Volume 17, Number 17, August 20, 2018

MLA Lumber Industry News Express

Here's the new issue of the Mid-America Lumbermens Association online newsletter. We'll send a new issue every two weeks to let you know what's happening in the industry, at your MLA, and in the world that affects your business. We welcome your opinions and ideas. If you have information you'd like to share with other members, we'd be happy to include it in our next issue. We welcome both personal and industry-related news - members would love to hear your news and views - so don't hesitate to email us with information.

Visit our New and Improved Website!

 Learn Best Practices for Filling Open Positions at the MLA/MSLBMDA Fall Conference! Join us for the annual Mid-America and Mountain States Lumber Dealers Leadership Conference, October 4-5 at the Omni Interlocken Hotel in beautiful Broomfield, Colorado, and see Jan Flynn talk about “How to Find the Right People and Keep Them!” Hiring has always been difficult, and these days, next to impossible. Learn the keys to finding the right people, onboarding them, and keeping them! Click here for the complete agenda . Why should you attend the MLA/MSLBMDA Leadership Conference? Our industry is changing rapidly. Learn from industry experts on what trends are evident and developing, and how to focus your business to successfully navigate these changes. Educational sessions will cover many topics that concern our businesses today, including: Economic trends - present and emerging Leadership in today’s business climate - leadership skills for today The labor shortage and what to do about it - creating a culture for hiring, retention and promotion The LBM industry today - mergers and acquisitions, independent lumber dealer’s progression, the LBM “State of the Union” today and future trends Lumber pricing and tariffs - Is there hope for commodity pricing decreases? Cybersecurity - hackers are hitting the LBM industry with increasing frequency. Are you prepared? Learn how to protect your business. Click here to learn more about the conference and to register . If you have questions, call your MLA office at 800-747-6529.

The Industrial Economy in 2019: What to Expect and How to Prepare For nearly a decade, the U.S. economy has been trending upward. But economies go through regular cycles of growth and recession, and many analysts agree that businesses should expect a downturn within the next couple of years. “The economy will probably start slowing down in the second half of 2018,” says Alex Chausovsky, senior consulting advisor at ITR Economics, an economic research and consulting firm. “Our indicators show it bottoming out between June and September of 2019.” Read more . Source: BlueTarp

How to Get a Quote on Your LTL Freight Shipment After your freight has been properly packaged and assembled, it's time to gather information about your shipment to ensure you are receiving an accurate freight rate and transit time. Correctly identifying your freight as less-than-truckload (LTL), tradeshow, or truckload is the first step to knowing what information you need to have ready before getting the quote. Below is a summary of information needed for an LTL freight shipment - which refers to a shipment that does not completely fill a truck, is typically palletized, and weighs over 150 lbs. In order to obtain an accurate LTL freight quote and transit time, be sure to… Read more . Source: PartnerShip – MLA’s endorsed provider of shipping services!

Updated Buyers Guide Now Available! The Mid-America Lumbermens Association (MLA) has announced the exclusive MLA Buyers Guide (the Guide) — the premier resource of relevant products and services for lumber professionals — is now available with a more user-friendly interface on the MLA website at www.themla.com . MLA partnered with Overland Park, Kansas-based Strategic Value Media, a leading nationwide provider of print and digital media solutions for national, state and local trade and membership associations, to produce the Guide. Read more .

MEMBER NEWS Cammie Borchers Obituary… Cammie Lynn Borchers, 60, of Lee’s Summit, Missouri, passed away Saturday, August 4, 2018 at Research Medical Center in Kansas City, Missouri. Cammie was born September 11, 1957 in Fayetteville, Arkansas, to Marion and Gertrude (Naccarato) Slutter. She married the love of her life, Mark Borchers, on February 14, 1981 at St. Luke’s United Church of Christ in Independence, Missouri.   Read more . Federated Named to Ward’s 50 Top Performers… Ward Group ® , a Cincinnati-based consulting firm specializing in the insurance industry, recently named Federated Mutual to the top 50 U.S.-based property and casualty companies and Federated Life to the top 50 U.S.-based life insurance companies. Read more .   Delden Promotes Todd Whitney and Joe Rethford… Todd Whitney has officially accepted the offer to be Delden Garage Doors’ purchasing manager on a permanent basis. Todd originally assumed the position following Larry Nauser’s retirement. Whitney manages most aspects of purchasing and logistics for all Delden branch offices. Whitney previously worked as Delden’s receiving supervisor at the Kansas City headquarters and has been with the company for 14 years. In addition to Joe Rethford’s duties of inside sales, his product knowledge has made him the right fit for Delden’s specialty products coordinator. Rethford handles quotes for various products outside of Delden’s traditional offerings of steel sectional doors. This includes additional manufacturers for steel sectional doors, rolling doors, high performance doors, dock equipment and just about anything related to the overhead garage door industry. Rethford has 23 years of experience in residential and commercial garage doors.

Time to Consider the MLA MEP MLA has offered a “group” MLA 401(k) plan for members for more than three years. It is saving participating dealers on their fees and offering a great benefit to reward their loyal employees. If you haven’t taken a serious look at this program, now would be a good time. Find out why smart dealers are making the move to the MLA program. Call the MLA Hotline at 800-747-6529, or click here to learn more .

Lumber News 2018 LBM Outside Sales Compensation-and-Benefits Report... How much should you pay your salespeople? How should you structure their pay—base, commission, or a combination of both? Should commissions be paid on straight or variable percentages? Should the percentage be based on sales, margins or profits? What about benefits—insurance, retirement, bonuses, etc.? Though there’s no universal right answer to these questions, this article features the insights of hundreds of readers from throughout the industry and across the U.S. Read more . Source: LBM Journal, August 7, 2018 New Single-Family Home Size Continues Downward Trend... Continuing a multiyear trend, new single-family home size decreased during the second quarter of 2018. New home size has been falling over the last two years due to an incremental move to additional entry-level home construction. According to second quarter 2018 data from the Census Quarterly Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design and NAHB analysis, median single-family square floor area decreased to 2,344 square feet. Average (mean) square footage for new single-family homes declined to 2,555 square feet. Read more . Source: NAHB Eye on the Economy, August 17, 2018   How to Say "No" to Your Co-Workers When They Want You to OK a Bad Idea (Thea's Mailbag)… Dear Thea: I hear the same questions—or should I say statements—repeatedly from sales reps and sometimes from our president or CFO. I swear they are the exact same question, just worded different.  Read more . Source: ProSales Magazine, August 13, 2018 Early Bird Registration Now Open for ProDealer Industry Summit… The ProDealer Industry Summit is an exclusive three-day educational and networking forum designed to promote the growth of lumber & building product dealers, distributors, wholesalers, and the manufacturers who supply them. LBM dealers will benefit from sharing insights and best practices from leaders in the industry in a relaxed format that encourages networking and personal interaction. The event is set for October 17-19 at the Radisson Blu Aqua Hotel in Chicago. Click here for early-bird registration .

Free Webinar - Tuesday, August 21 @ 1:00 CDT

This service provided courtesy of Federated Mutual Insurance Company, your association’s recommended insurer.

Have You Checked Out the MLA Online Campus? The MLA Online Campus provides you and your employees with high-impact, "real-world" training that develops your leaders, retains your best people and increases your customer loyalty. Each employee has a unique username to access the campus, which houses more than 700 courses on customer service, sales, leadership and more. Want to try a program for yourself? Click here to view an example. If you like what you see, contact us for a one-week trial subscription to see the hundreds of available courses. Learn more .

The Last Word " Sometimes what you're looking for is already there. " - Aretha Franklin

Mid-America Lumbermens Association | 800-747-6529 | 816-561-1249 (fax)| oholcombe@TheMLA.com | Website