Question-and-Answer Session
Operator
(Operator Instructions) Your first question comes from the line of Gail Glazerman with UBS. Please proceed.
Gail Glazerman – UBS
You gave very clear guidance on why you see your harvest picking up and what’s been going on but I’m just wondering if you could go into any detail. Are there any particular market regions that are giving you concern where you are seeing kind of, more weakness than you might have expected?
Michael J. Covey
Not really. We don’t have any exposure to the West Coast Oregon, Washington timberlands where I think there’s been a larger decline in log pricing. In the inland markets in Idaho I think there’s a lot of installed capacity and I think markets are behaving about as we expected. If we have a surprise it’s probably on the upside, the pulp wood market in the south has been very very good and has helped our results there significantly. So there’s no place that gives us a particular concern now. As I mentioned when we finished the traditional spring break-up period at least in the west and I get through the rainy spring in Arkansas, we’ll reevaluate where we’re at and talk about that in June.
Gail Glazerman – UBS
Okay and also can you just talk in a little more detail about your pulp volume in the fourth quarter and I guess how sustainable that is moving into 2008? It does seem particularly strong. I mean I know you’ve been raising it but it was almost 30,000 tons.
Michael J. Covey
Well I think there’s a couple of things there to speak to, the acreage base is growing and that supports more pulpwood harvest particularly.
Gail Glazerman – UBS
I’m sorry I’m talking about actual pulp sales, not pulpwood.
Michael J. Covey
Okay I’m sorry so go, so rephrase your question if you would then please.
Gail Glazerman – UBS
Your volumes were very strong in the fourth quarter almost 30,000 tons and I’m just wondering how sustainable that is moving into 2008. What type of rate should we be looking at specifically for pulp sales?
Michael J. Covey
I think we’ll have to get back to you or do some research on the sustainable rate and if we want to give some guidance on that. But obviously with pulp prices as strong as they are we have tried to maximize the through put of our pulp dryer in Lewiston, Idaho where that’s the only place that we sell market pulp. So it’s in our, obviously in our interest, we have a good margin to sell as much as we can and increase the output of the mill. But 30,000 tons in the quarter sounds like a little bit above where our annual expectations would be going forward. We’ll look into that.
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