Dear Friends,
Since my President’s Letter in our March newsletter, business has picked up considerably. I hope it has for you as well. Unfortunately, inflation has picked up considerably as well. Please see below for more information about current pricing trends.
After several months of increases in the cost of scrap steel, its cost has declined over the past few weeks. This is due, primarily, to lessened demand in Eastern Europe. Although prices have declined, it is expected that the price for scrap steel will increase again within the next 30 to 60 days, due to increased demand in the United States and Asia.
Because of the drop in scrap steel prices, Nucor rescinded the price increase they had planned for rebar on May 1. With many distributors and contractors purchasing heavily prior to the April 1st increase, demand is down but is expected to increase as stockpiles become depleted. Expect another increase of $20 to $30 a ton by early to mid-June.
Wire mesh prices did increase by 10% on April 1 as was noted in last month’s newsletter. No increase is expected for May for the same reasons that rebar manufacturers are not raising their prices. As with rebar, expect another increase in June, as supplies diminish and demand increases.
It appears that the 10% price increase is holding for masonry reinforcing and anchors that went into effect the first part of April. With the price of scrap steel dropping, masonry reinforcing manufacturers will probably not increase prices again until demand increases or the price of wire rod increases.
Copper thru wall flashing prices are holding steady for now. As the worldwide copper price has increased over the past several weeks, expect to see copper thru wall flashing prices to increase within the next 30 to 60 days.
Polyethylene manufacturers raised prices by approximately 5% the first of April. With the rapid rise in the price of petroleum products, resin manufacturers increased prices the first week in April. The increased price of resin will force manufacturers to increase prices again by the first to the middle of May another 5% to 8%.
The one bright spot is the lumber market. As housing is in a slump, wood prices are much lower than last year and are projected to go even lower as the housing slump is continuing.
It should be noted that the increased price of fuel translates into a price increase for all types of building materials. Although many manufacturers are attempting to hold the line on prices, nearly all are charging distributors increased fuel surcharges to transport their products.
I am also happy to announce that our charity golf tournaments, which I mentioned in our newsletter a few months ago, have been firmed up for this fall. The Make-A-Wish Foundation will be the beneficiary of both of our tournaments. The first tournament will be at the beautiful Grandover Resort in Greensboro, NC, on Friday, September 7, 2007. The second tournament will be at the Woodlands Golf and Country Club in Columbia, SC, on Monday, September 17, 2007. Both tournaments will begin at noon with a shotgun start. The tournaments will be a captain’s choice (scramble) format. Box lunches will be on the carts when you tee off, and after the tournament we will have a cocktail hour followed by dinner, awards, and entertainment.
We have some very special treats in store for you. Each tournament will feature a million-dollar shootout at the end of the tournament. Each member of the winning foursome will take a shot from 165 yards, and if they hole their shot, they will win $1,000,000. We will also have prizes for a hole-in-one on each of the par threes. One par three at each tournament will have a grand prize of a brand new Ford King Ranch pickup truck for a hole-in-one, and a hole-in-one on any other of the three par threes will result in the winner getting a five-day, four-night vacation for two to cities such as New York, San Francisco, Orlando, etc., including airfare and accommodations. We will, of course, have the traditional closest to the pin competition, as well as longest drive, straightest drive, longest putt, etc.
We will also have a professional comedian serve as Master of Ceremonies for
the awards dinner, and we have booked Debbie Dahmer, a competitor from the
female long-drive tour, for the Greensboro tournament. You will be able to
pay her to hit the tee shot for your group on the 18th hole, if you so
choose. She hits the ball over 300 yards, so this might be a wise
investment! We're looking for a female pro for the Columbia tournament as
well as well as pros to put on a clinic and/or trick shot exhibition before
each event.
Our goal is to have the best golf tournaments in the construction industry in the South. If you’re interested in participating, please mark the dates for the tournament nearest you on your calendar now. More information will be coming out later in the year, but these are tournaments I guarantee you will not want to miss!
I also wanted to remind you that we are doing educational sessions over the internet each month featuring a variety of our suppliers. These educational sessions are totally free, and if you want to participate, please review the schedule and topics here: http://www.newsouthsupply.com/Webinars.htm and e-mail Glynnis Judy at glynnis.judy@newsouthsupply.com, and she will register you for the “Webinar” and send you a link that you can click on to participate in the Webinar.
Also, below is a link to the latest Producer Price Index (PPI) so that you can show your customers why your costs have escalated a lot on certain building products.
http://www.newsouthsupply.com/IndustryInfo/PPI0307.pdf
Also, if you have not signed up for our incentive travel promotion for this year, please let Glynnis know immediately. As a reminder, we are hosting an all-expense paid trip for two to the Marriott Casa Magna Resort in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, from March 5th through March 9th 2008. This trip is totally free to you if you hit your purchasing quota with us. Even if you do not fully hit your quota, if you hit 75% of your goal, you can purchase the rest of the trip at a highly discounted price. Please let us know immediately if you forgot to sign up for this trip, and we will add you to the list.
This month our featured suppliers are:
- Simpson Strong Tie. Simpson is the foremost manufacturer of construction anchors and connectors. This month, we’re featuring their connectors. For more information on the wide variety of construction connectors, please see their ad below.
- Engineered Plastics Inc. EPI is the manufacturer of the industry leading detectable warning device, Armor Tile. Armor Tile is the undisputed leader in detectable warning systems (truncated domes), and they have the widest variety and best quality of any manufacturer in the business. Below is more information about their product line.
- Hohmann & Barnard. H&B is one of our oldest suppliers and one of the biggest and best suppliers of masonry wire, flashing, and other related products. They have introduced a new integrated drip edge flashing called Flex-Flash™. For more information about this innovative new product, please scroll down.
This month’s management article is entitled, “Slow Down to Speed Up.” Many of us (myself included!) try to be multi-taskers to jam more into our day. This article talks about how you may actually accomplish more by slowing down and not multi-tasking as much. I hope you find this to be of benefit.
In closing, thank you for your support. As always, let me know if you ever have a problem or concern.
Sincerely,
Does your maintenance budget
