Friday, March 22, 2019
WMA MEMBER NEWS
Masonite Closes Facilities, Aims for 10 Percent Cutback to Manufacturing
Federal Judge Denies JELD-WEN’s Motions To Overturn Landmark Antitrust Verdict
On March 13, 2019, Judge Robert E. Payne of the federal district court for the Eastern District of Virginia denied motions by JELD-WEN, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of JELD-WEN Holding, Inc. (NYSE: JELD), to overturn a landmark antitrust verdict against JELD-WEN and in favor of Steves & Sons, Inc.
Read Steves & Sons Press Release
INDUSTRY NEWS
Gypsum prices down 10% since 2018 peak; lumber prices up
Overall, the price of goods used in residential construction increased 0.8% in February (not seasonally adjusted)—the first increase in five months.
Do it Best Corp. Announces Sales Staff Promotions
Do it Best Corp. has named three of its senior sales and business development leaders to new roles. Rob Schmiedel now serves as the company’s sales operations manager, Greg Fuller is the national sales manager and John Wade is the strategic account manager.
ECONOMIC NEWS
Fannie Sticks to GDP Forecast
Sees growth of 2.2% this year, down from 3.1% in 2018.
Full-year real GDP growth is estimated to come in at 2.2% in 2019, unchanged from the prior forecast but down markedly from 2018’s 3.1%, according to the Fannie Mae Economic and Strategic Research (ESR) Group’s March outlook.
Here’s How The Tax Cuts Could Impact The Housing Market
Joe Lavorgna, Natixis chief economist, and CNBC’s Steve Liesman join ‘The Exchange’ to discuss how the tax cuts impact the housing market.
State Employment and Unemployment Summary
Unemployment rates were lower in January in 3 states, higher in 3 states, and stable in 44 states and the District of Columbia.
Read more at Bureau of Labor Statistics
More new-home sales are for houses that haven’t even been started yet. That’s not a good thing.
The percent of newly constructed homes sold that hadn’t even been started yet has climbed to a fresh one-year high.
Building Forward Podcast: Kent Colton
The housing scholar and former CEO of the NAHB chats about the housing affordability challenge and the innovations in factory-built construction technologies that might offer solutions.
SAFETY NEWS
OSHA Scraps Obama Workplace Injury Reporting Rule; 6 States Sue
Citing a concern over potential public disclosure of sensitive worker information, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently eliminated a requirement that businesses with 250 or more employees electronically submit annual reports on every employee injury or illness.
Read more at Insurance Journal
ARTICLES OF INTEREST
Safety Stock: Insurance for Customer Service
In an article by Jason Bader, The Distribution Team, running out of A items and having a boatload of C and D items is a real challenge when it comes to inventory investment. This challenge is a real challenge according to an article by Jason Bader with The Distribution Team. The biggest components of customer service is having the right products at the right place and at the right time.
Better Mental-Models for Profit Power
We make decisions from a stew of emotions, beliefs, biases, and mental-model assumptions. Models approximate reality, so each has its blind-spots. But, a robust set of models can minimize oversights and help to make better business decisions.
Read more at Merrifield Act II
The High Cost of The One Percent Inventory Accuracy in Your Supply Chain
According to Industry Week, an increase in inventory accuracy of a single percentage point—from 98% to 99%–leads to an increase in supplier orders delivered on time, faster dock-to-stock cycle time, and an increase in the amount of sales orders delivered on time.
