November 7, 2007

Ainsworth Lumber Co., Vancouver, Canada, has entered into an agreement with the direct-purchaser plaintiffs in the OSB Antitrust Litigation. Under the agreement, Ainsworth will pay US$8.6 million to be distributed across the settlement class.
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Five building products distributors had filed a class-action lawsuit against manufacturers of OSB, including Ainsworth, alleging the suppliers suppressed supply to raise prices to unprecedented highs, despite increasing demand.

J.M. Huber Corp. has also settled in the case. The other suppliers named in the lawsuit are: Louisiana-Pacific Corp., Georgia-Pacific Corp., Weyerhaeuser Co., and Potlatch Corp. Plaintiffs include Sawbell Lumber, Philadelphia, PA; Norwood Sash & Door Manufacturing, Cincinnati, OH; Columbare …

After closing down earlier this week, the largest independent wood flooring distributor in the U.S. at more than $600 million in sales, Hoboken Wood Flooring LLC, Wayne, NJ, has filed a voluntary petition for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

According to a report this week from local paper The Record, sales had fallen about 25% each month for the past year – the commercial business development manager for the company attributed the sales losses to the housing downturn, competition from manufacturers going direct, and the company’s push to expand nationally.

The latter was emphasized in a Floor Covering Weekly report published shortly after private …