Thursday May 9, 2019
MEMBER NEWS
Five Questions With: Stephen Hicks, Pennsylvania Lumbermens Mutual Insurance Company
5 questions answered by Stephen Hicks, Pennsylvania Lumbermens Mutual Insurance Company cover: sexual harassment, discrimination, wrongful termination, and employment practices and law.
JELD-WEN Announces First Quarter 2019 Results In-Line with Expectations and Updates 2019 Outlook
JELD-WEN Holding, Inc. announced results for the three months ended March 30, 2019 including net revenues of $1.011 billion, net income of $16.6 million, adjusted EBITDA of $90.6 million, earnings per share (“EPS”) of $0.16 and adjusted EPS of $0.23.
BlueLinx Announces 2019 First Quarter Financial Results
Mitch Lewis, President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, “We have been pleased with our progress in the year following our Cedar Creek acquisition, and continue to see substantial long-term benefits to BlueLinx from the combination.
INDUSTRY NEWS
NAHB Survey Says Age-In-Place Remodeling Remains Strong
According to NAHB’s Remodeling Market Index (RMI) survey for the 4th quarter of 2018, over three-fourths of professional remodelers undertake projects designed to allow home owners to Age-in-Place.
A Growing Share of Women Age 25-54 Are Working or Looking For Jobs. Here’s Why
25- to 54-year-old women are joining, or returning to, the labor force in even greater numbers than their male counterparts, encouraged by a welcome trend: higher salaries and more flexible work arrangements.
Manufacturing is Making Strides Amid Misconceptions
Major concerns have been expressed about whether the Pacific Northwest region – and nation – will have a sufficient number of trained workers to fill anticipated openings in manufacturing. Baby boomers, an enormous segment of the population, have or will be retiring from the labor force. And while that generation is being outstripped by millennials, numbers-wise, experts are projecting large workforce shortages.
Read more at Observer-Reporter
ECONOMIC NEWS
Strong Labor Market in April, but with Soft Manufacturing Job Growth
Manufacturing employment rose by 4,000 workers in April, bouncing back from being unchanged in March. Despite the positive reading, one cannot help but be disappointed by the softer job growth over the past three months, but it also coincides with weaker-than-desired demand and production figures.
U.S. Mortgage Applications Post Biggest Fall in Four Months: MBA
U.S. mortgage applications to buy a home and to refinance one recorded their steepest weekly decline in four months as some mortgage rates increased to one-month highs.
China’s & Vietnam’s Exports To U.S. Soar
China’s exports to the U.S. soared 14.2% in March, far exceeding the predicted increase of 7.3%. Imports fell 7.6%, suggesting domestic demand remains weak. In March, China’s trade surplus with the U.S. was $32.64 billion.
Read more at Decorative Hardwoods
GOVERNMENT AND LEGISLATIVE NEWS
As Tariff Hike Looms, China Asks U.S. to Meet it Halfway, Denies Backtracking
China appealed to the United States to meet it halfway to salvage a deal that could end their trade war, with its chief negotiator in Washington for two days of talks hoping to stave off U.S. tariff increases set to be triggered on Friday.
CODES AND STANDARDS NEWS
Natural Disasters Could Be Far Less Damaging with Better Building Codes
From the mudslides in Montecito, Calif., to the flash floods in Ellicott City, Md., Hurricane Florence in the Carolinas and the wildfires that swept through Northern California, 2018 saw natural disasters of every type affect communities across the country. And these disasters came at a high cost, with more than 200 people killed and countless more injured — and more than $91 billion in property damage.
DOE Confirms 2018 IECC Saves Energy
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has published a preliminary determination of energy savings for the 2018 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), preliminarily affirming that the updated code will increase energy efficiency in residential buildings.
TECHNOLOGY NEWS
Increasingly Sophisticated AI is Enhancing Business Operations for Distributors
Distributors are using artificial intelligence to drive sales, improve marketing, personalize the customer’s experience and keep their assets safer. In a recent webcast, Ian Heller, president of MDM, discussed various ways businesses can benefit from evolving technology.
Automation in Logistics: Big Opportunity, Bigger Uncertainty
McKinsey Global Institute estimates that the transportation-and-warehousing industry has the third-highest automation potential of any sector. Contract logistics and parcel companies particularly stand to benefit.
Robots Edge Closer to Unloading Trucks in Amazon-Era Milestone
As FedEx Corp. and United Parcel Service Inc. beef up automation to keep pace with surging e-commerce and a potential threat from Amazon.com Inc., they’ve been stumped at a crucial stage: loading and unloading trucks. Robot makers are getting close to solving part of that puzzle.
GREEN NEWS
Atlantic Beach Aiming to Become Florida’s First LEED-Certified City
Atlantic Beach is closing in on becoming the first LEED-certified city in Florida — even without any LEED buildings in town. The 14,000-person city is in the late stages of being vetted by a pilot program of the U.S. Green Building Council for local governments to act more sustainably by using the system called Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED).
NewDEAL Members Join Colorado Leaders to Launch National Climate Initiative
More than 40 of the nation’s most innovative state and local officials gathered in Denver Monday to launch a national climate change initiative aimed at driving the policy agenda to address climate change.
SAFETY NEWS
OSHA’s “Fatal Four” – Leading Causes of Fatalities in the Workplace
OSHA reports that there is an average of 12 work-related fatalities throughout the United States every day. The leading causes of workplace deaths in the construction industry, which is commonly called the “Fatal Four” by OSHA, include: Falls – 36.5%; Struck by Objects – 10.1%; Electrocutions – 8.6%; and Caught in or Caught-between – 2.5%.
Read more at EHS Daily Advisor
ARTICLES OF INTEREST
The Law of Pricing
You will never know the joy, power, and satisfaction of holding your price and winning a sale until you’ve held your price and lost one.
Why Invest in Customer Experience?
An effective online presence will never obviate the need for a human sales representative, particularly for large deals. It can, however, equip both customers and the salespeople who serve them with detailed product information, white papers that outline common use cases and case studies showing how similar organizations have used a product and more.
Read more at Digital Commerce 360
Report: Career Planning Needs to Start in Middle School
“I am hopeful that the work of CCD will help move us away from a system that has only served the needs of a fraction of students to one that will better prepare all students and help fulfill the American promise of equal opportunity for all,” says Leo Reddy, chairman of the Manufacturing Skill Standards Council and a member of the Coalition.
Want Fewer Employees to Quit? Listen to Them
Most of us, at some time in our lives, have had jobs in which we felt unfulfilled, mistreated, or without purpose. And those feelings are strongly reflected in the holistic value we derive from our jobs and probability that we stay on versus quit. But what, if anything, can firms do to address workers’ dissatisfaction and prevent turnover?
