Housing Pain Spreads

The meltdown in the U.S. housing market keeps burning more companies.

The troubles felt by homebuilders and mortgage lenders have been well documented, but earnings reports in the past two days also showed that companies ranging from home-appliance manufacturers to pool builders are feeling the pain.

Whirlpool(WHR Quote), Mohawk Industries(MHK Quote) and Pool Corp.(POOL Quote) each reported weakness in the U.S. in the second quarter due to troubles in the housing and construction market.

Whirlpool said early Friday that sales of its refrigerators and other appliances in the U.S. fell 6% in the quarter, partly pressured by the housing weakness.

"The housing market we believe will continue to be weak until middle 2008," Whirlpool management said on the company's earnings call Friday morning.

Shares were down $4.24, or 3.6%, to $112.42 in recent trading.

Whirlpool's overall earnings jumped 77%, helped by strong international sales and increased efficiencies from last year's acquisition of Maytag.

While housing sales remain a driver for some appliance sales, Whirlpool expects overall U.S. appliance demand to pick up later in the year. The company maintained its forecast for earnings per share of $8 to $8.50 for 2007.

Mohawk Industries, the largest supplier of flooring materials in the U.S., late Thursday reported quarterly earnings ahead of Wall Street estimates but gave weak guidance.