tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18236260351759359782012-02-16T10:48:15.487-08:00igoreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11747008724888559272noreply@blogger.comBlogger11100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1823626035175935978.post-40446542653067560322008-02-08T03:57:00.000-08:002008-02-08T04:04:16.954-08:00<div align="center"><br/><div align="center"><strong>Wood products<br/><br/></strong><img src="http://www.downeastwoodcrafters.com/images/hp_prod_four.gif" border="0" alt="" /><strong><br/><br/></strong><div align="left">MUMBAI (Thomson Financial) - Standard &amp; Poor's Ratings Services said it believes the US is at the beginning of a mild recession, which casts a shadow over the 2008 outlook for the country's paper, paperboard, and packaging industry.<br/><br/>S&amp;P said as a recession looms, the way US forest products companies manage, any decline in demand will be crucial to credit quality over the next year.<br/><br/>The ongoing weakness in new residential construction will continue to hurt the financial performance of wood products manufacturers through 2008, it added.<br/><br/>'With our expectation of a 30 pct drop in annualized housing starts from the 2007 level, we don't see a meaningful recovery in wood products pricing anytime soon,' S&amp;P said.<br/><br/>Additional consolidation, closures and paring of businesses are likely and will have varying effects on credit quality, it added.<br/><br/></div></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1823626035175935978-4044654265306756032?l=wood-products.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>igoreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11747008724888559272noreply@blogger.com0