Ace Hardware Outperformance Encouraging for Building Trades
Record revenues for its fourth quarter and full year provide positive signs for the business going forward. The big national hardware cooperative reported consolidated revenues rose 9.9 percent to $2.5 billion for the three months ending Jan. 3. Total wholesale revenues were $2.3 billion, an increase of 10.0 percent compared to the prior year fourth […]
QXO Latest Deal Continues Its Building Products Ramp-up
With the acquisition of Kodiak as its latest deal, QXO is building on its plan to consolidate the highly fragmented building products industry. Kodiak is being acquired for $2 billion in cash and 13.2 million QXO shares. When the deal was announced, the total size of the transaction was estimated by QXO to be $2.25 […]
James Hardie Closing Two Facilities in Consolidation Move
The big building supply company is focusing on fewer, more efficient facilities going forward. The company said it is “taking steps to optimize its manufacturing footprint” and will close manufacturing facilities in Fontana, CA, and Summerville, SC, within the next 60 days. The sites’ manufacturing operations, which represent approximately 6 percent of the company’s year-to-date […]
Remembering Frank Gehry
He’ll always be more associated with metals like titanium but the famed architect has a long history working with wood. Gehry died in December at age 96 and will forever be known for his signature Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, along with the dozens and dozens of projects that followed, most of which used exotic […]
Home Depot Sees 5 to 6 Percent Growth Ahead
Short-term business conditions remain difficult but the big retail chain sees housing momentum returning. “Our Market Recovery Case reflects our performance expectations once we see momentum in housing activity and increased spend on larger projects driven by pent-up demand,” Richard McPhail, executive vice president and chief financial officer for Home Depot, told an investor and […]
Countervailing Duties Findings Released by Commerce Dept.
The preliminary report is in response to what the department calls “significant” subsidies from Asian countries on hardwood and decorative plywood. The new report from the U.S. Department of Commerce found that strong support from governments in China, Indonesia and Vietnam on their exports to the U.S. is creating an unfair advantage in the American […]
‘Tepid Growth’ in Housing Market as 2025 Numbers Finalize
We’re still not seeing major gains but the November 2025 numbers from an important Index are encouraging. Home prices across the country increased 1.4 percent in November according to the latest Case-Shiller US National Home Price NSA Index, considered one of the most prestigious rating services in the business. “November’s results confirm that the housing […]
Building Trade Seeing New Leaders for the New Year
Home builders Lennar and KB Home have new CEOs in 2026, as does key retailer Floor & Decor. The changing of the guard at the corner office of large companies in the home building and woodworking trade is an ongoing event but as the new year starts, two of the biggest builders in the country […]
2025 Was a ‘Pivotal’ Year for Mass Timber Construction
The final numbers aren’t in yet but this past year will see growth at around 20 percent in buildings using the technology. A new analysis of the mass timber field from Ricardo Brites, director of engineering and virtual design and construction at Mercer Mass Timber, finds that there were over 2,500 mass timber projects that […]
Watch Out Home Depot & Lowe’s: Here Comes Vevor
Does the home improvement retail business need another player? A new retailer from China is about to find out. The American DIY/home improvement big box business has been dominated by Home Depot and Lowe’s for decades after they squeezed out most of the country’s regional and local chains. However, a Chinese retailing company is now […]