Huttig Building Products, Inc., St. Louis, MO, distributor of millwork, building materials and wood products, reported sales were $1.103 billion in 2006, up slightly from 2005. A 9% increase in the first half of the year offset the 7% decline in sales in the second half of the year when the housing market began to decline. Huttig had an operating loss of $4.1 million for the year.

For the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, 2006, sales were $231.1 million, with an operating loss of $2.6 million. Sales were down 13% from the same period a year ago, reflecting the 24% drop in housing starts. Sales to national accounts for the quarter, which represented 34.8% of sales, declined by 7%.

Overall in 2006, sales to national accounts represented 33.4% of sales in 2006 as …