WASHINGTON -- Builder confidence for new, single-family homes remained unchanged at 16 for a fourth consecutive month in February, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI).

PARKERSBURG, WV -- Woodcraft's latest contest will send the winner to meet Tommy MacDonald, host of "Rough Cut - Woodworking with Tommy Mac."

Multiax International, an Italian wood and metal CNC router manufacturer,says it is now building machines in Grand Rapids, MI.

CHARLOTTE, NC — Harold Locklear of Locklear Cabinet & Woodwork took top honors in the 2011 Top Shelf Awards presented last night at the Closets Conference & Expo.

Closets Expo tops wood manufacturing news this week, as furnishings capital Charlotte, NC becomes the epicenter of secondary wood markets activity, with a vibrant show at the convention center, and big nearby news: Wilkesboro, NC-based Lowe's adds 50,000 jobs and machinery maker Delmac, Greensboro, NC is absorbed by SCM Group.

Certification for closets professionals was announced at the 2011 Closets Conference and Expo, where attendee counts are set to beat last year's numbers. The home storage solutions show floor area doubled for a 50 percent jump in exhibitors at the Charlotte, NC Convention Center.

China Foresty merger and ongoing expansion foretell designs on global markets.

A coalition cites laurel wilt disease, emerald ash borers and spruce-killing beetles as it asks the USDA to prevent non-native insects and diseases from entering U.S. hardwoods forests by ending an exemption allowing Canada to export in untreated wood crates.

Pennsylvania lifted its ash wood and hardwood shipping, because the emerald ash borer eluded control. Meanwhile, a coalition asked the USDA to ban untreated wood packaging from Canada fearing non-native insects and diseases can enter the U.S.

CHARLOTTE, NC -- The 7th Annual Closets & Home Organization Conference & Expo kicks off today with a full-day of educational sessions culminating with the presentation of the 2011 of the Top Shelf Design Awards.