Stock Building Supply closes four Idaho operations

Stock Building Supply, based in Raleigh, N.C., will close four branches in Idaho by the end of next week. The Idaho closures come as part of a nationwide company restructuring, which will shut down 86 facilities and lay off approximately 3,000 associates. More than 200 stores will remain open in 27 states, including 10 Idaho, said company spokeswoman Missy Hatley. A headcount of around 8,700 employees will remain companywide.

Idaho closures include Boise Components on Amity Road, lumberyards in Boise and Pocatello and the insulation division of the Coeur d’Alene branch. Hatley said the next closest Stock service center for Boise Component clients is in Salt Lake City, and the Idaho Falls lumberyard can serve those affected by the closure of the Boise and Pocatello lumberyards.

“Without a doubt, we are facing unprecedented times in our industry,” company president Joe Appelmann said in a release. “There is over capacity in an industry geared up to supply 2.3 million new housing starts two years ago; today the number is less than 1 million. The realities of the current market have changed the capacity of our industry and necessitated these actions.”

Stock’s parent company is Wolseley, plc, based in Reader, England. A Wolseley release stated Stock generates more than 70 percent of its revenues from residential construction, and the 64 percent fall in housing starts meant cutbacks for the company. These 86 closures come in addition to closing 70 branches since the market’s peak in January 2006. Reductions in workforce now total 10,600, or 55 percent.

Stock reported a loss of $246 million on revenues of $3.5 billion in the year ended July 31, 2008.