MEMBER ANNOUNCEMENTS
WMA Welcomes AquaSur Tech OEM
The forces of nature imposes special demands on coating systems intended for window and door applications. AquaSurTech OEM’s answer to these challenges is a series of AAMA tested, environmentally friendly, waterborne coatings which incorporate hardness along with flexibility, heat reflectance, and excellent color/gloss retention. In addition, AquaSurTech OEM will provide your company with all the necessary assistance in equipment selection, start-up and training to ensure you deliver a cost effective, high quality color offering for your PVC, Aluminum and Fiberglass applications.
For more information please visit AquaSur Tech OEM
MODEL GRASSROOTS ALERT
Federal regulators appointed by the Obama administration at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and Department of Labor (DOL) have proposed numerous new regulations that threaten employers’ ability to create jobs, grow the economy and protect their workers.
WMA working with the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace, we are pleased to provide you with an easy way to contact your members of Congress. Tell them to submit Fiscal Year 2017 appropriations requests to overturn the new joint employer standard, gerrymandered micro-unions, the ambush elections rule, and unprecedented persuader regulations.
Please click here to take action now!
Codes and Standards Update: March16, 2016
Code Adoption and What This Means for WMA 100
How are codes and standards used in construction? How does this relate to the products you make and sell? And how does the WMA 100 standard fit into all of this? To guide you through this maze and help you avoid feeling like a deer in the headlights, let’s take a big picture look at construction codes in general, how they’re adopted into law, and break it down from there. Ready?
HOUSING INDUSTRY
Builder Confidence Holds Steady in March
Builder confidence in the market for newly-built single-family homes was unchanged in March at a level of 58 on the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI).
Read more at NAHB
As Home Building Recovers
Some Builders Head for the Exit
With housing starts up and demand on the rise, now may be the time for builders looking to leave the business to weigh their options and start planning.
Read more at BUILDER
DOE Develops Paint-On Coating to Make
Windows More Efficient
In an effort to curb the estimated $50 billion annually that energy leakage through windows costs home/building owners, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has synthesized a potential solution. Researchers have developed a polymer heat-reflective coating that can be painted on at one-tenth the cost of other solutions, lab officials say.
Read more at DWM
Top 20 U.S. Cities for Residential Remodeling
BuildFax has released its annual ranking of U.S. cities for residential remodeling. The report finds that nationwide remodeling projects have increased by 9% between Dec. 2014 and Dec. 2015. Since 2010 remodeling activity has increased by 40%. In Colorado Springs, Colo., 14.7% of homes were remodeled within the last year, with the most common projects being on electrical, mechanical, and roofing.
Read more at REMODELING
Where are the Nation’s Second Homes?
According to NAHB estimates, the total count of the second home stock reached 7.5 million in 2014, an increase of 0.6 million over 2009 when NAHB Economics last produced these estimates. The share of second homes among the total housing stock also increased from 5.4% to 5.6%.
It is worthwhile to understand the patterns of second homes because they could have a significant economic impact on local housing markets and thus have important policy implications. This analysis focuses on the number and the location of second homes qualified for the home mortgage interest deduction using the Census Bureau’s 2014 American Community Survey (ACS).
Read more at NAHB Eye On Housing
Single-Family Housing Starts
Reach Highest Level since November 2007
Nationwide housing starts rose 5.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.178 million units in February, according to newly released data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Commerce Department. Single-family production increased 7.2 percent to 822,000 units—its highest level since November 2007—while multifamily starts remained virtually unchanged, inching up 0.8 percent to 356,000 units.
Read more at NAHB
Federal Open Market Committee March Meeting
Fed Funds Target Unchange
The Federal Reserve’s monetary policy setting committee, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), concluded the March meeting and in her post-meeting press conference Chair Janet Yellen announced no change in the target range for the federal funds rate. A second increase in March, following the initial increase in December, was widely expected by analysts after the December meeting, but expectations quickly changed in light of weak economic data that accumulated in the first quarter.
Read more at NAHB Eye On Housing
WMA WEBSITE TIP OF THE WEEK
Learn More About the Benefits
Membership Portal
Visit the WMA sample page through the membership portal of our website to get ideas about the different benefits of profile maintenance. The sample profile has been set up as an example for our members. Active members have the ability to upload images of products, logos or employees. Post messages for other WMA members to read when they visit your profile, create custom pages and much more. Simply login to the membership portal and search the directory for company name “Sample”.
Contact WMA for your personal introductory tour.
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
