John Pavlovitz wrote in the Milwaukee Independent that: “in an insane world, a sane man must appear insane.” The statement is actually based on what Kurt Vonnegut Jr. wrote, “a sane person to an insane society must appear insane” in Welcome to the Monkey House.” With that pithy insight in mind, it may seem insane that manufactured housing production, while ‘rising’ in April 2024 per data cited by the Manufactured Housing Association for Regulatory Reform (MHARR) is nevertheless down in 3 top ten states and is also down from production in the most recent relatively ‘best’ year for the industry 2022. When good laws are going unenforced, it would seem sane for the Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI) to sue to get them enforced. But no, that isn’t happening. While vacancies are low in manufactured home communities in many parts of the U.S., one might think that a promotion push could fill what vacancies remain. That’s part of the apparent notion behind hits at MHI’s ‘leadership by SECO-linked David Roden and blogger George Allen. What? Expect sanity from MHI? In an insane world, the sane must appear to be insane. More on that in Part II. In Part I is the MHARR-provided report on April 2024 data.
Part I Manufactured Housing Production Rises in April 2024 – More Association and Trade News Affordable Housing Facts and Views
MHProNews Notice: the highlighting of three state results below and the light blue background are added by MHProNews.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: MHARR
(202) 783-4087
MANUFACTURED HOUSING PRODUCTION RISES IN APRIL 2024
Washington, D.C., June 3, 2024 – The Manufactured Housing Association for Regulatory Reform (MHARR) reports that according to official statistics compiled on behalf of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), HUD Code manufactured housing industry year-over-year production increased again in April 2024. Just-released statistics indicate that HUD Code manufacturers produced 8,971 new homes in April 2024, a 34.37% increase over the 6,676 new HUD Code homes produced in April 2023. Cumulative production for 2024 now totals 33,248 homes, a 19.3% increase over the 27,850 HUD Code homes produced over the same period in 2023.
A further analysis of the official industry statistics shows that the top ten shipment states from January 2023 — with monthly, cumulative, current reporting year (2024) and prior year (2023) shipments per category as indicated — are:
The April 2024 statistics move Tennessee into eighth place on the cumulative top-ten shipment state list, while Michigan falls to ninth place.
The Manufactured Housing Association for Regulatory Reform is a Washington, D.C.- based national trade association representing the views and interests of independent producers of federally-regulated manufactured housing.
— 30 –
Part II – Additional Information with More MHProNews Analysis and Commentary
In no particular order of importance are the following observations.
1) The highlighting added by MHProNews in graphic above for the states of Florida, Michigan and California are there to draw attention to the fact that those three states are lagging production in 2024 vs. 2023. So, even though nationally manufactured housing is rising again, in those states it continues to lag the down year of 2023.
2) Here is the math year to date. At the current pace for the first 4 months 2024, x 3 (to get 12 months or a year) looks like this. 33,248 x 3 = 99,744. So, if this pace continues – which is not a given – it would yield a lower total than either 2021 or 2022.
3) Or recall that MHI’s then-president and CEO, Chris Stinebert, saying in a Wall Street interview that the industry was poised for a turnaround after 2004? That year the industry produced 130,748 homes. The next year, due in part to orders from FEMA over Hurricane Katrina, the industry produced 146,881. Manufactured housing has never seen those totals since. That’s despite favorable laws enacted by Congress that aimed to overcome barriers to more affordable manufactured homes. What follows is based upon official data gathered on behalf of HUD. Understanding how that happened is obviously necessary in order for the industry to recover. The future can’t be won until the past is properly understood. The current problems can’t be corrected until people of good will who want to fix what’s wrong understand how it went wrong in the first place.
Table
YEAR |
New Manufactured Home PRODUCTION |
---|---|
1995 | 344,930 |
1996 | 363,345 |
1997 | 353,686 |
1998 | 373,143 |
1999 | 348,075 |
2000 | 250,366 |
2001 | 193,120 |
2002 | 165,489 |
2003 | 130,815 |
2004 | 130,748 |
2005 | 146,881 |
2006 | 117,373 |
2007 | 95,752 |
2008 | 81,457 |
2009 | 49,683 |
2010 | 50,056 |
2011 | 51,618 |
2012 | 54,881 |
2013 | 60,228 |
2014 | 64,334 |
2015 | 70,544 |
2016 | 81,136 |
2017 | 92,902 |
2018 | 96,555 |
2019 | 94,615 |
2020 | 94,390 |
2021 | 105,772 |
2022 | 112,882 |
2023 | 89,169 |
4) Those in the MHI amen corner rarely if ever point to such data. Left-leaning Bing’s AI powered Copilot is apparently willing to reveal just how illogical and problematic the industry’s (i.e.: MHI’s) behavior is. Consider these remarks by Copilot.
Learn more
United States – New Privately-Owned Housing Units Started: Total Units was 1360.00000 Thous. of Units in April of 2024, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, United States – New Privately-Owned Housing Units Started: Total Units reached a record high of 2494.00000 in January of 1972 and a record low of 478.00000 in April of 2009. …”
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6) To solve a problem the problem must first be understood. There are any number of examples of critiques of the performance of the Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI) in the 21st century. The ones that follow just happen to be recent ones.
7) Consolidation isn’t just occurring in the manufactured home communities sector. Consolidation of the manufactured housing industry has been occurring in the production and retail sectors over the course of the last 20 years. This has serious implications for not only smaller businesses. It has implications for investors in publicly traded companies. It has implications for employees of the firms involved. There are further implications for taxpayers and consumers that need, want, or desire affordable housing. There are implications for the homeless too; not only those homeless now, but those who will become homeless as a result of the status quo and de facto policies that are in place. There are implications for Gen Z and millennials, but also for Boomers and others too.
8) Monopolization – be it oligopoly style, duopoly, or a single firm or entity that is doing the monopolization – has serious consequences. There are any number of ways to undermine competitors or segments of the public. There are serious minds, on the left and right, that believe that monopoly power is a threat to the rights, opportunities, and liberties of the vast majority of the U.S. population. Despite the increasing attention being given to the problems caused by steady monopolization-consolidation, many in the MHI orbit fail to even use the word on their websites. Why is that so?
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9) Monopolists may sabotage markets in order to accomplish their goal for their specific interest in that market. No less a figure than Warren Buffett ally William “Bill” Gates III has said as much. Buffett has bragged that the wealthy are winning at the game of class warfare. That’s not far from the mark noted by antitrust economic researchers that include James A. “Jim” Schmitz Jr., who specifically noted that manufactured housing is underperforming due in part to ‘sabotage monopoly’ tactics. The billionaire class thinks differently than the vast majority of Americans do. Even the 1 percent think differently than much of the 99 percent, both per research and surveys.
10) It isn’t just insiders who have said publicly, or whispered to MHProNews privately, that oligopoly style monopolists have essentially taken control of MHI and have made it into a tool for themselves. It is also outside antitrust reseacher Samuel Strommen, which MHProNews/MHLivingNews has reported on, but the bulk of MHI aligned trade media and bloggers have not.
11) It is increasingly apparent that MHI doesn’t want to be questioned by those who aren’t truly insiders. MHI is the tool of the Big Boys, as MHI award-winner Marty Lavin observed. In order to grasp how the big boys operate, someone must look not only at what is SAID (written or spoken) vs. what is DONE. Sometimes, nice sounding words are used but there is then no logical follow through on those words, which strongly implies that the words were insincere in the first place.
12) A close look at the facts reveal the following. The affordable housing crisis can’t mathematically be solved without millions of more HUD Code manufactured homes being produced. In fairness, if deposed and now ‘convicted’ 45th President Donald J. Trump is reelected and robustly implemented a sweeping expulsion of illegal immigrants living in the U.S. that could result in numbers of vacancies. Billionaire Elon Musk and others have been attempting to develop alternatives to HUD Code manufactured homes, but even with billions in investments, manufactured housing currently rules as the most proven form of permanent affordable housing.
13) While some on the political-economic right have argued for years that subsidies only distort markets and fail to achieve their claimed goals, more recently a leftist has ripped Democrats for their housing plans that lines the pockets of “Corporate Democrats” while leaving their voters and claimed base lacking the promised results.
14) MHI leaders seemingly can’t keep their stories straight. Statements made, when closely examined, often contradict each other. While claiming that they want to grow the industry they seem to be more focused on helping certain ‘insider’ firms consolidate the industry and underproduction may make that process easier and less costly for consolidators.
15) Programming Notices: several pending reports on MHProNews are on tap that reveal new details what has been described by MHARR leaders as a “shell game” and empty posturing. Those details will come from – among other sources – MHI’s own members, sometimes their larger members. But until then, it is apparent that MHI is openly working with the competitors of manufactured housing. MHI has praised Democratic plans that offer subsidies and support for the conventional housing competitors of manufactured housing. AI powered Copilot fact checks (see above and below) have clearly called MHI out for failure to be transparent, for misleading and contradictory statements and behavior. This is a serious issue and is part of the problem that is keeping the industry underperforming. Dig into the linked reports to learn more and watch for the latest revelations from inside the seemingly insane world (paraphrasing John Pavlovitz and Kurt Vonnegut in the preface above) where the sane person may seem to be insane to those who have lost their way or lost their minds.
ICYMI, check out what Copilot wrote about MHI above. For those who want a ‘whimsical’ (comical) look at MHI through a golfing lens, it is unique and insightful.
Beyond the overtime rule change there is more on the reactions to the “felony” conviction of deposed President Donald J. Trump. Business as usual is over, MHProNews has said that for over 4 years. Those who check in routinely here find “Industry News, Tips, and Views Pros Can Use” © where “We Provide, You Decide.” ©
Part III – Our Daily Business News on MHProNews stock market recap which features our business-daily at-a-glance update of over 2 dozen manufactured housing industry stocks.
This segment of the Daily Business News on MHProNews is the recap of yesterday evening’s market report, so that investors can see at glance the type of topics may have influenced other investors. Thus, our format includes our signature left (CNN Business) and right (Newsmax) ‘market moving’ headlines.
The macro market moves graphics below provide context and comparisons for those invested in or tracking manufactured housing connected equities. Meaning, you can see ‘at a glance’ how manufactured housing connected firms do compared to other segments of the broader equities market.
In minutes a day readers can get a good sense of significant or major events while keeping up with the trends that may be impacting manufactured housing connected investing.
Headlines from left-of-center CNN Business – 6.4.2024
- Bob Kelley, long-time publisher of used car guide Kelley Blue Book, dies at 96
- Caitlin Clark has become male sportscasters’ proxy in a league built primarily by Black and LGBTQ athletes whom the mainstream felt fine skimming over in the past.
- The media is in meltdown over Caitlin Clark
- Tents are seen at a pro-Palestine encampment at Columbia University. Pro-Palestine demonstrators rallied on the lawn in Columbia University in Manhattan, New York City condemning the Israel Defense Forces’ military operations in Gaza. Since last week, students and pro-Palestine activists at Columbia University have held a sit-in protest on campus, forming a “Gaza Solidarity Encampment.” Encampments have been forming in other universities in New York City, as well as in campuses nationwide in support of Palestine. Negotiations are underway between student protestors at Columbia University and the school administration about the removal of the encampment. There has been increasing tension between the student protesters and the university officials regarding the use of law enforcement to disassemble the encampment. Since the war started on October 7, 2023, Gaza’s health ministry said more than 34,000 people have been killed in Gaza, a territory ruled by Hamas. The death toll does not differentiate between civilians and combatants. Pro-Palestine Encampment at Columbia University in New York City, US – 26 Apr 2024
- Columbia University settles with Jewish student who sued over hostile environment on campus
- Toyota recalling 100,000 big trucks and luxury SUVs due to engines stalling
- CEOs are making almost 200 times what workers are
- In this photo illustration, a woman looks at a laptop screen displaying the logo of ‘OpenAI’ in Ankara, Turkiye on March 11, 2024.
- OpenAI insiders’ open letter warns of ‘serious risks’ and calls for whistleblower protections
- An electric car charges at a station in Oakland, California in 2020.
- While new electric vehicle sales are slowing, used sales are ramping up
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- Lionel Messi is taking on Prime with a new sports drink
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- Job openings fall to new 3-year low, as the US economy continues to slow
- Elon Musk, co-founder of Tesla and SpaceX and owner of X Holdings Corp., speaks at the Milken Institute’s Global Conference at the Beverly Hilton Hotel,on May 6, 2024 in Beverly Hills, California.
- Musk accused of improperly selling $7.5 billion in Tesla stock before weak sales report that crashed its price
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- YOLO is dying. That could be bad news for the economy
- Indian stocks have worst day in 4 years as Modi’s hopes of a huge majority fade
- Hunter Biden trial shows America’s justice system isn’t so rigged after all
- Fake Tom Cruise documentary is part of a Russian influence campaign aimed at the Paris Olympics, report finds
- Japanese officials inspect Toyota headquarters over safety certification scandal
- Bill Ackman is probably about to get a lot richer. And much louder
- Tech giants unveil next generation AI chips in Taiwan as competition heats up
- New York Stock Exchange says bizarre glitch that showed Berkshire Hathaway down 99.97% has been resolved
- GameStop shares gain after meme stock influencer reveals $116 million bet
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Headlines from right-of-center Newsmax – 6.4.2024
- Jim Jordan: Defund Trump Prosecutors
- House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, is floating a plan that would defund the prosecutors who have brought cases against former President Donald Trump as he seeks another term in the White House. [Full Story]
- Israel at War
- Mast: Invite Hostages’ Kin to Bibi Speech
- Biden: Netanyahu Intentionally Prolonging War
- Israel, US Ink $3 Billion Deal for 25 More F-35 Fighter Jets
- Israel Estimates 43 of 120 Still-Missing Hostages Are Dead
- UN Rights Chief Expresses Support for Biden’s Gaza Cease-Fire
- Some Fear Bibi Remarks Hurt Hostage/Cease-Fire Deal | video
- Report: Bibi to Address Joint Congress on June 13
- Truce Doubtful as Biden Says Hamas Is Sufficiently Depleted
- Delta 2nd Airline to Resume Flights to Israel
- Yair Netanyahu to Newsmax: World Court a Farce | video
- Newsmax TV
- Jason Miller: AG Garland ‘Lying’ to US
- Fallon: Fauci a ‘Partisan Hack’ | video
- Dershowitz: DA Bragg ‘Started a War’ That Won’t End
- Karoline Leavitt: 1/4 of May Trump Donors New | video
- McCormick: Never Submit to Overreaching Govt | video
- RNC’s Whatley: Plans Underway If Trump Is Jailed | video
- Cline: Hunter Biden Case ‘No Comparison’ to Trump’s | video
- Alperovitch: Conflict With China in 4-8 Years | video
- Will Scharf: Weaponization of Justice Led by Biden | video
- Newsfront
- Speaker Johnson: Biden Border Plan a ‘Charade’
- President Joe Biden’s new border plan is just window dressing, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said Tuesday…. [Full Story]
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- Newsmax Media Inc.recently filed in Delaware Superior Court a motion [Full Story]
- Follow Newsmax’s Coverage of Tuesday’s Primaries
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- Attorney General Merrick Garland hit back at Republicans for what he [Full Story]
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- The American Civil Liberties Union vowed a court challenge Tuesday to [Full Story]
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- Federal prosecutors on Tuesday painted President Joe Biden’s son [Full Story]
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- NY Post: Biden Plan Would Allow 1.8M Migrants Per Year
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- More Finance
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- Early Menopause Raises Breast, Ovarian Cancer Risk
- Lawsuit Questions Gut Health Claims of Poppi Sodas
- Long-Term Trial: Skin Cancer Vaccine Boosts Survival
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