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What was widely expected has finally happened. Years of very profitable high sales led to vast increases in capacity to meet that demand, but now we have declining sales volume—the classic too much supply versus not enough demand to maintain margins. Some like to call this margin...

In the early morning hours of July 19, 2024, there was a major collapse of world commerce. According to the company CrowdStrike, a defect in a content update to its Falcon cybersecurity defense software for Windows caused a world-wide crash that impacted many businesses, most notably the...

It is that time of year again. With just two months until BCMC 2024 in Milwaukee, WI, here is some BCMC homework as you begin considering capital expenditures (CapEx). It is crucial to go beyond just the financial metrics like ROI and take into account several qualitative factors. And yes, all...

With only two months until the next Building Component Manufacturers Conference (BCMC), everyone is hard at work preparing for the show! BCMC last year was successful. We look forward to this opportunity each year to connect with our customers, industry professionals as well as showcasing the...

At the time this article was being written, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the inflation rate for June fell to 3%. Given the stubborn nature of inflation over the past year, the 3% figure was a welcome surprise. Economists and the business community in general already began...

The U.S. economy at mid-year continued to show signs of continued resilience and growth—even if such strength remains uneven throughout all sectors. The labor market consistently added jobs in the second quarter but has not kept up with expectations and, more recently, showed signs of...

If you are production oriented, I’m betting that you have frequently looked at your watch, phone, or computer to see what time it was. Time is a precious commodity, especially when you are supporting production. When I was a kid, first starting out in manufacturing as a sweeper, and came...

Undoubtedly you’ve seen many articles talking about mass timber, but you may not be very familiar with what products are included and some of their applications. In speaking with some light-frame component manufacturers over recent years, I have heard many of them mention that they are, or...

In this publication, I reviewed glued parallel chord truss joists (or glued-joint open web wood trusses) in the August 2021 issue and glued roof trusses in the April 2023 issue. This article focuses on parallel chord glued trussed floor joists utilizing the new G-technology,...

This article appears in the April 2024 issue of STRUCTURE Magazine as Part 6 of 9. Reprinted with permission. This multi-part series discusses significant structural changes to the 2024 International Building Code (IBC) by the International Code Council (ICC). This article includes...