As new construction slows, the replacement market becomes a bright spot in the industry marketplace
The floor covering industry continues to rack up record sales amid today’s robust economic climate. Federal Reserve Board chairman Alan Greenspan should get most of the plaudits here, as his economic programs have continued the strengthen the U.S. economy. Month after month, new home/apartment construction starts have eclipsed those of the previous year — until the last month or two.
In just-released June figures though, starts fell to their lowest level in more than two years as the housing market showed modest signs of slowing due to higher credit costs, according to the government. The Commerce Department said starts fell 2.6% in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.554 million units from the1.596-million-unit pace of May.