According to BusinessWire, Universal Forest Products, Inc. (UFPI), in noting the best first quarter profits since 2006, reports net sales of $554.5 million for the first quarter of 2013, up 21.3 percent over the same period 2012. Net earnings of $5.2 million for Q1 represent an increase of 25.7 percent over the same period 2012. Sales increased in all five divisions of the company. Gross sales in manufactured housing increased 42.6 percent over the same period of 2012, to $89.9 million, largely attributable to the increase in lumber prices. The National Association of Home Builders predicts HUD-Code shipments will rise 15 percent in 2013. As MHProNews knows, UFPI is a major supplier of structural lumber and other products to the manufactured housing industry.

(Photo credit: Universal Forest Products, Inc.)