2015 Forecasts Looking Strong

The first major forecast for 2015 was released last week and it was chock full of positive news.  According to the Dodge Data & Analytics report, commercial building will be up 15% next year.  In addition they’ll be nice gains on the institutional side and thankfully on the public works segment as well.  The public works business been stuck in a bad place for a while, so gains there are not only good for our industry but in overall life as well.  So the only hesitations to have now are pretty simple.  Will this report be accurate, as we all know these projections in the past haven’t exactly been picture perfect.  And if it is correct, will there be glass and drivers available to deliver said glass to meet these additional needs? 

Elsewhere…

--  Despite the optimism above there were mixed messages from the various monthly reports, the ABI was strong and has bounced back from a soft middle of the year, but the Dodge Momentum Index has not been stellar recently though it is in the positive territory, just not as solid as it was earlier in the year. In addition spending on Non Residential construction also dipped which could be a red flag as well.  

--  A few of you out there may have heard me tell the story on how I desperately wanted to be selected for jury duty a few years ago and was passed over.  Making me the only person at the courthouse that day mad at being sent home at 11AM.  Well there’s a jury trial coming up, so massive, so major, and quite frankly so unreal that even I would not want anything to do with it right now.  Even though I actually find the subject to be fascinating because it involves our industry in a way.  What I am talking about is the breach of contract trial regarding the Harmon Hotel at CityCenter in Las Vegas.  The trial is expected to last one year.  Yes you read that right… a year!  There’s going to be more three million pieces of evidence and 35 lawyers will be involved in this trial that actually wrapped 12 separate cases into one.  Now if I were retired, I would LOVE to be on this jury.  Heck I have felt for years now that an oral history/book on the CityCenter project would be riveting, so doing this trial would be the icing on the cake.  But not meant to be and given the numbers of the folks brought in my odds would’ve been long anyway.  407 prospective jurors from an initial pool of 6000 will be whittled to 8 jurors and 12 alternates when all said and done.  This surely will be one to watch, I am hoping for some good coverage, or who knows may Glass Magazine will send me to be their court reporter….

--  Speaking of Glass Magazine, I was delayed in giving my “best ad of the month” award… So in the awesome October issue, some previous winners continue to stand out (Kawneer, Cardinal, Quanex) but the nod this time goes to PPG for not only their clean and catchy back cover ad, BUT the companion specialty website to go with it.  PPG has been very active creating specialty websites for specific products and promotions and they did one as well with this ad.  It’s a sharp and forward thinking maneuver.  Well done and major props to Pat Kenny, Rob Struble and everyone there who had a hand in this. 

--  Last this week, big time congratulations to my friend Jim Ventre on his promotion at Gardner Glass Products.  Jim is now Vice President of Flat Glass Sales at Gardner and that basically means he’s now big time… so that also means he’ll probably never talk with me again!  Seriously though Jim is one of the industries nicest guys, and it’s great to see him rewarded for his talent/efforts.

LINKS of the WEEK

--  Yep no one will have similar twitter name to mine.. I feelbad for guys like this who do get caught up in the world of confusion.

--  Could this really be? Hundreds of federal workers on paid leave.. some up to 3 years worth?

--  Comical link from a pal in our industry (or his brother actually)- very  “creative” and surely odd…

VIDEO of the WEEK

So NASCAR now features post race fights?  Bizarre and crazy… here it is if you missed last week’s donnybrook.  The action picks up at the :58 mark.