Friday
Jun112010
Record Decline in Sales of Building Materials
Friday, June 11, 2010 at 09:37AM This month's weaker than expected retail sales was primariliy due to the sharp decline in sales of building materials (which includes lawn and garden products). After two straight months where sales of building materials rose by more than 8%, May's receipts showed a record decline of 9.3%. Talk about all or nothing!
in Economy
Economy 
Reader Comments (1)
People are forgetting the Chilean earthquakes, that took place at the beginning of March. This caused a mini panic amongst building products dealers in the U.S. for plywood and molding and millwork. This exposed the low inventory levels of many building products at the dealer level going into what is traditionally their busiest time of the year. Lumber futures rallied above $300 dollars and prices rose in many products. With March and April to get replenished and in some cases over stocked, the market has slowed down to a more normal pace.