Vol. 5, No. 17 – August 14, 2006 

 

 

Innocent Sellers Fairness Act Update

The Innocent Sellers Fairness Act (H.R. 5500) now has 21 bipartisan cosponsors in the House:

 

Wally Herger (R-CA), Marilyn Musgrave (R-CO), Nancy Johnson (R-CT), Tom Feeney (R-FL), Ric Keller (R-FL), Jeff Miller (R-FL), John Shimkus (R-IL), Ron Lewis (R-KY), Anne Northup (R-KY), John Kline (R-MN), Virginia Foxx (R-NC), John Kuhl Jr. (R-NY), Steve Chabot (R-OH), Robert Ney (R-OH), Dan Boren (D-OK), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Lincoln Davis (D-TN), Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), Michael McCaul (R-TX), Chris Cannon (R-UT), and Mark Green (R-WI).

 

Don’t forget to log onto www.buildthevote.org to send a letter to your member of Congress letting him/her know why the Innocent Sellers Fairness Act is important to your business.

 

 

“Each one reach one” membership campaign

 

Have you talked to anyone about MLA membership lately? The Mid-America Lumbermens Association (MLA) is sponsoring a membership contest to run from July 1 to October 31, 2006. The MLA Board unanimously approved plans to reward current members who recruit new members for the Association. 

 

All you have to do is talk with someone who isn't currently a member and recommend they join. We'll follow up and do the rest. The grand prizewinner will be awarded a trip to Las Vegas – all expenses paid – for recruiting the most new members for MLA. Cash prizes also will be awarded to the second and third place winners. Complete details are available from MLA at 800-747-6529.

 

 

Training without Travel Teleconferences

 

Learn More Than You Thought Possible Over The Phone!

 

Participate in the most cost-effective training available to dealers. NLBMDA holds monthly Training Without Travel telephone conferences. These teleconferences cover a variety of topics and are designed specifically for lumber and building material dealers. Each teleconference can be attended over the phone from your own lumberyard for only $95 members; $179 non-members. You receive a 45-minute presentation, reference materials, and a chance to ask questions of the presenter during a Q&A session. For more information call NLBMDA at 800-634-8645. Plan to participate in a teleconference this fall:

 

September 19 – Are You Prepared for a Disaster?

October 19 – Lockout/Tagout for Lumberyards

November 16 – Ergonomics – What is OSHA Doing?

December 14 – Triennial Forklift Evaluations

 

 

 

 

LUMBER NEWS – QUICK GLIMPSES

 

Softwood Lumber Agreement Continues to Unravel… Canada’s International Trade Minister David Emerson met with executives from Canada’s major lumber exporters on Wednesday, August 9, and while the meeting has been described as cordial, it’s clear industry is not supporting the agreement.

 

According to a report by Steve Mertl, of The Canadian Press, “Canadian industry support is crucial because before the deal is implemented, all companies with pending trade litigation challenging the duties must withdraw their suits and exporters representing 95 percent of the duties on deposit must sign waivers to allow some of the money to stay in U.S. hands. Ottawa has little hope of meeting either condition without changes to the deal.”

 

Emerson has given lumber executives an August 21 deadline to let him know whether or not they intend to support the agreement. At that point, he’ll make his recommendation to Parliament.

 

Source: Canada.com, August 10, 2006

 

Home Sales To Hold Fairly Steady For Balance of Year… The housing market is in a process of stabilizing with little change in overall sales volume expected over the balance of the year, according to the National Association of Realtors^®.

David Lereah, NAR’s chief economist, said the indicators already are leveling-off. “We’ve seen a minor easing in closed transactions of existing-home sales, and a slight increase in the leading indicator of pending sales based on contracts,” he said. “New-home sales and housing starts have been fluctuating, so the overall market is stabilizing.”

“On one hand is the rise in mortgage interest rates that has slowed sales in many higher-cost markets, and on the other is 3.8 million new jobs over the last two years,” Lereah said. “This means many potential home buyers could enter the market in the foreseeable future, especially in moderately priced areas where affordability conditions remain favorable. In fact, this is already occurring.”

Although sales will be fairly steady over the balance of the year, declines since last fall mean annual totals will be lower. Existing-home sales are forecast to fall 6.5 percent to 6.61 million this year, the third highest on record after 2005 and 2004. New-home sales are projected to drop 12.8 percent in 2006 to 1.12 million, also the third best on record. Housing starts should be down 9.1 percent to 1.88 million this year.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is running nearly a percentage point higher than a year ago but is likely to rise very slowly in the months ahead, reaching 6.9 percent in the fourth quarter.

 

Source: National Association of Realtors, August 8, 2006

 

At the Federal Reserve… The Federal Open Market Committee decided today to keep its target for the federal funds rate at 5-1/4 percent.

 

Economic growth has moderated from its quite strong pace earlier this year, partly reflecting a gradual cooling of the housing market and the lagged effects of increases in interest rates and energy prices.

 

Source: Federal Reserve Release, August 8, 2006

 

Chicago Looks To Force Big Boxes To Raise Wages… The Chicago City Council on July 26 passed a ground-breaking ordinance mandating any retailer with at least 90,000 square feet and $1 billion in annual revenue to pay employees at least $10 in wages and $3 in benefits per hour by 2010.

 

Retailers that would be affected by the measure, such as Home Depot, Wal-Mart and Target, quickly denounced the legislation. Illinois Retail Merchants Association (IRMA) President and CEO David Vite condemned the Chicago City Council’s passage of a big-box living wage ordinance, calling it a blow to the city’s economic development and a loss for thousands of job seekers.

 

“The Council just passed the biggest anti-jobs/anti-economic development proposal in the nation,” Vite said. “The closed-for-business sign will be up in the City of Chicago as long as this law stands.”

 

But Vite also warned that the decision could have dire repercussions for retailers of all sizes throughout the state. The new law could create an even more difficult environment for the retail community if city leaders widen the ordinance to include more than just the largest stores, he said. The IRMA is expected to challenge the ordinance in court.

 

Source: National Retail Hardware Association ( NRHA), August 2, 2006

 

Advance Monthly Sales for Retail Trade and Food Services… The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for July, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were $367.9 billion, an increase of 1.4 percent (±0.7%) from the previous month and up 4.8 percent (±0.8%) from July 2005. Total sales for the May through July 2006 period were up 5.9 percent (±0.3%) from the same period a year ago. The May to June 2006 percent change was revised from -0.1 percent (±0.7%)* to -0.4 percent (± 0.2%).

 

Retail trade sales were up 1.5 percent (±0.7%) from June and were 4.5 percent (±0.8%) above last year. Gasoline stations were up 19.2 percent (±2.0%) from July 2005 and sales of nonstore retailers were up 15.6 percent (±4.5%) from last year.

 

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, August 11, 2006

 

Must Read… The article, “Pacesetter's Perfect Storm,” appeared in the August 9 Remodeling Business Update. It’s a cautionary tale of how a disgruntled customer’s web site helped bankrupt one of the nation’s largest home improvement companies. Read the story at:

http://www.remodeling.hw.net/industry-news.asp?sectionID=150&articleID=335211

 

When a Benefit Becomes a Liability

 

Most employers today offer an array of employee benefits such as health insurance, life insurance, disability income, 401K, pension program, cafeteria program, etc. A great incentive to attract and keep good employees, right?

 

An error in administration of your benefit program can be embarrassing and costly. It may also create mistrust in your organization, especially if an employee suffers a financial hardship. For example: When a new employee enrolled in a company’s health program, he requested dependent coverage. However, someone in the employer’s office failed to check the appropriate box on the enrollment form. A few weeks later, the employee’s wife became seriously ill. Hospital and doctor bills piled up and collection agencies began calling. The employee’s performance suffered and countless hours were spent trying to resolve the situation. 

 

Most general liability policies will pay only for bodily injury or property damage caused by an occurrence. In this example, there is no bodily injury or property damage caused directly by the mistake. Therefore, no coverage applies.

 

As your business grows or you add benefits, the risk of making mistakes increases. “Employee benefit liability coverage” generally provides protection for damages you may be legally obligated to pay, arising from an error or omission in the administration of your health insurance plan or other employee benefits.*

 

Your employees depend on the benefits you provide as part of their employment. Don’t let a simple mistake turn a valued benefit into a liability for your business.

*The claim must be made during the policy period for coverage to apply.  See your policy for specific terms and conditions.

 

This article provided courtesy of Federated Mutual Insurance Company, your association’s recommended insurer.

MLA is proud to endorse….

 

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY