BPD

Bw.otuc Pnooucrs Dtcr;sr

VOLUME 23. NO.4

(Sistet publicaton The Merchant Magazine seNes the West)

Siding & roofing look up for deolers

New moteriols, soles oids ond $rotegies help retoilen copture o lorger shore of the roofing ond siding morkets,

Preprirning perfeds wood siding

Advonced priming evens the ploying field for reol wood ogoin$ fiber cement ond vinyl siding.

I t hstolled soles opportunity lnsulotinq window film o qrowlh morket.

Hordwoods

Mokhing woods is nol olwoys ihe be$ design solution.

Iurn your customers' buying obiections into soles.

New columnist Corlo Woldemor profiles o successful pro deoler bonkino its business on service.

PUBLISHER Alan Oakes (ajoakes@aol.com)

PUBLISHER EMERITUS David Cutler EDITOR David Koenig (dkoenig@building-products.com)

ASSOCIATE EDITOR Lisa Maresca (lmaresca@building-products.com)

ADVERTISING SALES MANAGER Chuck Casey (ccasey@bui lding-products.com)

ADMINISTRATION DIRECTOR/ SECFETARY Marie Oakes (mfpoakes@aol.com)

CIRCULATION Heather Kelly (hkelly@building-products.com)

How to Advertise

Contact our advertising otfices for rates:

SOUTH, MIDWEST & WEST: Chuck Casey, 4500 Campus Dr., Ste.480, Newport Beach, Ca. 92660. Phone (949) 852-1990 Fax 949-852023 1 E-mail ccasey@building-products.com

NOFTHEAST: Paul Mummolo, 404 Princeton Ave., Brick, N.J.08724. Phone (732) 899-8102 Fax 732-899-2758 E-mail pmummolo@aol.com

INTERNET ADS: Alan Oakes, www.buildingproducls.com. Phone (949) 852-1990 Fax 949852-0231 E-mail ajoakes@aol.com.

How to Subscribe

Call Heather at (949) 852-1990 or send a check for the lollowing amount to Building Products Digest,4500 Campus Drive, Suite 480, Newport Beach, Ca.92660-1872:

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Two years, $29

Three years, $39

FOREIGN (per year paid in advance in US funds):

Surface-Canada or Mexico, $39 Other countries. $50

Air rates also available.

Single copies, $3 + shipping

Back issues lwhen available), $4.50 + shipping

Vsr Us OHUHe nr WWWBUILDING.PRODUCTS.COM About

The front cover l^ ^ ^^;, rD d pqru advertisement, this month spons0re0 Dy Arch Wood Protection.

ALAN OAKES publisher ajoakes@aol.com

Go slow, Greenspan

Probably no other industry has benefited more than the housing market from the low interest rates of the last couple of years. Consumers have kept buying to take advantage of these rates, and it has been a great ride. Businesses like yours may have expanded to cater for the increased demand for new housing and remodeling, and have possibly taken on debt to finance the growth.

None of us ever expected interest rates to go so low and remain at record lows as long as they have. Yet, with prices creeping higher, costs rising, and hiring possibly increasing, inflation may be rising for the first time for a long while. In the last week, we have had our first ominous warn- ings of inflation, and this in turn may start bringing the party to an end, which will lead to a rise in interest rates soon-possibly as soon as the next couple of months.

I may not be alone in dreading this scenario. It is my belief that Alan Greenspan has a lot of accountability for the way he handled the last dramatic rates increases back in 1999 and 2000, when he kept upping the rates, cutting off business investments and just about killing any ability to do business. From a consumer perspective, it just might bring an end to the buy, buy, buy mentality that low interest rates have wrought from which our industry has benefited.

Interest rates are a powerful Treasury tool to slow inflation and need to be judiciously used. I hope Mr. Greenspan will not make the same mistakes again. By piling on increased rates almost on a monthly basis, he never was able to determine how each rate was impacting before he introduced the next one. While 9/11 could not have been anticipated, this country was already in a heavy recession before, and I believe the Treasury badly mishandled the economy.

A rash of rate increases could quickly undo an improving economy, sabotage the increasing job market of March and April, and lower consumer demand for all types of products. Remember back in the early '80s and early '90s how our house values deteriorated rapidly when interest rates skyrocketed?

I do not think that a moderate rate hike would cause harm in the next few months, but still the jobs lost in the recession have not been fully recovered. Many jobs are now at lower pay than they were, and several have moved to part-time and contractor basis. For those of us lucky to have a job, we should understand there are many who do not, and there are many rvho cannot and will not get jobs in this new economy. If you are in your 50s or even 40s, it is becoming harder to find a meaningful, well paying position as you are deemed too expensive.

Having a job and a home is perhaps how we mark our own individual wealth. Mr Greenspan, go slow!