Illinois Tool Works CEO predicts weak 2011 for housing industry

The Illinois Tool Works CEO, whose company makes equipment for housing construction, predicts no housing industry improvement until 2012:

The U.S. housing industry will continue to struggle through 2011 and likely won’t improve significantly until 2012, Illinois Tool Works Inc. Chairman and Chief Executive David Speer predicts.

High rates of mortgage of foreclosures and falling housing prices will continue to provide headwinds for sales of new and existing homes, Mr. Speer says. Moreover, persistently high levels of unemployment will dampen consumers’ interest in residential real estate.

“The consumer is still facing tremendous challenges, certainly in the housing market,” Mr. Speer says.

Mr. Speer’s Glenview, Ill., company operates more than 800 separate manufacturing businesses covering a variety of industrial sectors, including construction, automotive, packaging and food service. About 20% of ITW’s $13.9 billion in sales last year came from products used in real estate construction and remodeling work.