China Target of Unfair Trade Allegations
A coalition of U.S. engineered wood flooring manufacturers has filed an unfair trade petition alleging that imports of that product from China are being sold in the U.S. at dumped prices, and that their counterparts in China have gained an unfair competitive advantage through government subsidies and manipulation of the Chinese yuan.
The Coalition for American Hardwood Parity (CAHP), a group of U.S. manufacturers of engineered wood flooring, filed the 1,200-page petition with the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) and the International Trade Commission (ITC) on Oct. 21. The petition requests that the U.S. government investigate these unfair trade practices and their harmful impact on this domestic manufacturing industry. The petition also asserts that U.S. engineered flooring manufacturers have suffered "material competitive injury" as a result of these trade practices and requests the U.S. government apply antidumping and countervailing duties of 100 percent on engineered wood flooring imports from China to "restore competitive parity in the U.S. market."
CAHP said the market share of engineered wood flooring held by manufacturers in China has grown from 8 percent in 2002 to 34.7 percent through June 2010. CAHP counsel and spokesman Jeff Levin said this growth was leveraged by Chinese manufacturers' dumping engineered wood flooring in the U.S. "at prices that are well below fair trade value;" proving so is an important stipulation of a DOC-conducted antidumping investigation. CAHP also said U.S. engineered wood flooring stakeholders-i.e., distributors, retailers and customers-have suffered due to the alleged unfair trade. Decreased profit margin on "beautiful, well-styled domestic products" has led to a decline in service throughout the supply chain, Levin said.
Wood flooring manufacturers in CAHP include: Anderson Hardwood Floors (Clinton, S.C), Award Hardwood Floors LLP (Wausau, Wis.), Baker's Creek (Jackson, Miss.), From the Forest LLC (Weston, Wis.), Howell Hardwood Flooring (Dothan, Ala.), Mannington Wood Floors (Salem, N.J.), Nydree Flooring (Forest, Va.) and Shaw Industries Inc. (Dalton, Ga.).
CAHP expects to receive a preliminary ruling on the matter in early 2011 and a final ruling and trade duty to be implemented by the end of 2011. NWFA Executive Director/CEO Ed Korczak said that the NWFA "supports a 'level playing field' for the wood flooring industry and opposes illegal logging and 'dumping' of any industry products from any source," and that the association will cooperate with the study if and when requested.
For more information on CAHP and its goals, visit www.usfloorparity.org. The website contains an FAQ and overview of DOC and ITC trade investigations.
Townsend Flooring to Open in January
Townsend Flooring will open its doors January 2011 in Warren, Ark., in the former Armstrong (Sykes) plant. The company will manufacture 5/8-inch sawn-face unfinished engineered hardwood flooring exclusively for Maxwell Hardwood Flooring (Monticello, Ark.) under the Townsend Additions trademark. The company expects to employ 25 people at start-up and run at 50 percent capacity in the first few months. The new company is co-owned by Tommy Maxwell, Kristi Maxwell-Prince, Shay Dugal and Wil Maxwell; the company's day-to-day operations will be overseen by Wil Maxwell and Dugal, who is also co-owner and general manager of sister company Ouachita Hardwood Flooring (Warren, Ark.).
Townsend's engineered flooring will complement solid unfinished flooring products from Maxwell Hardwood Flooring and Ouachita. "This product completes our package of unfinished, U.S.A.-manufactured hardwood floors," said Tommy Maxwell, who is also president and CEO of Maxwell Hardwood Flooring. Maxwell Hardwood Flooring purchased the longstanding Townsend trademark from Potlatch Corporation in the mid-1990s.
Study: Remodeling Turnaround in 2011
The remodeling industry will see "substantive growth" in 2011, according to the Remodeling Futures Program at the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University. The Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity (LIRA) indicates that homeowner improvement spending is expected to be up at a double-digit pace at an annual rate through the first half of 2011.
"The downturn in home improvement activity has pushed spending below its long-term trend," said Eric S. Belsky, managing director of the Joint Center for Housing Studies. "A recovering economy should stabilize house prices and consumer confidence levels, encouraging homeowners to reinvest in their homes and undertake deferred repairs and replacements."
"Remodeling contactors are feeling much more positive about the outlook for home improvement projects," said Kermit Baker, director of the Remodeling Futures Program at the Joint Center for Housing Studies. "Low financing costs and a wave of previously foreclosed homes coming back on the market and in need of renovation are expected to generate healthy growth over the next several quarters."
The full report is available here.
Manufacturer News
Cherry Forest Products (Guelph, Ontario) has completed an expansion of its hardwood dimension plant and now has available "molder ready" flooring strips that are surfaced and ripped to size. The strips are available in walnut, hard maple, ash, hickory, red oak, and rift-and-quartered white oak. For more information, call 519/763-1466, ext. 232.
Dealer News
C&R Flooring (Needham, Mass.) has been named a Bona US (Aurora, Colo.) Top Bona Certified Craftsman. "Only seven flooring companies in the country are charter Certified Craftsman members, which makes us the best of the best," said Chris Zizza, president of C&R Flooring.
People News
Bona US has named Mike Overy territory manager of the company's Northeast region. Overy has more than 12 years of experience in the hardwood flooring industry, formerly with Wood Pro Inc. and Patriot Hardwood Floors.
By the Numbers
This Week on the HF Blogs
Green Blog: Elizabeth explains why CARB duties are so complicated.
Inspector Blog: What will bedbug treatments do to wood floors?
HF Forum: An inspector has an ethical dilemma.
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NWFA Member Services
The NWFA has introduced a new Points Rewards system for its members. NWFA members can earn points redeemable for NWFA events, products and services just by doing things like referring new members, renewing their membership, attending NWFA's convention, or attending NWFA schools. Each 10 points earned is equivalent to $1, and points earned range from 100 to 500 based on each eligible activity. Points accumulate throughout the year and expire on your renewal date, so be sure to contact the NWFA to learn more about this new program. For more information, call 800/422-4556 (U.S. and Canada) or 636/519-9663 (local and international), e-mail [email protected], or visit www.nwfa.org.
