This past week we had two major construction related indexes
release reports that featured some interesting takeaways. First from the
General Contractor level, the results were not very rosy and somewhat
surprising. The Associated Builders and
Contractors (ABC) Construction Confidence Index (CCI) is a study/survey that
takes 6 months into account and looks at the business in a few different areas-
Sales, Profit Margin, and Staffing. So
for the latest CCI, tracking the last 6 months of 2015, all three indicators
were actually down. I can see staffing
as a challenge but I have to admit that Sales and Profit being off is a
shock. And those of you dealing with
GC’s each day probably agree. Now the
numbers are obviously much better than they were in 2012, but still interesting
to see that the end of 2015 was not a major success for this side of the world-
at least according to the index.
Meanwhile the monthly Architectural Billings Index (ABI) was released
and it ticked up again coming in at 51.9.
New project inquiries were down slightly but they are still in a very
healthy territory and regionally only the Midwest did not crack the break even
mark of 50, finishing slightly under at 49.8.
So overall the ABI continues to be a source of positivity as we keep our
eyes glued to 2017. 2Q usually sees a
boost in new project inquiries, so we’ll see if that indicator starts moving
that way or not.
Elsewhere…
-- Environmental Product Declarations is an area I am
admittedly weak on. So I have been trying to educate myself and I came across
this excellent article that provided solid insight.
-- If you somehow missed the great blog post by Kris Iverson on
last week’s e-glass weekly, here’s the link.
Hiring is so incredibly hard; so any additional help is always
appreciate.
-- Via Facebook I saw the news on changes at Vos Glass in Western
Michigan. Vos is one of those very
respected brands and I am a big fan of Linda Vos-Graham who ran the company
until now with a new team taking over. I
hope Linda is able to stay involved (if she wants) in the industry- her smarts
and perspective were huge parts of events like the Glazing Executives
Conference.
-- We are about a month from the next event that many in the
industry will participate in one way or another. The 2016 AIA show is in Philadelphia this
year and given its location and timing (better in May than in June) I have a
feeling it could be very busy. The fact
it’s busy is not usually a guarantee for the exhibitors of a good show though
since the event is so vast and education is still the priority, but the
potential is there.
-- Last this week… Prince passing away. I’m a fan, have listened to his music for
years. What I did not expect was how
many people were HUGE fans and the outpouring of love and respect for him. It was Michael Jackson like including
wall-to-wall coverage on the cable news channels. Tough run for music superstars with David
Bowie and now Prince passing away in such a short time.
LINKS of the WEEK
-- I love my FitBit and good to know that it can also potentially save my life… for now it reminds me that I suck at working
out. Ha Ha
-- Beware what may happen when you take sleeping pills. You may buy a cow.
-- Wild story on a real life cast away luckily saved by a
reality tv crew.
VIDEO of the WEEK
The first trailer for the new movie “The Founder” is
out. This is the story of Ray Kroc who
built the McDonald’s empire. The movie
looks amazing…
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