DHA® eNews - Home Builder Predicts 9 Key Trends For 2019
Taylor Morrison's in-house design experts have predicted nine key trends for 2019, based on preferences of recent home buyers and the design team's research. The top two trends on the list: healthy homes and both low and high maintenance design.
Researchers expect the demand for kitchen cabinets to grow 5.9% per year, reaching $17.1 billion in 2021. The forecast for tall cabinets is an annual growth rate of 7.7%, reaching a value of $3.2 billion in 2021; the projection for base cabinets is 5.2% annual growth.
President Trump is optimistic about trade negotiations with China. "The president does seem to have abandoned his policy path for the sake of Chinese concessions," states an AEI report. While there are other challenges, the 90-day period before certain U.S. tariffs are to be raised provides a cooling-off period in which a meaningful agreement between the two countries could take place.
"China's development model involves acquiring foreign technology by hook or by crook, and warping competition at home while demanding open markets overseas. Either the president will accept the time and costs necessary to push the PRC away from some of these policies or he will follow Presidents Obama and Bush and back down," said Dr. Derek Scissors.
The Chinese Tariff Commission reported that most-favored-nation import tariffs for over 1,500 items have been reduced to an average rate of 7.8%.
Flooring imports fell 15% in September vs. the previous month, ending a long period of expansion that saw total imports rise by nearly 40% for the first nine months of the year. The September decrease was driven by a 78% drop in imports from Brazil and a 24% drop in imports from China.
Experts predict that Vietnam will soon become the second largest interior furniture exporter - behind China - after the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement and Comprehensive & Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership take effect next year.
Gary Gillespie, former Decorative Hardwoods Association® chairman and Columbia Forest Product's executive vice president for Canadian plywood operations and for decorative veneer operations, announced his retirement, effective March 31. "A major contributor to the trade case on dumped Chinese hardwood plywood, Gary has been a cornerstone for our industry," noted Kip Howlett, Decorative Hardwoods Association® president.
Brian Sause began his 17-year career with the Decorative Hardwoods Association® and HPVA Laboratories® after graduating from Virginia Tech with a degree in wood science. Now, Brian will move to Australia with his family for the next three years. He will continue to serve as a consultant for HPVA Laboratories® as Josh Hosen and Chris Palumbo are promoted and will split his current responsibilities. "He leaves some big shoes to fill. We wish Brian, Rachel, and their two young children all the best in the land down under," said Kip Howlett, Decorative Hardwoods Association® president.
Mohawk Industries CFO Frank Boykin will retire in 2019 after 25 years with the company.
Danzer presented the latest wood trends at a summit in Böblingen, Germany for carmakers - who are increasingly using wood in vehicle interiors. Such interiors are expected to become an important element of the high-tech cars of the future.
This week, the Wood Gallery's hardwood plywood manufacturing facility in Dallas, TX was certified as compliant with CARB Phase 2 and EPA TSCA Title VI for formaldehyde emissions by HPVA Laboratories®.
The Environmental Protection Agency and Department of the Army are proposing a clear, understandable, and implementable definition of the "waters of the United States" that clarifies federal authority under the Clean Water Act.
VicForest, a state-owned logging company in Australia, has been accused of illegally destroying some of the last untouched forests in Victoria.
40 containers of Merbau wood, believed to be illegal, were seized in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia. The estimated value of the wood is more than $800,000.
Certified forests currently account for 11% of global forest area, a negligible increase from 10% in 2012. Two countries, Indonesia and Brazil, accounted for nearly all of the increase.
Thanks to generous donors, the Hardwood Forestry Fund has planted more than 5 million hardwood trees. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation this year to help HFF replant the next generation of harvestable American hardwoods.