Vol. 6, No. 14 – July 2, 2007

 

 

 

 

DRM WORKSHOPS – DEADLINE EXTENDED!

 

Plan now to attend one of the MLA Designated Risk Management Workshops on Wednesday, August 15 in Wichita, or Thursday, August 16 in St. Louis. You really don’t want to miss this program!

 

This is an opportunity for business owners and their designated risk managers to gain valuable insight into causes and solutions for workplace risk – helping you improve your every day practices to close the loopholes in hiring, vehicle usage and other areas that can cost you big.

 

The workshops will be filled with valuable information designed to increase profitability and improve employee safety. This program will show you how to reduce operating costs and control insurance increases.

 

The workshops will be held from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and attendance will be limited. The registration fee is just $50 per person.

 

Sign up right away to assure your place: Federated Insurance risk experts will prepare a loss history analysis and action plans designed specifically for your company. This benefit is available regardless of whether or not you are currently a Federated Insurance policyholder. While results will vary, statistics show that companies participating in this training have reduced losses as much as 30 percent and improved their insurance expense accordingly.

 

To register, please complete and return a registration form today. (Either call MLA at 800-747-6529 – or go to http://www.themla.com/MLA-DRM2007.pdf.)  Don’t pass up this opportunity to learn tried-and-true ways to effect savings in your business.

 

 

MINIMUM WAGE INCREASE

 

As you know, the federal minimum wage goes up on July 24, 2007. It will go from the current $5.15 per hour to $7.25 in three increments:

 

$5.85/hour on July 24, 2007

$6.55/hour on July 24, 2008

$7.25/hour on July 24, 2009

 

The updated minimum wage language to post on your employee bulletin board is not yet available. Don’t pay big bucks for a new federal poster. MLA is researching options and will have a no cost or low cost option for members. As soon as language is available, we’ll let you know.

 

  

 

 

NLA 2007 Mill Tour
 

Whether you’ve been to Vancouver or not, this is a trip you will not want to miss. A fantastic trip is set for the 2007 Mill Tour, scheduled for September 9-14, 2007. Starting in Bellevue, the upscale suburb of Seattle, the first visit is to a wall plant, winery, and cedar fencing mill on the way north to Canada. The first night across the border will be spent in Victoria on Vancouver Island. The following day you will have time to explore Victoria, and visit the spectacular Butchart Gardens before taking the ferry to Vancouver/Surrey where the group will remain for the next three nights.

 

While in the Vancouver area, you will visit Interfor’s cedar mill, Watkins cedar shake and shingle mill, and i-Level by Weyerhaeuser’s parallam mill. Excursions will take you up Grouse Mountain — with magnificent views of the city along with a theater, lumberjack show, ski lift ride, restaurants, and more. After the visit to the mountain, the group will head to the harbor for a cruise of the largest active port in North America. If you are still looking for more to do, you can spend the rest of the day and evening exploring the city of Vancouver.

 

On Friday, you’ll leave Canada and head to the final industry tour at the APA – Engineered Wood Association’s lab in Tacoma, where they perform the only three-dimensional whole house testing. Friday evening the tour ends back in Bellevue.

 

For a registration form, click here, or call Sally at 800-896-5134/763-595-4058 or e-mail smeansnla@megapathdsl.net.

 

Note: If you plan to participate in the Mill Tour and don’t have a current passport, be sure to apply for one immediately.

 

 

            

JOIN INDUSTRY LEADERS AT THIS YEAR’S INDUSTRY SUMMIT – OCTOBER 4-6, 2007    
 

This year’s theme, The 16% Solution, will focus on how you can maximize your value in builders’ eyes through creativity, operational excellence and most of all, the ability to focus on your builder’s bottom line without losing sight of your own. The 2007 Industry Summit will explore the key areas you need to focus on to capture market share and maximize your profitability by making builders more efficient. Dealers are the solution — that is the bottom line!

 

Join us at the beautiful JW Marriott Resort & Spa and explore all Las Vegas has to offer. MLA’s own Harold Baalmann, B&B Lumber, Wichita, Kan., will become NLBMDA’s Chairman at this event.

 

Participate in the Industry Golf Tournament at Angel Park, scenic tours and network with your LBM industry peers. For more information and to register today, go to www.dealer.org!  

 

 

LUMBER NEWS – QUICK GLIMPSES

 

Retailing Trends… Although awareness of organized retail crime has never been higher, senior loss prevention executives say the problem is getting worse. According to the National Retail Federation’s third annual Organized Retail Crime survey, more than three-fourths of retailers (79 percent) say their company has been a victim of organized retail crime within the past year. The survey also found that 71 percent of retailers say they have noticed an increase in organized retail theft activity in the past 12 months, up dramatically from 48 percent in 2006. Once organized retail crime rings steal merchandise from stores, they commonly sell the goods at flea markets or through online auction sites.

 

According to the survey, 61 percent of retailers have identified or recovered stolen merchandise from a fence location, up from 59 percent last year. Nearly three out of four retailers (71 percent) also say they’ve identified or recovered stolen merchandise from an online-fence operation, up from 67 percent last year. Indicating the rise in awareness of the issue, 57 percent of retailers say their company’s top management understands the issue, compared to only 41 percent in 2006.

 

Source: HCI Business Report, June 7, 2007

 

Housing Construction Falls in May… Construction of new homes fell in May as the nation's homebuilders continued to struggle with a steep housing slump that has been exacerbated by rising problems with mortgage defaults. The Commerce Department reported Tuesday that construction of new homes and apartments dropped by 2.1 percent last month, the poorest performance since a huge 13.9 percent plunge in January.

 

Source: Builder Business Update, June 19, 2007

 

Beetle Problems from Alberta to Alabama… The forests of Alberta and Alabama are both facing beetle problems which could mean loss of revenue to both areas.

 

In Alberta, it's the mountain pine beetle. Communities are calling on the government to develop a long-term plan of dealing with them. According to a report by the Grande Alberta Economic Region, "[i]t is recommended that the government of Alberta consider the impact of the mountain pine beetle as both an emergency and a special case." The report shows that, without proper planning, the amount of dead timber in the province will rise, leading to loss of revenue.

 

In Alabama, it's the southern pine beetle that's causing problems.

 

"A pine tree's natural defense against beetles is to drown them with sap," said John Pirtle, director of the Alabama Forestry Commission's Forest Management Division. "Beetles attack stressed trees. There's a lot of stressed trees out there because of the hurricanes and drought. Trees won't produce enough sap during the drought to protect against beetle infestation."

 

Source: LBM Daily, June 21, 2007

 

Fisher Lumber Co… Fisher Lumber Co., Garden Plain, Kan. will open early next month an unexpected new branch in Greensburg, Kan., roughly 90 miles west of its headquarters. The new location is its way of helping the citizens in the tornado-ravaged town of Greensburg rebuild. Currently, the nearest dealers are located more than 30 miles away.

 

Source: ProSales Business Update, June 21, 2007

 

Weyerhaeuser Announces Plant Closing… Weyerhaeuser decided to close permanently an Alberta joists plant at the end of August, laying off 85 employees. The timber giant reached that decision in part due to sagging new home sales.

 

"Weyerhaeuser made the difficult decision after a strategic review of the company's TJI® joist business," explained Cathy Slater, Weyerhaeuser's vice president of Veneer Technologies. "The decline in housing starts in the North American market provides the impetus for this decision. After careful consideration of all the options, a decision was made to close this plant."

 

Source: LBM Daily, June 25, 2007

 

They Are Watching… “The speed of the leader is the speed of the pack.” This is an old expression in the Yukon. It rings true every day at work. You as manager, supervisor, or owner set the tone, and pace. You create the atmosphere. Did you realize when you walk in each day your people are watching you? They are looking to see what kind of mood you are in. They are watching to see how you greet the people you walk by, or your secretary. They are listening to hear if you say good morning to people, and how you say it. They are taking note if you are laughing or look angry. Start thinking about this every day when you walk in the door. It will make you walk in differently. Your attitude and behaviors have a dramatic impact on how everyone’s day goes.

 

Source: Bob Losyk, MEd., M.B.A., C.S.P. is a Certified Speaking Professional, master trainer, author, and President & CEO of Innovative Training Solutions, a Greensboro, NC consulting firm.  For more information on Bob’s keynotes, seminars, best practices facilitation, panel discussion leader, and products, please visit his websites at www.boblosyk.com and www.getagriponstress.com or call 1-800-995-0344.

 

Georgia's Timber Industry Takes a Substantial Hit Due to Forest Fires… Georgia's Forestry Commission announced that approximately $48 million of timber was destroyed as a result of the South Georgia Wildfires. Salvage logging is proceeding now, but only a fraction of the available salvageable timber will likely be harvested.

"There's a lot of it to cut. A lot more than what we'll be able to cut so there are a lot of crews in there cutting," states Darrell Musgrove of Mullis Logging.

Source: LBM Daily, June 28, 2007

 

Secret Ballot Bill Defeated… The U.S. Senate earlier this week defeated a motion to move forward on the misnamed “Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA).” While the end result was a vote of 51-48, Senate rules required that proponents of this anti-business legislation have 60 votes in order to end debate (known as “invoking cloture”) and bring up the bill for consideration. Despite passing the House in March, this vote in the Senate essentially kills the bill for the year.

Tom Donohue, Chamber president and CEO, commented: “The right to a secret ballot is a fundamental aspect of American elections. Secret ballots protect the rights of the individual and prevent coercion, and that’s worth fighting to preserve. Senators used their votes appropriately to preserve the ability of employees to vote in private on whether they will join a union. We hope this will end any further consideration of this particularly outrageous bill.”

 

Source: U.S. Chamber of Commerce, June 29, 2007

 

New Jersey and Missouri Courts Dismiss Lawsuits Against Paint Manufacturers… The New Jersey State and Missouri State Supreme Courts recently dismissed cases against paint manufacturers for the sale of lead paint. Cities in New Jersey and Missouri brought suits claiming that large paint manufacturers knew that the paint they were supplying contained lead yet proceeded to sell it. Attorneys for the paint manufacturers put the responsibility in the hands of the homeowner, arguing that with proper care, lead paint is not toxic or lethal. In both states, justices refused to allow cities to proceed with lawsuits against manufacturers, citing a lack of substantial evidence to prove that lead paint on different structures belonged to any one particular paint manufacturer. Unfortunately, the dismissal of these cases will likely not prevent future lawsuits against paint manufacturers and retailers. In his dissent, Missouri Supreme Court Chief Justice Michael Wolff signaled future problems for paint retailers, stating “All of the companies that sold lead-based paint in the city of St. Louis contributed to the problem, which is not an individual injury.”

 

Source: NLBMDA, June 29, 2007

 

Later this summer, the U.S. Forest Service will release statistics showing there are only 990 sawmills left operating in the U.S. That’s a decrease of 24 percent from 1995. In California there are just 35 sawmills left in operation – a loss of 85 mills in the last 15 years. These figures, too, are only those permanently shut down, not mills idled by market conditions. Replacing the U.S. mills with an increasing dependence on foreign mills ought to be a concern to lawmakers and regulators at all levels. The foreign dependence concern is just one issue – loss of jobs and loss of tax base are other concerns.

 

Source: LACN E-Update, July 1, 2007

 

 

BY THE NUMBERS

 

Married couples aren’t on the same page when it comes to retirement planning, new research reveals. Better communication, as well as employers letting employees’ spouses attend retirement planning and financial seminars at the workplace, may improve the situation.

 

• In more than 30 percent of couples, husbands and wives gave different answers about when they will retire, their expected lifestyle in retirement and whether they intend to continue working in retirement.

 

• 22 percent of couples could not even agree on whether they use a financial advisor to