Lumber Liquidators to halt Chinese laminate sales

[Eugene]

Source: CNBC

Lumber Liquidators to halt Chinese laminate sales

Scott Cohn
15 Hours Ago

CNBC

Home improvement retailer Lumber Liquidators said Thursday morning it is halting sales of all its Chinese laminate flooring effective immediately, confirming a CNBC report overnight. The move comes in the face of dozens of lawsuits over the safety of the products, as well as looming criminal charges disclosed by the company last week concerning its foreign sourcing.

The company said in a statement that it is taking the action in light of "mounting industry concerns relating to laminate products sourced from China."

Lumber Liquidators has been under fire since early March, when the CBS News program "60 Minutes" aired a report saying the Chinese laminate flooring contained high levels of formaldehyde, a known carcinogen.

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Read more: http://www.cnbc.com/id/102656689

[hollysmom]

1. heh, sooo, let's take stock

China sent over plumbing tubes that would melt with hot water and blow through the walls 20 years ago
they sent over dry wall containing formaldehyde and had to be torn out. about 15 years ago
they were poisoning our pe0ts with Melamine in the food 10 years ago
then there is this laminate flooring -
so tell me why the US allows our medication to be made in China?

[misterhighwasted]

2. [phone]. ^THIS^

[KT2000]

3. good point!

we should probably test and question everything.
We need some more lawsuits against American companies that are selling inferior goods for this outsourcing to stop.
Meanwhile, we are selling to them our coal, lumber, shellfish and other natural resources.

[hollysmom]

4. we sold Japan our scrap metal before WWII

well, that was a cheap shot - but if you read this far let me tell you the story of an American business taht put Americans our out of work and moved to China and now are barely in business. ha ha

My B-I-L was a PR guy for a Pennsylvania Furniture manufacturer. but other NC companies also did this.
Furniture used to be a lot more expensive, as so many things are, about 40 years ago. I bought a dining room set for 5K, worth about 1K now because furniture is so much cheaper even thought mine is solid cherry and the new stuff is laminate.

this and pretty much every name brand furniture companies decided it would be cheaper made in China. But they didn't want all the liability about running those factories with worker abuse and stuff, so they went to china, helped other companies set up the manufacturing shops and then out sourced to them.
Well, since they did not own the factories, seems like they decided to get more of the profit by making their own lines of furniture. so they send more stuff directly from their factories under their own brand names and other stuff under the American brand names, each competing with the other. using the training they got from the US companies, heh, now all the furniture companies are struggling. duh - kind of like the TPP, they thought they ahd a good plane, but not so much.

Jobs are all gone, those with money get to buy and cheaper stuff, doesn't last forever, but cheap to buy anotehr set (still love the one expensive thing I bought).

outsourcing is not as good as these companies think.

[KT2000]

5. I know what you mean

A friend's son took a job with GM to set up manufacturing in China. First thing he learned is you turn over all plans. He quit.

Someone else I know works for a company that was bought up by a US holding company (HC). The HC owns over 100 businesses that were started and did well in the US. They buy the business, send the manufacturing to China and it then exists as an American company only on a computer system.
In the case of my friend's experience, the Chinese company is stockpiling product which they suspect the company is selling under their own name, like the furniture.

When it comes to business, the Chinese are centuries ahead and they plan long term. US business is always out for the quick buck.

BTW - Did you know that most pickles are now made in India?? Few are made in the US now

[hollysmom]

8. I like a brand of pickles made in Poland, have never had trouble with them

I grew up eating that brand and they have not changed. I have stopped eating pickled pig feet because I rarely eat pork, not for religious reasons but met someone's pet pig, and it was so sweet. I just can't picture that sweet soul in a factory farm. I have met chickens, raised chickens and they are not too bright, no emotional connections but wish they were treated better. Or chickens were mostly raised down our cellar, because they turned into roosters and our neighbors did not like it when they crowed, but we would take them out side to "play" with them. Mostly they walked around confused.

I have a theory where he USD went very wrong and it has multiplied to this stupidity. Cutting the short term capital gains tax. When I worked at Mellon and had the unfortunate experience of spending time talking to the officers of the company (and exposure to other company officers in other companies) I found that stock options and short term capital gains made them interested in only the next quarter. i would mention that a little cost right now (i.e. testing!!!) would save the company money in the long run and would always be shot down, they never seemed to care much for future quarters, so my plan to fix things would be to tax short term capital gains at a high rate. then companies would have to look 5 years in the future.

[Bonobo]

6. The list is SO much bigger than that sadly. nt

[reddread]

7. MFN after 1989 democracy protests were put down- Pandora's Box

Bush had his brother running the concessions, the Clintons renewed and Wal-Mart made the most of it.