Dear Friends:
Half of 2008 is almost gone, and it continues to be an extremely interesting year. Residential construction products are largely seeing significant price deflation, and commercial construction products are seeing significant price inflation. Commercial construction is down in most markets, but our main market, the Southern United States, continues to do from pretty well to very well depending on the market. However, rampant inflation and tightening lending standards threaten to derail the construction economy in the South.
As I have been saying in previous newsletters this year; “We refuse to take part in a recession.” To that end, we have this statement on bumper stickers which say that and these are, available at all of our branches.
Click here for an example.
If you would like to do your part in staving off a recession, please stop by one of our branches for a bumper sticker, or send me or your sales representative an e-mail requesting one. You can also get one of our “Know How. Can Do” bumper stickers, Both of which are posted on our website. Just let us know if you want one or both. They look great on the back of a pickup truck or a BMW!
This month, we have launched the website for our annual New South Charity Classic Golf Tournaments benefiting the Make-A-Wish foundation. If you were at our inaugural tournaments last year, you know that we achieved our goal of hosting the most first-class golf tournaments in the construction industry, while also granting wishes for children with life threatening illnesses. Anyone who attended last year will tell you that they had a great time. Most also got a bit choked up when the “wish children” in attendance picked up the checks granting their wishes and thanked all of the players and sponsors for making that happen.
If you want to play this year, I suggest you sign up immediately, as we fully expect to sell out and have a waiting list. If you are put on the waiting list, spaces will be filled based upon the date that you tried to sign up, if a spot becomes available. Also, this year, you can pay online. If you want to help even more, you may choose from the few remaining sponsorships available on our website, and pay online for that as well.
The last piece of news I have about our golf tournament is that, like last year,
we will have female touring pros engaged in contest with our participants.
If you can out-drive or hit it closer to the pin than the gals, you will
win extra raffle tickets that can be used for outstanding prizes in the
raffle after our banquet at each event. Last year, Debbie Dahmer and Lizzy Uthoff
wowed the crowds at the events in which they participated. Both Debbie and Lizzy
will be back this year. We also have a new face joining us at our Columbia Tournament.
If you are not familiar with Valeria Ochoa,
click here to check out her website.
Val is not only a tremendous golfer, but she is also a model and a TV and film celebrity. She will add yet another great touch to our already spectacular tournaments.
Registration is now open for both tournaments. Click here to register
for the Columbia tournament and click here for the Greensboro tournament registration.
Now onto a more somber note – prices keep escalating for most of the products we sell. To get more specific information about the major product lines we sell, please see below.
The record high price of oil and natural gas continued to drive prices for most construction products upward in June. Due to their increased costs to manufacture and transport their products, many manufacturers were forced to increase prices in June, or have announced increases that will take effect in July. This is especially true of any products which contain oil and natural gas derivatives.
Dow Chemical Company, the leader in extruded polystyrene products for the construction industry, announced they would increase prices by 10% on their Styrofoam ® Brand insulation products effective July 1st. This increase is in addition to an increase of 6% that went into effect on May 7th. Other manufacturers of extruded polystyrene insulation implemented a similar increase in May and have announced they will increase prices in July also. As polystyrene resin is a petroleum derivative, manufacturers of extruded polystyrene insulations may be forced to raise prices again later this year if the price of oil continues to increase. If you have upcoming projects which require extruded polystyrene insulation, you should consider buying out these projects as soon as possible.
Prices for PVC construction products, such as masonry control joints and waterstops, rose by 6-8% in May, due to increased resin costs. As their cost for PVC resin increased again by another $.02/lb in June, manufacturers of PVC construction products either raised prices in late June, or announced they will do so in early July by another 5-8%. Please keep this in mind as you are preparing your bids for future projects.
Despite weak domestic demand, polyethylene manufacturers were forced to raise prices by 5% in June, due to another resin increase which took effect in early June. As polyethylene resin manufacturers have already announced they will raise prices again in July, expect prices for polyethylene to increase by another 5-6% in July.
Manufacturers of plastic construction accessories have announced they will increase prices on July 1st due to their increased cost for resins and transportation. Prices for items such as plastic rebar/ wire mesh supports and rebar safety caps will increase by about 10% in July.
Meadow Burke, Dayton Superior, and Universal Building Products, the leading domestic manufacturers of concrete forming and steel bar supports, all have announced they will increase prices on all steel products by 10-15% effective July 1st due to their increased costs for steel. They also have indicated they will raise prices again in August, as they have been advised by their suppliers to expect another increase in their costs for wire rod and steel plate in July.
Foreign demand continued to drive the price for rebar to unprecedented highs in June. Domestic prices for rebar rose again in June, despite weak domestic demand. Although scrap steel prices declined slightly in June, Nucor raised their base price by $30.00/ton on June 11th and announced another increase of $35.00/ton effective July 1st. Other domestic rebar manufacturers immediately followed Nucor’s lead. The net effect of these two increases will cause the cost to the contractor to increase by approximately 7%. As the price of foreign rebar continues to be more expensive than domestic rebar, industry analysts expect domestic prices to continue to rise each month for the next several months.
We strongly recommend you to buy out any projects you may have which require rebar as soon as possible.
Prices for masonry reinforcing, masonry anchors, and veneer ties will increase yet again in July, as manufacturers’ costs for wire rod and steel plate continues to spiral upward. Wire Bond, Hohmann & Barnard, and Dayton (Dur-O-Wal) have announced they will increase prices the first week in July by 15% on masonry reinforcing and 20% for all steel plate masonry ties and anchors. This will be the fifth increase this year, as domestic wire rod and steel plate manufacturers continue to raise prices. It is also expected that the costs for wire rod and steel plate will rise even more over the next several months, so manufacturers of masonry reinforcing, ties, and anchors will increase prices in the coming months. In order to avoid future price increases, we urge you to buy out any projects you may have that require these items.
Concrete reinforcing mesh manufacturers did increase prices in June, as expected, due to their increased cost for wire rod. The June increase of 6% was less than the expected 10% increase, due to weak domestic demand. Although demand remains weak, mostly due to the decline in residential construction, wire mesh manufacturers have indicated they will be forced to increase prices in July, as wire rod mills have announced another price increase for July. Expect prices for concrete reinforcing mesh to rise by another 6% in July. Please be sure to factor this increase in when preparing your bids.
The prices for all types of masonry thru-wall flashings will increase in July. With prices for copper and stainless steel at record highs, manufacturers of copper and stainless steel flashings have indicated they will be increasing prices by 5-6% in July. As a major component of peel-and-stick thru wall flashings is petroleum based, manufacturers will increase prices by approximately 10% July 1st due to their increased costs. PVC thru-wall flashings will also increase by 6% as resin manufacturers increased prices in June.
Also, the latest PPI tables are out.
To view them, click here.
This month, we are featuring the following suppliers:
- PNA Construction Technologies is the leader in plate dowels for load transfer in concrete construction. We’re happy to announce that we are now distributors for PNA at all of our locations. PNA is spec’d in almost all big box stores and mega warehouses. If you need their dowels, please let us quote you from now on.
- BASF Construction Chemicals is part of the world’s largest chemical company, BASF of Germany. They produce noted brand names such as Sonneborn, Master Builders, Thoro, Thoroc, and many other well-known construction industry brands. For more information about their products, please see below.
- Raven Industries is one of the largest manufacturers of vapor barriers and related products. A little known fact about Raven is that they have a division that also makes all of the balloons for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. For more information about their product line, please check out their ad below.
This month’s management article is entitled “The Lost Art of Shutting Up.” Anyone who knows me knows that I need to read this article and take it to heart! I hope some of you will benefit from it as well.
One other thing we wanted to mention - many of you have already seen the customer survey we sent by email two weeks ago. Your opinion is very important to us
and we always want to ensure we are providing superior service to our valuable customers. If you have not already done
so, we'd appreciate it if our customers would take 2-3 minutes to answer this short list of questions.
The survey is available by clicking here.
In closing, the year continues to go well for us, and we hope it is for you as well. If you are a golfer, don’t wait to sign up for our golf tournaments, as I guarantee there will be a waiting list at each event. Some companies who entered one team of four players last year have already indicated they are going to enter three or four teams this year. Plus, many of our suppliers who did not attend last year heard about the quality of these events and the good that is done by granting “wishes” and say they are entering teams this year.
As always, thank you for your business. Don’t hesitate to let me know if we ever fall short of your expectations.
Best Regards,
Jim
Jim Sobeck
President
(864) 325-6518
jim.sobeck@newsouthsupply.com
The lost art of shutting up
What the presidential candidates (and the rest of us) need to know
It's an election year, and if there ever was a need for clarity in communication, it's now. And yet no matter how specific the question or how many times it's asked, the candidates from both parties just seem to drone on and on. With all the consultants and advisors they're using to ensure they win their party's nomination, you'd think that at some point there would be a briefing that started with the statement, Let's try actually answering a question concisely and precisely during this debate and see if our numbers go up, what do ya say?
Mike Staver, coach, professional speaker, and author of Do You Know How to Shut Up? And 51 Other Life Lessons That Will Make You Uncomfortable (Mac Daddy Publishing, 2008, ISBN: 978-0-9801857-0-6, $14.95), says that if you think you don't suffer from the same problems as the candidates, think again. You probably do — and if you don't, you know someone who does. Thankfully, he has some advice to bring some clarity to your communication.
"Have you ever been in a conversation with a person who has already made his point but just won't let it go?" asks Staver. "Worse yet, are you that person? Some people love the sound of their own voices, while others may simply chatter on out of nervousness or because they are uncomfortable with silence. Regardless, it's annoying and counterproductive."
He points out that many people unconsciously and repetitively make decisions to keep talking until the anxiety of silence goes away, or they are convinced that the dead horse is sufficiently beaten into the mind of the listener. Underlying this behavior is often a lack of confidence and clarity on their point or position.
"It's a problem that can affect practically any adult," insists Staver. "Parents notoriously say I am only going to say this once and then proceed to lecture until the kid's eyes glaze over. Bosses drone on and on in a meeting when their points could have been made in five minutes. Politicians answer yes-or-no questions with a monologue on everything but the answer."
Here's the thing: Shutting up is a valuable skill to learn in business, in personal relationships—really, in all areas of life. "By shutting up once in a while, you will appear more confident and intelligent to everyone you come in contact with," says Staver. "Plus, it's amazing how much you can learn when you stop running your mouth."
Do you want to learn how to just shut up once and for all? Keep reading for some of Staver's tips—excerpted from his (appropriately) concise and to-the-point book—on speaking your mind in a brief and highly efficient manner.
1. Be clear with yourself about what you are attempting to communicate.
2. Share with the person (when it isn't obvious) what you want to accomplish.
3. Avoid, at all costs, getting distracted by other issues, ideas, points, stories, and so forth.
4. Use talk-ending techniques like:
- Saying, "So, what are the next steps?"
- Using an example that sums things up (if it is a public presentation). (Then stop.)
- Focusing on getting to the end of what you have to say in minimal time.
- Using as few words as possible.
5. Give information in an amount the listener can reasonably digest—not the amount you personally feel compelled to share.
6. Ask someone you know and trust to give you feedback on the volume of words you use, the degree to which you are clear, and the degree to which you are concise. It is very important that you are both.
"It really is that simple," concludes Staver. "Once you become comfortable speaking less and in effect getting your information across better, shutting up will come naturally even to the most long-winded person. Start practicing today. You will become much less annoying and much more effective. Shutting up can change your life!"
