Still waiting for the slumping housing market to hit bottom, 84 Lumber Co. yesterday announced its third round of jobs cuts in about a year with an additional 40 to 45 positions eliminated at the Washington County building materials supplier's corporate headquarters.

Affected employees were notified yesterday, said company spokesman Jeff Nobers. A number were offered other positions, so the final layoff total isn't clear.

The cuts come just days after another player in the building supply industry, British company Wolseley, said it was reducing its North American headcount by 3,000 after revenues in that division dipped almost 10 percent in the most recent quarter.

The past two years have been difficult for many in the housing industry. Before then, real estate sales had boomed in various markets around the country, driven in part by low interest rates and sometimes creative financing. (Pittsburgh, which was not part of the housing boom, also has avoided he housing slump). Builders could barely keep up with demand in some Southern and Western markets.

The company went after that growth by opening new stores and component plants to serve home builders in states such as Florida and Arizona. But an oversupply of new homes and higher interest rates triggered a slowdown last year, and 84 Lumber's sales were flat in 2006.

About 30 people lost their jobs at 84 Lumber headquarters late last year and another 26 were let go in June. Additional positions have been cut through attrition, leaving about 640 employees there, Mr. Nobers said. "I think we're really trying to do this as efficiently as we can, impacting as few people as we can."

The private company has not yet released results for 2007 but Mr. Nobers said it has not been immune from the industry's continuing issues. In addition to reducing headcount, he said the pace of new store openings likely will slow next year.

Officials of 84 Lumber see the problems as part of the cyclical nature of the business and hope they'll be in position to take advantage of opportunities when things pick up again. "We think we're in the right markets but you have to wait for things to turn," said Mr. Nobers.

The company did close two Minnesota stores recently, exiting a market it entered only a few years ago.

Trying to predict when things will bottom out has proven difficult but at the moment the company is hoping for improvement in the second half of next year with a real recovery by 2009.

"The progressive tightening of mortgage lending conditions during 2007 has been the major factor behind the setback in home sales this year," said David Seiders, chief economist for the National Association of Home Builders, in a prepared statement earlier this week.

The builders group said home sales could begin a gradual comeback early next year if the economy avoids slipping into a recession and if conditions in the mortgage industry improve.