Armstrong to Increase Prices on Some Hardwood Prod

Lancaster, PA, Apr. 8--Armstrong announced today that it will initiate an average seven to eight percent price increase on selected solid hardwood products within its Bruce, Hartco and Robbins brands effective with shipments on May 7. The announcement impacts solid products only. At this time, there is no announced increase on engineered products. Armstrong recently announced a price decrease on its most popular engineered builder products, Bruce Turlington Plank 3” and Hartco Beckford Plank 3” hardwood floors. “Ongoing extraordinary increases in lumber costs during the past year make this increase necessary,” said Frank Ready, senior vice president, sales and marketing. “Since September of last year, the industry has experienced an 18 percent increase in flooring grade lumber costs. Despite productivity gains over the last year, we once again are at the point that we can no longer absorb significant increases alone. “We are keenly aware of the competitive pressures that we all are facing at this time, and for this reason we have limited the increase to selected solid products only,” he said. “Despite the current volatility in raw material costs, our immediate focus remains the same—drive productivity, innovation and quality initiatives that make Armstrong the best hardwood flooring supplier in the industry.”