By Craig Webb Headlines about a recent potential class action complaint brought against Ace Hardware Corp. and its members have focused on allegations that Ace runs a price-fixing cartel. They've tended to overlook a second claim: Allegations that Ace illegally influences how existing stores are sold and where new ones can be opened. The May 7 filing in a U.S. District Court in Chicago argues that Ace "abandoned its commitment to independence by illegally coordinating members

By Craig Webb Both in deeds and words, the federal government is taking action against companies that it believes are avoiding duties and tariffs by sneaking lumber into the United States. The U.S. Customs and Border Patrol Agency issued a notice May 4 concluding that Coastal Specialty Forest Products, Inc., doing business as Coastal Forest Products, avoided anti-dumping and countervailing duties on Western red cedar lumber from Canada by arrange to ship the wood through New

QXO Chairman and CEO Brad Jacobs released May 11 an investor Q&A in which he elaborated on the company's cross-selling, one-stop-shop strategy as it combines TopBuild, Kodiak Building Partners, and its already acquired Beacon Building Products. Some highlights: 1) TopBuild's roughly 22,000 job site visits/day "will give give us valuable job site intelligence in real time. We can use that information to optimize inventory placement around the network, proactively cross-sell, i

DEALERS ABC Supply -- Daisy Bream -- OSR ABC Supply -- Julian Castaneda -- Branch Manager ABC Supply -- Kevin Culwell -- Branch Manager ABC Supply -- Adam Krauskopf -- Branch Manager ABC Supply -- Ryan Morgan -- South Central District Manager ABC Supply Interiors -- Anthony Baccari -- Branch Manager Big C Lumber -- Courtney Kaptur -- General Manager -- Three Oaks, M DEALERS Builders FirstSource -- Alena Brenner -- Chief Legal Officer Builders FirstSource -- Marc Lawrence -- S