Spending: Gas prices go
down in time for the holidays
Continued from page 11B
sumer spending report showed
prices, excluding food and energy,
rose by just 1.8 percent in the 12
months ending in October, the slow
est pace since a 1.6 percent year
over-year rise in February 2004.
This inflation gauge, which is
closely followed by officials at the
Federal Reserve, should provide as
surances that inflation pressures are
not getting out of hand.
Consumer spending had posted
huge gains of 1 percent in June and
1.4 percent in July as buyers flocked
to auto showrooms to take advantage
of “employee discount” deals offers
by automakers. But spending since
that time has been buffeted by a
drop-off in auto sales, causing a 0.5
percent drop in spending in August.
Economists are hoping that a re
treat in gasoline prices from the
record highs set in early September
will help lift consumer spirits about
purchases for Christmas.
The outlook for the holiday shop
ping season got a boost earlier this
week when the Conference Board re
ported that consumer confidence re
bounded sharply in November, giv
ing hope that Americans will be
enthusiastic shoppers despite a
mixed start to the shopping season
last weekend.
The Conference Board said its Con
sumer Confidence Index rose to 98.9
this month, well above the 85.2
recorded in October and the highest
reading since August.
The income and spending report
said that the 0.4 percent rise in in
comes in October followed a huge 1.7
percent surge in September and a 1
percent plunge in August. But the Au
gust and September figures were
heavily influenced by insurance pay
ments from the hurricanes.
Americans’ personal savings, a per
cent of after-tax income, remained in
negative territory in October at minus
0.7 percent, the fifth straight month
that the savings rate has been in nega
tive territory. This means that people
have had to borrow or dip into savings
to support their spending.
Decor: Glitter mesh lights up
the holiday season, naturally
Continued from page 6B
paint to metal. Pieces are then placed
in a large stand-up oven, which melts
the powder and bonds paint to the
metal to inhibit rusting.
While the metalwork is under way,
other employees are busy cutting
PVC film in a variety of colors and
thicknesses into thin strips that will
be spun into 24-foot-long sections of
garland. By hand, seamstresses cre
ate bows from 12 inches to 7 feet tall.
The most labor-intensive part of
the entire process is wrapping strips
of lights onto the metal frames,
Milstein said.
“It takes a lot of time and has to be
done just right,” Milstein said.
Many communities are ordering
decorations with glitter mesh — wire
mesh encrusted with large, bright
flecks of glitter. Other pieces incorpo
rate “eye-catcher disks” — small cir
cles of metal that move with the wind
and reflect light.
“This is one way to save energy,
since no electricity is needed to
catch the sunlight,” Milstein said.
“And they are colorful even during
the daytime.”
Once a project is completed, it is
broken down, boxed and shipped by
tractor-trailer, UPS or airplane.
Milstein said production costs rose
this year — fabric, shipping contain
ers and transportation — but the
company saved on steel and workers
compensation by moving to Oregon.
Pay rates start at minimum wage
and go up from there, Milstein said,
depending on skill levels. The com
pany is seeking good welders
and has worked with both Linn
Benton Community College and a
private local welding school to find
qualified workers.
“We also work with area nurs
eries to share seasonal employees,”
Milstein said.
The company has already filled the
Excor Road site’s 66,000 square feet
of production space, Milstein said,
and virtually every parking space fills
up during the busy season.
“We actually got rid of quite a bit
of equipment when the company
moved here,” Milstein said. “The
wide-open space of this building in
creased our overall efficiency, and the
equipment wasn’t needed.”
Many of the machines used to cut
and twirl garland are World War II
vintage, Milstein said. “They’re solid
as a rock,” he said.
To smooth out the highs and lows
of production year-round, the compa
ny has expanded its line to include
products for disguising cellular tele
phone towers to look like trees.
“We provide all of the branch
parts. Let’s say someone wants a 50
foot blue spruce, we can do it,” Mil
stein said. “This is a year-round prod
uct, and the market is growing. It’s
really amazing how good they look. ”
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