Articles

Thanks to the slowing economy, flooring retailers will continue seeing less traffic in stores during the first half of 2023, but the people who do show up will be ready to buy, according to Jeff Lorberbaum, Mohawk chairman and CEO, who kicked off Mohawk Edge Summit in Nashville, Tennessee, this week. Read More

Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes posted its 12th straight monthly decline in December, dropping two points to 31, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). This is the lowest confidence reading since mid-2012, with the exception of the onset of the pandemic in the spring of 2020. Read More

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) rose 0.1% in November on a seasonally adjusted basis, after increasing 0.4% in October, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 7.1% before seasonal adjustment. Read More

The Dodge Momentum Index (DMI), issued by Dodge Construction Network, increased 3.8% in November to 207.2 from the revised October reading of 199.6. Read More

"The end is in sight for one of the biggest sources of inflation. Surging housing costs helped keep inflation high this year but have likely already swung into reverse, economists say,” reports the Wall Street Journal. Read More

The big jump in single-family home building activity that occurred in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic in large metro outlying counties and exurban areas has shown a marked decline over the past 12 months, according to the latest findings from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Home Building Geography Index (HBGI) for the third quarter of 2022. Read More

Year-to-date through September, U.S. imports of engineered wood flooring have grown by more than 22% in value to more than $1 billion and by more than 19% in volume to over 600 million square feet, reports the Decorative Hardwoods Association. Read More

Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 263,000 in November, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 3.7%, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Read More

Personal income increased $155.3 billion, or 0.7 percent at a monthly rate, while consumer spending increased $147.9 billion, or 0.8 percent, in October. Read More

Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 2.9 percent in the third quarter of 2022, in contrast to a decrease of 0.6 percent in the second quarter. Read More