Invista awaiting recovery

Feeble signs of life have been evinced in two economic indicators crucial to the revival of the nylon line at Invista’s Waynesboro plant, but dark clouds linger.

Housing starts and orders for durable goods have increased during the past two months. Invista is following closely conditions like those in the wake of the idling of nylon production in Waynesboro, a move driven by the housing collapse and a subsequent plunge in carpet demand.

“Invista continues to monitor market conditions very carefully, and the nylon portion of the Waynesboro site will continue to be idled until market conditions justify its restart,” Invista spokeswoman Erica Taylor said.

The nylon shutdown and the layoffs of more than 300 company and contract workers at Invista’s iconic plant on the South River sent shockwaves through the Waynesboro economy over the winter. Officials have said they’re hopeful that a rejuvenated housing market could get the nylon lines running again.

But DuPont’s development of triexta, a fiber that observers say combines exceptional durability and stain resistance compared to previously available fibers, could put a damper on restart plans, according to Kemp Harr, publisher of Floor Focus magazine in Chattanooga, Tenn.

“It might be a factor that would prevent, at least immediately, them firing the plant back up,” Harr said.

Invista announced in December 2008 that it would halt production of nylon, used in the company’s Stainmaster carpet. Lines began going idle in February.

“Demand, while up from a couple of months ago, is still down from last year,” Taylor said. “[It] is not at a point to justify the restart of the idled nylon portion of Waynesboro’s Invista site at this time. It is unrelated to DuPont’s product triexta.”

The Commerce Department announced earlier this week that new orders for manufactured durable goods in May increased by $2.8 billion, or 1.8 percent, to $163.9 billion. It was the third increase in the last four months, coming on the heels of a 1.8 percent increase in April. Excluding defense, new orders also increased 1.4 percent.

The back-to-back monthly gains in orders for durable goods were further evidence that a dismal stretch for U.S. manufacturers may be nearing an end, analysts said. Still, a sustained rebound is still months away, analysts said.

American companies have been forced to trim millions of workers as they struggle with the longest U.S. recession since World War II. U.S. businesses also have faced a sharp drop in exports as many major overseas markets struggle with their own downturns.

The U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development reported that building permits for privately owned housing units were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 518,000 in May, up 4 percent from the revised April rate of 498,000, but still 47 percent below the May 2008 estimate of 978,000. Single-family authorizations in May were up 7.9 percent from the previous month.

Sales of existing homes rose for the second straight month in May, driven by lower prices and an $8,000 first-time buyer tax credit, according to the National Association of Realtors. It was the first back-to-back monthly increase since September 2005.

Existing home sales increased 2.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.77 million units in May, up from 4.66 million in April. That, according to the association, is still 3.6 percent below the 4.95 million-unit pace in May 2008.

“We are seeing some early signs that the economy is starting to recover,” Harr said.

Still, order rates in the carpet industry are still “bumping along at the bottom,” Harr said.

“Before we can say, ‘Hey, the new day is here, the sun is shining,’” Harr said, “we’ve got to see more of an uptick in demand.”

The Associated Press contributed to this story.