February 24, 2010

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Tax Provision Generates 4Q Net Profit for BFS

Thanks in particular to $21.1 million in new tax benefits, Builders FirstSource swung to a $6.6 million net profit in the fourth quarter despite racking up a $19.5 million operating loss during that period. For all of 2009, America's eighth-biggest LBM operation recorded a net loss of $61.8 million, down sharply from 2008's loss of $139.5 million.
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Roofing Demand Forecast To Rise 2.4% per Year to 2014

Demand for roofing in the United States will grow 2.4% per year through 2014 to reach 274.5 million squares worth $17.9 billion, up from 243.5 million in 2009, the Freedonia Group forecast late yesterday. Demand for asphalt shingles, which accounts for nearly three-fifths of the market, will rise 3.2% per year to 162.5 million squares in 2014, the Cleveland-based market analyst said.
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Should You Fix Prices? One Commentary, One Report on the Issue

Two Southern LBM groups both addressed recently what appears to be a newly revived issue: builders’ requests that dealers set prices on goods. The pressure may stem from the recent spike in lumber prices—a jump that has been dominating conversations among builders lately, Boyce Thompson, executive editor of Builder and the former editor of ProSales, said in a blog posted a few days ago. The Southern Building Material Association said its recent flash survey of dealers found most saying their quoted prices carried an expiration date of no more than two weeks, but one dealer was offering to set prices for 90 days for one builder. Meanwhile, veteran Florida-based dealer Don Magruder says he’s heard of requests to fix prices for a year. Magruder says the notion of honoring that request is one of the dumbest things he’s heard of in quite a while. What’s your view?
Tell me
Magruder's Column
Boyce Thompson’s Blog

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DEWALT® Introduces Professional Grade Levels DEWALT® is proud to announce the launch of a new line of box levels. Innovations include the patent-pending QuadBox chassis, Dual Density endcaps, Lexan® vial housings, and the revolutionary X-Brace. These all combine to enhance strength and guarantee accuracy. Visit the website for ordering information and a special offer. www.dewaltlevel.com/prosales2.

BlueLinx Rides Tax Benefit to $12M Net Profit in 4Q

BlueLinx Holdings Inc. took advantage of a change in income-tax rules to help turn a $4.8 million operating loss into a $12 million net profit for the fourth quarter, the distributor revealed. That same announcement also had President and CEO George Judd declaring: "I believe we have reached the bottom of this four-year decline."
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American Woodmark Posts $9.1M Fiscal 3Q Loss

American Woodmark Corp., the maker of private-label cabinets for the big boxes and Timberlake Cabinetry for the new-home market, swung to a net loss of $9.1 million in its fiscal third quarter ended Jan. 31 on a 32% decline in net sales to $89.2 million.
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Home Depot Moves to a 4th-Quarter Profit

Continued strength in paint, flooring and plumbing sales and ongoing efforts to trim costs pushed Home Depot Inc. to a fiscal fourth-quarter profit, the largest U.S. home-improvement retailer said.
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Lowe’s 4Q Profit Rises

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Urban Land Institute Fellow Expects More Home Price Drops

The housing market that rises from the current recession's rubble will bear little resemblance to the suburban dream we’ve known for the past 50 years, according to John McIlwain, a senior resident fellow at the Urban Land Institute and J. Ronald Terwilliger chair for housing. “As the economy recovers, markets will stabilize, but the old ‘normal’ will not return,” McIlwain predicted. National housing prices will fall another 10%, battered by another wave of foreclosures, before they stabilize in the latter half of 2010 or early 2011, according to McIlwain. (BUILDER ONLINE)
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WebbThreads

• ProBuild named Paul Stringfellow its vice president of national accounts. Stringfellow joined ProBuild in 2009 as director of national accounts and had previously served as vice president of supply chain at Centex Homes. Story
The LBM giant also confirmed that Jim O’Grady had left the company. He had been the Southeast region’s senior vice president for operations.
• The Parr Company promoted Jason Behunin to sales director. Behunin has been with Parr Lumber since 1999, most recently serving as the sales manager for the state of Oregon.
• Quail Run Building Materials has opened a branch in Wickenburg, Ariz. Storyand ProSales’ database of LBM openings
• 84 Lumber closed its Fultondale, Ala., facility last October, a company spokesman confirmed recently. In addition, Stephens Supply Co. of Fuquay-Varina, N.C., closed its building supply and lighting operations but will keep its hardware store open. Story and ProSales’ database of LBM closures
• Seattle’s Dunn Lumber Co. is being honored by AtWork!, an advocacy group seeking to employ people with disabilities, as the organization’s Supporter of the Year. Dunn employs a person with disabilities in eight out of its 12 locations and seeks to place at least one person in every store. Story
• Sutherlands Lumber and Design Gallery of Fort Collins, Colo., has formed a strategic business alliance with the National Center for Craftsmanship to provide education, training, and marketing services to local businesses
• Boise Building Materials Distribution promoted Sarah Haenel to sales manager for Chicago.

• Haddon Windows of Bucks County, Pa., owner of Accu-Weld Windows & Doors, bought Speyer Door & Window of Boca Raton, Fla.
• Bilco introduced the next generation of its 75-year-old Classic Series Steel Basement Door. The latest model includes a patented gas spring lift assistance that provides improved operation and simplifies installation. Bilco also partnered with Sherwin-Williams to introduce a new primer finish for the product.
• Fiberweb introduced a new version of its Typar weather-resistant barriers. Surround SR Underlayment offers secondary protection against moisture intrusion and is better than felt, the manufacturer says, for slip resistance and speed of installation.
• Ponderosa Building Materials Software announced that Lumbermens Merchandising Corp. designated Ponderosa as an approved supplier.
• As of Jan. 1, GAF-Elk has converted its final remaining plant from English-sized Timberline shingles to the more labor-efficient metric-sized shingles. On a typical 25 square roof, the smaller English Timberline shingle required about 78 shingles per square. With the new metric product, roofing contractors only need 64 shingles to cover the same square footage.
• Coleman Cable unveiled an upgraded website that featured stronger search and an improved catalog section.
• Simonton Windows will offer up to $150 toward the preparation of an person’s 2010 personal income tax return at participating H&R Block locations when that person buys 12 or more Simonton windows from select product lines that are eligible for the Federal Energy Tax Credit under 2009’s economic stimulus act.
• SolarFrameWorks will supply its proprietary Building Integrated Photovoltaic CoolPly solar roofing components to Johns Manville.
• Uniboard has been approved as a manufacturer of Ultra Low Emission Formaldehyde particleboard by the California Air Resources Board.
• ECi Software Solutions launched its Remote Server Backup service.
• GAF Materials will invest in a new manufacturing facility to produce asphalt shingles for customers in the U.S. Southeast regional market. Some of its equipment will be relocated from its former plant in Quakertown, Pa.
• TimberTech introduced ReliaBoard, a decking product “that offers consumers all of the benefits of low-maintenance without breaking the budget,” the company said.

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