The demand for wall panel equipment after World War II was unprecedented, even to this day. Industrialization was in the air, and factory-built wall panels became the gateway, even before roof trusses. Most of the action was in the affordable housing sector, driven by the mobile home, modular,...

As you look to finance new or used equipment for your business, look beyond just the interest rate to find opportunity. Traditional banks may have their “Loan Sales,” but brokers can provide promotions offered by their numerous funding sources that far outshine what a bank can...

The first quarter of 2024 ended on a positive note, which hopefully will prove to be a solid foundation for the remainder of the year. Despite lingering inflation, the U.S. economy continued to show resilience and added increasing optimism for the much-sought-after “soft...

Driven by the dire shortage of housing entering the 1950s, Levittown sparked a fervor for homes to be built like cars on assembly lines. Fortunately, there was a crop of returning veterans ready to oblige, whether by building whole houses or just parts of houses. William Levett delved into...

Taking a look at what some of the analysts are saying, it appears that the consensus is that the period of near-zero interest rates is not likely to return anytime soon. Going back to 1870, or roughly 60% of the time, the U.S. Treasury yields have been in the 3.5% to 5.5% range. Fed Chair...

In last month’s article, Designing for Resiliency, I present some of my thoughts on how changing the design approach for wood trusses could aid in making future homes more resilient to the types of climate extremes that seem to be ahead of us. Whether you think that climate change is a...

Before SBCA “signed off” on 2022–2023 President Gene Frogale’s stellar leadership, he was already developing a new product to benefit component plants. Now, as he is working on an innovative insulated wall stud, the only evidence of his prior accomplishment, a large...

Prefabricated wall panels made their first big impact under a government program in World War II. In 1942, the federal government began contracting with 50 existing prefab housing plants to deliver dwellings for 42,000 wartime workers. Since this work was highly repetitive and required rapid...

Over the last few months, we have seen rates drop for those seeking to finance new or used equipment. Economists are pointing to even lower rates as the year goes on, but of course that will depend on whether the economy continues its downward inflation trend or not, on its way to the 2%...

The construction supply industry saw high lending rates and a relative lack of big transactions result in 22% fewer deals involving 2.6% fewer locations in 2023 vs. 2022. There also were 10% fewer buyers, with several big players barely present. But greenfield openings, while down 5% from 2022,...