The Last Word: Total U.S. Housing Starts Joe Kannapell This isn’t the last word on housing, but only my perspective after nearly 50 years of observation. If I could have chosen any time to have started in this business, I would choose the last five years. It certainly wouldn’t have been in the turbulent 1970s (when I started) or the... Read More March 2018 Issue #10224 Page 103
BCMC 2017 Omaha Joe Kannapell This year’s Show, some 45 years after my first, brought some amazing revelations. The most awesome sight was an actual working truss plant on the Show floor. The most intriguing experience was being transported inside a robotic plant. And, the most welcome sounds were good economic... Read More November 2017 Issue #10220 Page 6
BCMC Innovations Joe Kannapell The quickening of innovation will be on display at BCMC this month, and, undoubtedly, so will be the uptake. Suppliers use this platform to launch new products, sometimes rather humbly. Art DePauw sold his prototype “automated” saw to two industry giants, Charlie Barnes and Dave... Read More October 2017 Issue #10219 Page 6
Lumber Briefs: Housing’s Growth Rings Matt Layman Housing Inventory Looking Bullish Seven years later, the Great Recession now a memory, and as many years of construction growth behind us, the US housing situation is “critical.” We have added fewer new single family homes over the last decade than any of the previous five... Read More July 2017 Issue #10216 Page 73
The Future of Closed-Wall Panels Joe Kannapell The linear saw and auto-jigging reduce plant labor but they don’t increase the selling price of components, like the Blueprint Robotics panelization does, in spades. And, as more plants automate, component sales dollars may actually be eroded by price-cutting in a flat housing market. Is... Read More March 2017 Issue #10212 Page 16
German Robotics in U.S. Housing Joe Kannapell German invaders have landed on our shores intent on leapfrogging our component industry. Their huge investment and their unconventional processes are now being tested on a jobsite not far from their high-tech, 200,000 sq. ft. Baltimore plant. Their name, Blueprint Robotics, invokes a... Read More February 2017 Issue #10211 Page 13
Lumber Briefs: Anticipated 2x4 Prices H1-2017 Matt Layman Part Three in the Save Money Series I certainly do not have crystal ball, but I do have something almost as good. I have history and the ability to analyze the market from a fundamental and technical perspective. Together they provide an 86% accurate forecast of when prices will rise and... Read More January 2017 Issue #10210 Page 59
The Last Word: Where is the Truss Business Headed? Joe Kannapell At BCMC, we learned that a recession often follows a presidential election, but that housing may not be much affected this time (per Mark Vintner of Wells Fargo). Many of us shrugged this off, especially after observing the brisk sales activity on the show floor, though our past experience... Read More November 2016 Issue #09208 Page 75
Lumber Can Wait Matt Layman What has changed? In my early childhood, you could ride around town on a Sunday morning and notice and obvious quietness. Certainly not everyone was preparing for church, but the overwhelming majority of families were tidying up, putting on their Sunday-go-to-meeting attire, and heading out... Read More October 2016 Issue #09207 Page 51
Lumber Market Briefing Matt Layman Market Summary This is an FDP reversal week as well as a 3-week interval. This three week interval is the third consecutive one making this rally now nine weeks old. Historically, "extended" trends last nine weeks. This one has certainly given buyers ample time and opportunity to... Read More April 2016 Issue #09201 Page 44