Problem making target when prerequisite is newer than target

[Geoff Alexander]

I'm having a problem where a target is not remade even though its
prerequisite is newer:

         Successfully remade target file `confRoutine.o'.
        Finished prerequisites of target file
   `/home/cmvcbld/cmvcCS1.8-006/src/lib/tools.a'.
        Prerequisite `confRoutine.o' is newer than target
   `/home/cmvcbld/cmvcCS1.8-006/src/lib/tools.a'.
       No need to remake target
   `/home/cmvcbld/cmvcCS1.8-006/src/lib/tools.a'.

The rule used to build the target is

   $(LIB) dummy.a: $(MEMBERS)
      ar rv $@ $?
      $(RANLIB) $@

where

   LIB = $(TOP)/src/lib/tools.a
   TOP = /home/cmvcbld/cmvcCS1.8-006
   MEMBERS = confRoutine.o
   RANLIB = ranlib

I'm running GNU make 3.79.1 under SuSE Linux 7.0 on a Pentium PC.  I also
have the same problem with GNU make 3.77.  I'd appreciate any help on
figuring out why the target is not being remade.  Could this possibly be a
bug in GNU make?

Thanks,
Geoff Alexander, Ph.D.
919/254-5216 T/L 444-5216
CMVC95 WebDAV Development
IBM Corporation
RTP, NC