How High Will Interest Rates Go? Carl Villella A question everyone has been asking lately – how high will interest rates go this year – got a new possible answer in March. As usual, the predicable became unpredictable again. This time, it is the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), and the ensuing danger it posed for the... Read More April 2023 Issue #15285 Page 65
How One Wood Truss Industry Leader Uses Industrial Engineering Practices of Work Minutes to Excel Todd Drummond We can always learn things from industry leaders, whether we work with them directly or simply appreciate what they have accomplished. A perfect example comes from A-1 Industries and their commitment to using industrial engineering practices and work minutes. Although TDC has not performed... Read More March 2023 Issue #15284 Page 25
Why Asset-Based Financing? Carl Villella Why should you use asset-based financing? This is a question we get quite often. Prospective buyers of commercial equipment wonder what advantages there are to asset-based financing, if any. First and foremost is the advantage of not having to outlay a lot of cash upfront to have use of the... Read More March 2023 Issue #15284 Page 63
Deals Report 2022: Tracking the Openings, Closings, and Acquisitions Craig Webb Where you wanted to be and what you wanted to sell both figured mightily as factors in construction supply’s acquisition, openings, and closures activity in 2022. Deals were almost as numerous as in 2021, but big deals were rarer. Meanwhile, greenfield openings were far more... Read More March 2023 Issue #15284 Page 90
Forecasting Inflation and Interest Rates Carl Villella The economic focus these days continues to be on inflation and interest rates. As business owners, we all grapple with the difficulties of trying to plan when you don’t know where prices will be, or how expensive it will be to borrow money. The Fed has already raised interest rates a... Read More February 2023 Issue #15283 Page 69
First Quarter Brings Hints of Later-Year Move Toward Recovery Lesko Financial Services Team The start of a new quarter and a new year bring with them a cautious glimmer of optimism that the economy is finally poised to begin a slow turn-around toward a gradual recovery. To be sure, many challenges remain for households that have been weathering inflation for more than 18 months. But... Read More February 2023 Issue #15283 Page 90
Don’t Be Blind to Simple Truths for the 2023 Build Season Todd Drummond An article written and published by Russ Kathrein on LinkedIn, “The Eyes See What the Brain Believes,” struck a nerve for me. In summary, the statement “believe it when I see it” is more often than not false. As someone who has made a living assisting others for over... Read More January 2023 Issue #15282 Page 26
Proof That Even the Largest Wood Truss CMs are Not Immune to Losing Tens of Millions of Dollars with Outdated Reporting Todd Drummond Despite the fantastic profits these past few years, some of the largest wood truss component manufacturers (CM) are losing tens of millions of dollars hidden in plain sight. Talk to any of the executives at these CMs, and they will be able to rattle off the EBITA or other P/L results, yet they... Read More December 2022 Issue #14281 Page 26
About Those Rising Interest Rates… Carl Villella It’s true that interest rates have been rising. With inflation at its highest in decades, the Federal Reserve (“the Fed”) had few options but to raise interest rates in its attempt to cool the upward movement of prices. And yet the job market continues strong, indicating the... Read More December 2022 Issue #14281 Page 88
Labor Shortages Worse Than Most Understand and Automation is Not Going to Be the Cure-All Solution Todd Drummond Time and again, executives state they are having problems finding enough qualified people to staff all the needed positions within their company. The truth is that this problem will get much worse, and you need to understand why to fix it. TDC has found that companies with the best employee... Read More November 2022 Issue #14280 Page 24