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Lower prices for timber, forest products ripple throughout the state's economy.

Article Excerpt
Timberland owners in Mississippi and the surrounding region are getting hit with a double whammy right now.

"The markets are still flooded with timber from Katrina and Rita." said Dick Molpus, president and owner, The Molpus Woodlands Group, Jackson. "Secondly, the drop in demand for housing is reducing the and for tumor and hence timber. My only counsel to timberland owners right now would be to hold. Store their timber on the stump, let it continue to grow. and look for the better days that always come in this business."

Molpus said selling now would be most likely a below-market opportunity. He expects that in a year to three years the oversupply of timber from the hurricanes will be gone.

"We have 226,000 housing units to rebuild along the U.S. Gulf South," Molpus said. "I think there will be at least a stable housing market in the years ahead. The future looks good, but right now we are in a downward cycle. The woodyards are filled. The inventory is high. We have just seen this enormous surge of timber since Katrina and...

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