| IDEAS
AT WORK |
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Turning Point |
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When I flipped the page
on my calendar from 2007 to 2008 last January, I
had every expectation that this would be an important
year. But for entirely different reasons than the
circumstances we face today. More |
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| TOP STORIES |
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It's Back To The
Basics For U.S. Economy |
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WASHINGTON — This
is not your economy. It's not even your parents'
economy. To a surprising degree, this is your great-grandparents'
economy. More |
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Home Sales Post
Unexpected April Increase |
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WASHINGTON — Sales
of new homes rose in April for the first time in
six months although the unexpected increase still
left activity near the lowest level in 17 years.
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Green Building A
Plus For Builders In Tough Market |
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Home builders attending
the May 11-13 NAHB National Green Building Show
in New Orleans were told by market analysts that
they have a long way to go to sell the benefits
of sustainable construction technologies to their
prospective customers. More |
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New Orleans Experiencing
Boom In "Green Collar" Jobs |
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Presenters at a Global
Green forum on Wednesday night made the case that
New Orleans has an unprecedented opportunity to
create jobs in "green collar" industries,
including building trades that focus on sustainable
design and construction. More |
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| MARKETPLACE |
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Lumber Prices To
Spike, But Not Until 2011 |
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If history can be used
as a guideline to simulate the next housing “up-cycle,”
then the prospects for huge price increases look
very exciting! More |
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More Big Changes
Ahead Predicted For Green Building |
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Peter Yost, a former
member of the NAHB Research Center staff, told last
week’s NAHB National Green Building Conference
in New Orleans that he is surprised at how quickly
green building has grown since the annual conference
was inaugurated in Denver 10 years ago, a trend
he said is linked to the skyrocketing cost of energy.
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Traditional on the
Outside, Innovative Inside |
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Builders in New Orleans
face more than the usual obstacles than those that
confront the home building industry in other parts
of the country. Labor and materials shortages combined
with the devastated roads and other infrastructure
in the wake of two 2005 hurricanes are just two
of them. More |
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Builder Confidence
Edges Downward In May |
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Home builders remained
considerably downbeat as market conditions continued
to erode in May, according to the NAHB/Wells Fargo
Housing Market Index (HMI), released today. More |
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Random Lengths Market
Lumber Report |
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Many framing lumber buyers
stayed on the sidelines after Monday's U.S. holiday,
and spurts of activity failed to develop any sustained
momentum. More |
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April 2008 Crude
Steel Production |
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BRUSSELS – World
crude steel production for the 66 countries reporting
to the International Iron and Steel Institute (IISI)
was 116.4 million metric tons (mmt) in April. This
is 5.6% higher than the same month last year. More |
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April Imports Up
15 Percent Vs. March |
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Based on preliminary
Census Bureau data, the American Iron and Steel
Institute (AISI) reported today that the U.S. imported
a total of 2,944,000 net tons (NT) of steel in April
2008, including 2,194,000 NT of finished steel (up
15 and 4 percent, respectively, vs. March final
data). More |
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| INDUSTRY
WATCH |
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Amid Slump, Nerves
Of Steel |
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Executives of U.S. steel-producing
companies are maneuvering through challenges that
might have panicked even the most hard-bitten 20th-century
steel barons. More |
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SSMA Launches Inspection
Program |
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The Steel Stud Manufacturers
Association, Glen Ellyn, III., has made plans to
develop a third-party inspection program, which
will be implemented Jan. 1, 2009. More |
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Steel Once Again
A Hot Commodity |
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The struggling economy
hasn't prevented one part of the Rust Belt from
looking like somebody gave it a good shining with
a steel wool pad. More |
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EPA and Partners
Kick Off Green Building Design Challenge |
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NEW YORK – The
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and partners
are calling on the nation’s architects, builders,
students and others to participate in the second
Lifecycle Building Challenge. More |
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| FROM THE
FIELD |
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Activity in SFA
Target Markets Continues as Concerns Over Rising
Steel Prices Grows |
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On the West Coast, there
appears to be a slowdown in some segments of the
non-residential construction market, specifically
in shopping malls and office buildings where an
oversupply exists after a period of intensive construction.
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SFA NEWS |
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SFA Makes Important
Advances in Promoting Steel as the “Right”
Material for the Gulf Coast |
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In conjunction with the
National Association of Home Builders’ (NAHB)
10th annual Green Building conference in New Orleans
May 11-13, the Steel Framing Alliance (SFA) capitalized
on several opportunities to reach key target audiences
in promoting cold-formed steel as a sustainable
building material for rebuilding the Gulf Coast
region. More |
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CFSEI West Chapter
Launches in June With Seminars on Recent California
Code Changes |
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Engineers in the western
United States will finally be able to take advantage
of programming locally that focuses specifically
on the structural design of safe and cost-effective
cold-formed steel-framed structures with the launch
next month of the West chapter of the Cold-Formed
Steel Engineers Institute (CFSEI). More |
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