INDUSTRY NEWS UPDATE

Check out what’s been happening in the cabinet industry the last few weeks from the Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers Association:

Antidumping Duty Rate Increased on Multilayered Wood Flooring from China

Late last month the Department of Commerce issued preliminary results of its 2016-2017 administrative review of the antidumping duty order on multilayered wood flooring from China. The Department of Commerce found that imports of multilayered flooring had been unfairly dumped in the US market.

The Department of Commerce increased the antidumping duty rate to 48.62% and also increased the China-wide entity rate from 25.62% to 96.51%.

Click here to read more.

OSHA Drone Inspections Coming to Jobsites

According to a recent piece in ConstructionDive, Bloomberg Law recently obtained a memo from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) authorizing investigators to use camera-equipped drones to assist in gathering evidence during inspections in certain workplace environments.

This has raised questions and concerns for those in the construction industry related to privacy and how drone use could affect the rights of employers to protest an inspection that goes beyond the original scope.

Click here to read more.
Photo courtesy of BuilderOnline.

To Retain Top Talent, Build & Maintain Employee Engagement

There is a lot of discussion in the industry on how companies struggle to find skilled workers. But, another topic to consider is how to keep the skilled workers companies already have. A recent piece in BuilderOnline explored the importance of companies keeping employees engaged in order to retain their top talent. Key takeaways include:

  • Companies that prioritize employee engagement are more profitable and enjoy less staff turnover
  • Businesses that use morale boosters not only improve company culture and employee morale, but also create higher employee productivity, and lower absenteeism
When choosing a job and an organization, employees place the greatest importance on the following qualities:

60% - The ability to do what they do best
53% - Greater work-life balance and better personal well-being
51% - Greater stability and job security
41% - A significant increase in income
36% - The opportunity to work for a company with a great brand or reputation

Click here to read more.


NAM Manufacturers Outlook Survey

The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) recently released the results of its Manufacturers' Outlook Survey for the fourth quarter of 2018, showing manufacturers' optimism for the year reached the highest level on record. Other highlights from the report include:

  • On average in 2018, 92.4% of manufacturers reported a positive outlook for their companies
  • 68.2% of the manufacturers polled cite the inability to attract and retain a quality workforce remained their top concern in the fourth quarter of 2018
  • Manufacturers predict strong growth rates of 2.3% in employee wages, 2.6% in capital investments and 4.3% in sales over the next 12 months
The inability to attract a quality workforce has forced more than one in four manufacturers to turn down new business opportunities.

Click here to read more.

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