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Construction Downturn To Slow

U.S. construction starts are expected to decline 2Vo next year, to $614 billion, following an estimated 8% decline in 2007, forecasts McGraw-Hill Construction.

"The credit crunch that emerged at mid-2007 continues to be a major concern for construction and the overall economy," said McGraw-Hill's Robert A. Murray. "As a result, we're now predicting downturns in the previously resilient multifamily and commercial segments, as well as continued weakness in single-family home construction."

Single-family housing will weaken further, given the large inventory of unsold homes and diminished loan availability to homebuyers. A 3Vo drop in dollar volume is expected in 2008, corresponding to another 6Vo decline in the number of units.

Multifamily housing will slide 87o in dollars and llTo in units, following steeper declines in 2001 . Condominium development is being dampened by greater scrutiny from lenders as well as reduced homebuyer demand.

Bright spots include the rise of green construction practices, favorable financing from public sources and publicprivate partnerships, and moderate growth in transportation projects.

NLBMDA Shakes Up Management

National Lumber & Building Material Dealers Association, reportedly awash in red ink, has hired a Washington, D.C.-based association management firm to replace president Shawn Conrad.

Russ Snyder, senior v.p. of client management at management firm SmithBucklin Corp., will serve as interim president, and Henry Wallmeyer, NLBMDA director of membership and operations manager, will control day-to-day operations of the office.

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In the wake of the moves, rumors ran rampant that federated associations were considering jumping ship and possibly banding together into a competing national organization. Phone calls to several association executives revealed no associations that had pulled out. In fact, one group-Mid-South Building Material Dealers Association-just rejoined NLBMDA. Ironically, MBMDA head Bob Hellenthal attempted to form his own national association a few years ago after dropping out of NLBMDA.

During NLBMDA's recent conference, Harold Baalmann, B&B Lumber, Wichita, Ks., succeeded Steve Kelly, Kelly Brothers Lumber, Covington, Ky., as chair. Chair-elect is Paul Hylbert, Pro-Build Holdings, Denver, Co.; vice-chair Dan Fesler, Lampert's, St. Paul, Mn.; treasurer Linda Nussbaum, Kleet Lumber, Huntington, N.Y.; MSC chair John Somerville, Dow Chemical, Marietta, Ga.; MSC vicechair Bill Pohl, Princeton Delivery Systems, Canal Winchester, Oh.; government affairs committee chair Joe Collings, Ferguson Lumber Corp., Rockville, In.; BMAE chair Richard Seely, Michigan Lumber & Building Materials Association, and at-large directors Geoff Brown, The Lumber Yard, York, Pa.; George Lester, Lester Group, Martinsville, Va.; Bob Magbee, Magbee Contractors Supply, Winder, Ga., and Bill Van Sant, Oklahoma Home Centers, Guthrie, Ok.

Fire Strikes New Mexico Yard

Officials are investigating the cause of a late-night fire that destroyed a portion of Construction Supply, Bloomfield, N.M.

The Oct. 2'7 blaze inflicted about "5oo/o damage" on several lumber and storage buildings, but did not reach the main building. "The primary building, which houses the offices and the hardware portion of the business, sustained no damage," said local fire chief George Duncan.

Producers May Buy Railroad

Nine Oregon shippers who are trying to force the Willamette & Pacific Railroad to reopen a rail line have dropped their lawsuit and are negotiating to purchase the 23-mile line.

Last summer, the shortline operator stopped service on the stretch of track that runs south from Corvallis to Hull-Oakes Lumber's mill in Dawson, Or., calling the line unsafe and saying that the low freight volumes did not justify the cost of repairs.

Hull-Oakes, Chintimini Land, Western Pulp Products Co., and a half-dozen farms that use the line filed suit in August against the rail- road, its parent company, and Union Pacific Railroad, which leases the tracks to W&PR.

ldaho Yard Into Hardware

Kuna Lumber, Kuna, Id., has purchased the inventory of Steve's Do it Best Hardware in Nyssa, Or., and is remodeling 4,000 sq. ft. to showcase hardware, paint, plumbing and electrical supplies, and sporting goods.

"We always knew we wanted to do it; the opportunity just came along," said Dave Browning, who started the company in 2O02 with his wife and son.

"I guess I'm a little nervous to bite this off in the middle of a slowdown," he said. "But really there's not much risk for us. Even in a slowdown, people have to maintain their house."

Hayward Floats Parade Class

Hayward Lumber, Salinas, Ca., recently hosted a workshop on building a parade float for the city's firstever Holiday Parade of Lights.

The workshop, led by parade expert Ray Pulver, was held in the yard's conference room. Each of the l8 participants received a one-page list of what parade-building supplies could be purchased at Hayward Lumber. The yard also will be listed in the parade program as a sponsor.

"We're always looking for anything that will generate business," said store manager David Burton. "It was a very inexpensive way to get our name out."

Spiffy Thief Strikes Boxes

A nattily-attired man with a large cross pendant and Bible has been accused of shoplifting more than $10,000 of merchandise from Home Depot, Lowe's, and other stores in Victorville, Ca., and then returning some of the items without a receipt.

"He was well-dressed and wellspoken," said Deputy Kristina Winegar. "We had clerks tell us, 'We saw the cross and thought he was a godly person; we didn't question it."'

Authorities said that Dennis Chambers and his wife. Jaanna. were arrested and their house was searched after loss-prevention officers from at least 10 local stores started working together. The search revealed a closet filled with business suits and other merchandise.

Marijuana and hallucinogenic mushrooms were also found.

A:: LP, wE ENGINEERED ouR LP Sor-rnStent I-Jorsrs ro an 66% wIDER THAN YOUR TYPICAL LUMBER JoISTS. Tner MEANS MORE STABLE FI,OORS WITH LESS BOUNCE AND FE-WER HEADACHES FOR BUILDERS.

Tsar:'s wHAT wE Do. Wn uexr rHE PRoDUcrs THAT BUILD THE HOMES, SIMPI-Y BETTER.

Weyco EWP Mills Cut Back

Responding to an oversupplied market. Weyerhaeuser Co. has cut back production at its LVL facility in Junction City, Or., and its I-joist plant in Eugene, Or.

The reductions began November I and will last until at least April 1. Both plants have reduced hours, resulting in a total of 103 temporary and permanent layoffs.

Activant Teams With Majure

Activant Solutions Inc.'s Hardlines and Lumber Group will integrate Majure Data's RF Navigator warehouse management system (WMS) lvith its Activant Falcon softwarc.

Set for release in first quarter 2008, the interface between the trvo systems will provide Activant Falcon users with ready visibility into their warehouse operations and advanced tools for improving shipping accuracy.

For LBM dealers. the warehouse has long been the "black hole" of the customer order process. While Activant software is designed to improve customer order management operations, the benefits of an effective ERP solution could easily be lost if rvarehouse oersonnel are not able to quickly and accurately pick and ship orders. This capability is especially important for LBM dealers because of their complex mix of products.

Dealers selling moulding, for example, often must track the number of units sold, as well as the length of each piece. Special order itcms are common. The continuous visibility offered by WMS on the status of such items enhances special order management and control.

With the combined solution. the Activant software takes rtrder information from the sales department and transfers it into the Majure system in the warehouse-where, through wireless handheld terminals, WMS guides the material handlers to accurately pick the ordered items. The information transmitted to the handheld terminal tells the fbrklift drivers what to pick, how many to pick and where to go to pick it. At each location, the drivers scan the barcode on the item to verify that they are at the right place and that they are picking the correct item. As soon as an item is picked, the information is transmitted to the Activant software.

In addition to order picking, the solution will utilize wireless handheld terminals for receiving, put-away, material moves, shop/assembly, cycle counts and truck loading procedures.

With a WMS. dealers can run their warehouses more efficiently, with ferver people and fewer errors. Majure's studies indicate that LBM dealers rvho adopt and fully implement its WMS can improve shipping to approximately 99.9Vc' accuracy.

"Over the past fer,v years, we have seen WMS go from a 'nice-to-have' system for LBM dealers to a technology that is a 'must have' in order to stay competitive," said Jason Hudson, Majure business development director.

Oregon Investors Buy Lands

Campbell Group LLC, Portland, Or., has acquired 1.5 million acres of timberland from Temple-Inland, Austin. Tx.. for $2.38 billion.

The sale is part Temple's plan to break three of its divisions into separate public companies and sell off its timberland unit.

Most of the purchase was made in notes due in 2021 , which Temple will pledge as collateral for a non-recourse loan. Loan proceeds, after costs associated with the land sale. rvill be about $ 1.8 billion.

Ti",i, y".r, Hampton Affiliates has launched a new strategic growth initiative that will add a new product line to our existing capabilities and increase our production volume by over 300/0. The company has expanded into Canada with the purchase of Babine Forest Products and Decker Lake Forest Products, both producing a wide range of dimensional and specialty items in Spruce-Pine-Fir. The mills are located in Burns Lake. British Columbia. and have a combined annual capacity of 375 mmbf.

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Willamina Lumber Company, currently ranked number one in lp '- ' overall single-site lumber volume for U5 manufacturers. This , expansion makes Hampton the eighth largest lumber producer 11s;i.i4 in North America with an annual capacity of 2 billion bf. In addition, the company's trading and distribution operations make available to our global customers another 1.5 billion bf of lumber and panel products, supported by Hampton's highly efficient transportation, reload and just-in-time delivery services. It's now easier than ever for existinq as well as new customers to get the right selection, in the right volume, for the right il ! price, and delivered at the right moment. Contact us to heor more about our expanding product Iine.

L.A. Hardware Store Goes Green

Virgil's Hardware, Glendale, Ca., is now stocking "Green It Yourself" products distributed by Plan-It Hardware. San Francisco. Ca.

"I think if it takes too much effort people are turned off, so the easier we can make it fbr people to find healthier options for their environment, the better fbr everyone," said Chris Reilly, Plan-It marketing director for Southern California.

A division of distributor California Hardware. Plan-It has a full-time research team that evaluates how green a new product really is in terms of energy savings and toxicity. The greenest ones get an official seal of approval and are recommended to customers like Virgil's, making it easier for managers and consumers to find green choices.

"If you only knew how many (green) items are on the market right now, it's crazy," said assistant store manager Angela Becerra.

At Virgil's, recommended products are identified with a "greener choice" sticker and grouped together in a single display for better recognition. Green products are also dispersed among traditional products in the aisles, according to Justin Myers, who heads the electrical department.

"We want people in the community to know their options as consumers," he said. "We try and put the options next to each other so you can compare price point, hours, and everything there."

For example, many customers come into the store looking for energy-efficient light bulbs, but long-time shoppers may still buy the less expensive incandescent lights. "We'll try and influence customers to buy the green one, to show them at least the options," said Myers. "If you give them the options, a lot of people will prefer the new technology."

Customers have always dictated what is carried in the store, said manager Delaura Kurkowski. "They are asking for and purchasing more non-toxic, eco-safe, and resourcesaving products."

Virgil's commitment to going green extends beyond products offered. Over the past 12 years, Virgil's has recycled tons of cardboard, plastic, and aluminum commodities. Employees have also stopped using Styrofoam cups.