WHOLESALE DISTRIBUTION EDUCATION
HURRY – Time is Running Out!
Registration Fee to Increase January 6, 2016
2016 University of Innovative Distribution
Providing Wholesale Distribution Education
When: March 6-9, 2016
Where: JW Marriott Indianapolis Hotel – Indianapolis, Indiana
WMA members receive a $1,000 savings on registration
Find out why UID education courses continue to sell out each year – Secure your spot, REGISTER!
Download the 2016 brochure of courses.
See what other organization members attended in 2015
For more information, visit the WMA website.
MEMBER ANNOUNCEMENT
WMA Headquarters will be closed during the holiday from December 24th through January 3rd.
CODES AND STANDARDS NEWS
The Concrete Jungle’s New Rival, Mass Timber
Melanie Sevcenko of The Guardian reports how wooden high rises are changing urban skylines as builders “ditch concrete.” Two urban building projects, one in New York City and the other in Portland, Oregon, will be constructed with the environmentally sustainable, cost-competitive building material of yesteryear, wood. It’s referred to as mass timber- large, solid pieces of panelized wood. Structures using mass timber are “flexible, strong, fire resistant and carbon-sequestering.” Mass timber could be “a viable alternative to concrete and steel for mid-to-high rise buildings.” The building project in Oregon will be constructed primarily from cross-laminated timber (CLT), the first of its kind in the U.S, and has been designed to exceed the state’s building codes for earthquakes. These two projects were nationally recognized last September when each was awarded $1.5 million from the USDA’s Tall Wood Building prize. The USDA is looking to these projects to lessen climate change and support rural jobs.
Read More in The Guardian
INDUSTRY NEWS
ProSales’ Five Forecasts for 2016
Craig Webb, Editor In Chief for REMODELING and PROSALES, shares his predictions for 2016.
Read more at PROSALES
Boomers and the Shifting Needs of 55-plus Neighborhoods and Homes
As more people 55 and older choose or need to keep working, how do we look at land strategy, design, and marketing for them?
Read more at BUILDER
Age of the Construction Labor Force
A scarcity of workers has been a notable headwind for home building and other parts of the construction industry in recent years. And a look at Census data reveals that the average age of workers in the construction industry exceeds the average age of the overall labor force.
As home building has recovered, there has been a significant labor market developments. Unfilled jobs for the construction sector have been on a generally rising trend. And while the residential construction sector has been adding net jobs, more than a half million since the low point of employment after the Great Recession, builders cite access to workers as a top business challenge.
Read more at NAHB Eye On Housing
ECONOMICS & BUSINESS NEWS
It’s official: Fed raises interest rates for first time in nine years
HOUSINGWIRE is reporting the Federal Open Market Committee announced in its December meeting that it is officially raising the federal funds rate for the first time since June 2006. In a statement released Wednesday by the Federal Reserve, the FOMC said that it will gradually raise the federal funds rate to a range of 0.25% to 0.50%.
Read more at HOUSINGWIRE
WMA WEBSITE TIP OF THE WEEK
MEMBERSHIP AT YOUR FINGERTIPS
WMA members can access a full list of current members through our online membership directory.
Login to the Membership Portal of the WMA website, navigate to the “Members Only” menu and select “Member Directory”. Search for members by state, by category or perform an advanced search. To view a complete listing of current members, simply leave the search criteria fields blank and select the search button.
For login information to the Membership Portal or assistance setting up your profile, contact Caterina Byrd at 727.372.3665 or email: cbyrd@worldmillworkalliance.com
