Fourth Quarter Arrives with More Questions and Challenges Ahead Lesko Financial Services Team The markets and the economy still face a number of challenges from lingering inflation, ongoing Fed rate hikes, and geopolitical instability. This is playing out within a context of a stock market that has declined—recent gains the exception—even if it has already priced-in a lot of... Read More November 2022 Issue #14280 Page 94
Perseverance and Success in the Components Industry Tracy Roe Having just returned from the best BCMC in almost two decades, I want to share some reflection. Our industry was deemed essential during the pandemic, and we outperformed many other sectors. Demand for wood components continued to stay strong through it all. Today, defeating the odds of... Read More October 2022 Issue #14279 Page 42
Added Value From Your Funding Source Carl Villella It’s important to explore your options when considering the financing of your business equipment. There are a number of financing companies out there, as well as local banks, and it’s likely that the rates and additional interest charges will differ. Do you go with the... Read More October 2022 Issue #14279 Page 86
LBM’s Pace of Deals Hasn’t Slowed But Fewer Yards Are Involved Craig Webb Year-to-date, the construction supply community has had 97 deals made by 50 buyers. At this same point in 2021, Webb Analytics counted 102 deals by 50 buyers. So much for predictions of a slowdown in M&A in 2022. What’s different is the size of the deals: A total of 255 yards have... Read More October 2022 Issue #14279 Page 106
Thirty Years of Helping Clients Like You Carl Villella We all recognize that to survive in business for thirty years is quite an accomplishment. This year, we celebrate our milestone 30th anniversary by reflecting on how we not only survived, but thrived, to make it to this point. Here’s how we did it: By earning your TRUST. While we... Read More September 2022 Issue #14278 Page 39
How to Buy Now While Saving Working Capital Carl Villella Finance Your Purchase Instead of Placing a Lump Deposit The supply chain disruptions in the economy present one of the more difficult aspects facing clients in the current economic environment. Clients are waiting up to one year to receive equipment, when in the past they have only had to... Read More August 2022 Issue #14277 Page 37
How Are Dealers Feeling Today? Positively Nervous Craig Webb Collect dozens of anecdotes from travels, panels, emails, and social media interactions, as I have recently, and three trends emerge to summarize the state of construction supply today: Dealers say demand remains strong, with only marginal easing of supply chain pressures. In contrast,... Read More August 2022 Issue #14277 Page 76
Third Quarter Challenges Slow Growth Forecasts for Rest of 2022 Lesko Financial Services Team The U.S. economy starts the third quarter with some strong challenges that rattled the ongoing recovery in Quarter 2 and are likely to filter through to the next few months. Among them are lingering inflation, the prospect of several additional aggressive Federal Reserve rate hikes, and... Read More August 2022 Issue #14277 Page 91
Navigating Rising Interest Rates Carl Villella On June 15th, the Federal Reserve Bank raised its benchmark interest rate for the third time this year. It was its biggest increase since 1994. The Fed raised rates by three quarters of a percentage point, and indicated that further increases would follow in July. Nonetheless, Fed chairman... Read More July 2022 Issue #14276 Page 69
5 Tips for Surviving Stagflation Craig Webb When one of housing’s biggest optimists changes his outlook, attention must be paid. Stephen Kim, senior managing director and head of Evercore ISI’s Housing Research Team, had declared in September 2020 that housing had entered a Golden Age. But that changed on June... Read More July 2022 Issue #14276 Page 96