A topsy-turvy week in the forecast world… no rate cut (as expected) and new forecasts for the rest of 2025 released. The AIA Consensus Forecast brings several predictions together and puts them all in one handy-dandy setup. Usually, that’s the fun of going through it and seeing who is predicting what. This time, though, it was the headlines throughout the release that really threw me. Ready for them?
No turnaround in sight for spending on nonresidential buildings
An economic slowdown is emerging
A slowdown in key growth sectors
Focus returns to traditional nonresidential building sectors
Institutional sector facing its own headwinds
4 of the 5 of these above made me reach for the bottle of Pepto-Bismol and start chugging it like a Diet Dr. Pepper on a hot summer day. Brutal. However, when you look at the actual consensus, it’s not as dire as the headlines. There are quite a few positive numbers in several categories. So taken as a whole, there’s more hope than the headline. But I’ll let you all be the judge. Check it out HERE. And regardless, it just means we keep trucking, doing all we can in the smartest ways possible.
Elsewhere….
-- ICYMI- the latest “From the Fabricator” podcast is out! Guests were Brady Nails of MT Contracting and Mike DeFrank of Country Glass. Everything from installing glass via helicopter to the latest trends was covered. Two excellent and talented guys. Thank you to all who have already checked it out, and thanks in advance to those who will soon!
Thank you to FHC-Frameless Hardware Company for sponsoring this episode.
-- This past week, I got to visit Momentum Glass in Houston, and I was utterly blown away. If it isn’t the best operation in our space, it’s darn close. From the first moment I saw the main building, then walking through a smartly organized floor complete with state-of-the-art tracking measures, to the obvious positive culture (you catch the vibe when a plant has focused people), I was awestruck. Kudos to Omar Maalouf and team on this amazing operation! Plus, I had the bonus of running into a past co-worker- Suzanne Isbell. That was very cool and had a fun few minutes reminiscing. Glad she’s at a great place and doing well.
-- A few weeks ago, I taped a podcast with Junaid Saleem of CSG Talent, and that episode dropped this week… and Junaid got me going, especially on tariffs and the economy in the US and a global view. So, I was a little more unfiltered than normal. If you want to check it out, here’s the link: https://www.csgtalent.com/insights/podcast/standout-glazing-trends--skills-gaps-and-skills-first-hiring/ or search “Conversations with CSG” on your favorite podcast platform. Thank you, Junaid and Christina Shiels, of CSG, for having me.
-- Last this week… it’s another entry into the Summer Q&A series and for this one I catch up with Brandon Bellegarde and Tyler Faulk of The Drafting Marketplace. These two always bring energy and I like that they are working hard to bring fresh resources to our space. Also, some really insightful stuff on my favorite subject of late- AI.
MAX: OK. I am thrilled to have Brandon and Tyler, you may know them as “the beards,“ at The Drafting Marketplace. Great people! First and foremost, haven't talked to you in a while. How's business, how's life over at the drafting marketplace and all your concerns?
BRANDON: Businesses going well, we're growing. We added another sales rep and we have some pretty exciting stuff in the wings, so we're excited to tell people about it, so business is going well.
TYLER: We kind of mentioned it before we started here as far as the dog days of summer and the construction outlook. It's moderate, if you will. So we're dealing with that kind of stuff like everybody. But overall, it's good. And hopefully we're coming in handy for contractors and drafters in those times where there’s a little bit of a lull.
MAX: Perfect. You guys are always coming up with new offerings. Anything you can share with me and the audience on what's coming down the pike from you guys?
BRANDON: We anticipate introducing something that truly will change the entire commercial construction industry fundamentally in a good way. We hope that we can make that announcement by the beginning of January. We're working pretty hard, pushing hard. We had a meeting earlier today with our team to walk through what we're doing. We can't tell you specifically what it is because technologically we don't want to reveal too much until the time comes.
TYLER: Brandon mentioned industry changing. We truly think it is, it's going to cover a lot of the industry, not necessarily just glazing. Our big focus is the pre-construction phase of the industry. And so that's definitely where it should make a massive, massive impact.
MAX: Wow, I can't wait. I am sure it's going to be great and I look forward to hearing it. Last question, you two are always ahead of the curve, and this is another question I ask quite a bit because the interest in it is huge. What are your takes on AI, - Artificial Intelligence.
BRANDON: Well, there are forecasts that project that in five years, a hundred million jobs that exist right now will not exist. We're currently in an environment where we have $37 trillion in national debt. As a nation, we have to increase our GDP. To do that, we have to increase our automation. And, to do that, we have to increase our energy output by something like 18 times what we're producing right now. In order to keep up with China, and in order to produce that energy, we have to spin up power plants and AI factories, which are just data centers, across the country, and that typically would take 10 to 15 years to do. But we're seeing companies right now, billion-dollar companies that are spinning them up in a year and staffing them with some of the people who work in positions that are going to be removed from society. I think we're going to see a massive disruption in a lot of the white-collar positions that exist now.
A lot of the information, heavy logic, heavy decision-making positions, I think will be phased out, and I think we're going to see a lot of automation in factories and even in construction. I think that automation will be because of AI. So, it's kind of a mixed bag, but I think overall, we will see quite an advance in our quality of life as human beings. We‘re currently entering the AI industrial revolution and we can't stop it. So, the best thing you can do is make certain you know how to use it.
TYLER: I think that there are a lot of experts in a lot of industries, whose jobs are going to get a lot easier with automation brought about by AI. And eventually, yes, there's going to be some automation that takes some jobs in the near future, nobody knows how quickly, but I think it's going to help in the interim. AI is going to help these experts be a lot more efficient and I think we'll have a little bit of time as a society, as a world, if you will, to figure out how to bend our knees for softer landing with AI and incorporate it more so than just get taken over by it. So that's kind of my positive spin on it I guess. I'm just hoping that it's more positive than it is negative and scary. But yeah, like Brandon said, it's coming. There’s nothing much we can do about it, except to absorb it and find ways to have it help us.
MAX: I like what both of you said, and sticking the landing, I think, is the big key. You’ve got to figure it out, and then you've got to stick the landing. So once again, you two are always ahead of the game, and I wish you continued success. Can't wait for the news to come out soon, and hopefully, I get to break it on the blog or at least a week after. Thanks for doing this!
LINKS of the WEEK
Fascinating. A Bull Moose is blocking a country trail, and no one knows why, and he’s not moving!
https://apnews.com/article/moose-trail-closed-adirondacks-new-york-c5d2332038ead4c127135ade1010ee13
The new Fantastic Four movie is getting strong reviews and is noted as not needing insight into all the other superhero stories.
https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/25/entertainment/fantastic-four-mcu-movie-no-guide
And once again… Dogs for the win! This time with a baseball twist in Philadelphia.
PROJECT of the WEEK
We are in the decorative realm this week, and one of the all-time leaders of this has been GGI. Starting with iconic Harlem Hospital and going from there, these folks have been putting amazing stuff out there. This week, it’s a project in Minnesota at the Rochester Athletic Club. Layered designs and custom colors can be challenges, but this one delivered! Kudos to David Balik and company on a job well done, as well to Ford Metro Glass for the install. Good stuff, making our space stand out!
