AccessMyLibrary provides FREE access to over 30 million articles from top publications available through your library.
Create a link to this page
Copy and paste this link tag into your Web page or blog:
Byline: ALAN R. ELLIOTT
Home builders have had quite a run.
Nearly 7 million new homes sprang up in the U.S. between 2000 and 2004. That's 20% more than were built in the previous five years. And forecasts call for another 4 million home starts in 2005 and 2006.
Total expected home sales for this year and next? More than 14 million -- equal to the combined populations of New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago.
Makers of cement, drywall, roof shingles and other building materials have pressed the limits of their capacity in order to feed that frenzy. Even before Hurricanes Katrina and Rita shut down Gulf of Mexico ports and factories, ...