Christmas tree growers predict slumping demand this season
CORVALLIS, Ore. - Supply is up, but demand is predicted to slip and that's the double whammy hitting the Oregon Christmas tree business.
But the people in the know say the Grinch has not completely taken over yet.
The shaker machine, the big trucks and the helicopters hauling the trees to the trucks are all signs it's the harvest season at Holiday Tree Farms southwest of Corvallis.
"Over here we have some Noble firs," says Production Supervisor Jim Ubbink, looking at the bundles and bundles of trees ready for shipping.
He explains they'll harvest 150,000 holiday trees this fall from the Beaver Creek farm alone.
"Now we're gearing up for our California, Texas, Colorado loads -- what have you," Ubbink explains.
But even Christmas trees are not recession-proof. Ubbink says company-wide, they expect to sell about 10 percent fewer trees this holiday season.
Ubbink believes that's because of continued strong sales of fake trees and the sagging economy.
"I sense that less people are going to buy a tree or maybe they'll buy one instead of two, or buy smaller trees," he says.
The Northwest tree industry started a campaign last year urging consumers to "go green" and buy more real trees. They even started a special tagging campaign to designate trees that meet environmental standards.
That continues this year -- and if they get a late surge in sales, Ubbink says it may not be so bad.
"Down a little bit, but certainly not a catastrophe," says Ubbink.
The Pacific Northwest Christmas Tree Association is holding out hope for a decent year.
Director Bryan Ostlund predicts 2009 tree sales should top last year's total of 7.3 million units.
Those trees sold at a value of $110 million for Oregon growers.
