & Turkey.

INDIAWOOD will definitely bring together market leaders from the woodworking sector to participate in this unique international display. For more information on INDIAWOOD and the proposed mission, contact Brian Hawrysh at 604-882-7100 or by email at bhawrysh@bcwood.com.

BC Wood participated in the recent 12th International China Exhibition on Housing (CIEHI) in Beijing, Oct 23-25th. I attended this year's show during a recent trip to Asia and offer the following thoughts on the show. The CIEHI show was a collaborative effort between the Canada Wood Group office in Beijing and the show organizers. In addition to the exhibition itself, the Canada Wood Group coordinated a Wood Construction conference which attracted a good number of Chinese developers and builders interested in learning more about wood building products systems from a group of experts in the field. Minister Steve Thomson, representing BC's Ministry of Forest, Lands and Natural Resource Development was on hand to open the conference and visit the exhibits of BC's forest products industry.

The CIEHI trade show was well attended with many Chinese builders, developers, and lumber wholesales travelling from all parts of China to attend the show. With concerns over the longer-term security of lumber supply prevalent in the industry in China, many lumber importers, distributors, and end-users came to the show with inquiries looking for incremental lumber supply.

Many of the exhibits had a definite green building and energy conservation theme with energy saving options featured in the wood, concrete and steel building systems on display. Wood construction systems, because they are considered green and environmental friendly, had a small but prominent section on the show floor. Canada Wood's display featured information on 2x4 wood-frame construction. Additionally, there were a number of Chinese and Russian manufacturers showcasing simple log and timber frame homes largely designed for recreational use.  

Overall, the CIEHI exhibition was a reasonably good opportunity for BC Wood and other Canadian forest products companies to showcase products and services and definitely an event to be consider for next year's schedule. For more information on this event or other activities in the Chinese market, contact Brian Hawrysh at  bhawrysh@bcwood.com.

From October 23rd to 25th, BC Wood organized and managed the Canadian Pavilion at the Japan Home & Building Show on behalf of the Canadian wood products industry. Usually this show takes place in November, but along with many other shows, it was bumped because of the Tokyo Motor Show that will take place at Big Sight next month. The JHS also faced some uncertainty this year as two large typhoons were headed for the Kanto area at the same time during the event. Luckily, both typhoons ended up moving out into the Pacific and kept away strong winds that would have certainly stopped all train lines.

Despite these challenges, the Japan Home Show was a great event this year. The Japanese housing market is very strong now so people came to the show with serious inquiries. I was impressed with the quality of the visitors which I believe is a result of the strong market as well as the organizer's strategy to hold the JHS together with Japantex, which is one of the country's major interior design shows. Other exhibitors also seemed to be encouraged by the market conditions as the displays in general were bigger and better than they have been over the past few years.

This space allows visitors to see, touch, and even smell the beauty of WRC. Many people commented on how relaxing the space felt. The rest of the pavilion consisted of BC Wood members both new and old to the JHS, as well as our Canada Wood partners at the APA and CFPA. QWEB and other Canadian companies were located beside us creating a larger Canadian zone. All of our participants were very satisfied with the results of their efforts by the end of the week.

Based on the success of this event and the continuing strong housing market in Japan, we are now looking forward the Nikkei Architectural and Construction Materials Show to be held at Tokyo Big Sight from March 4th to 7th, 2014. Please contact me at ivanoff@canadawood.jp for more information on that event.