The article I published in April, Record CM Building Industry Net Profits are Coming to an End Sooner Than Most Believe, predicted that the construction industry would start seeing negative market changes around August of this year. Wow, was I right about calling that one? The continued...

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...

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...

Is your company having problems finding good employees to fill all the needed positions within your company? Are you thinking wage inflation is getting out of hand? Perhaps you should look at it from a different perspective. Multiple case studies have shown that companies with low employee...

On May 4th, the Federal Reserve Bank raised its benchmark interest rate for the second time this year. It was its biggest increase since 2000. The Fed raised rates by half a percentage point, and indicated that further increases would follow throughout the year. Its next increase is poised to...

One of my clients’ most often asked questions is, “How exactly do we track and implement an incentive program?” Most companies are willing to pay their manufacturing employees more wages (incentives) based on greater output. Yet, the vast majority of wood truss component...

As you may already be aware, the Fed has committed to raising interest rates in 2022. Will you have your financing in place before the rates move higher? One of the many advantages of working with Acceptance Leasing and Financing Service is that we have a number of financing programs that...

Recession by definition: A recession is a significant decline in economic activity spread across the economy, lasting more than a few months, normally visible in real GDP, real income, employment, industrial production, and wholesale-retail sales. A recession begins just after the economy...

The Federal Reserve Bank approved its first interest rate hike since December 2018 at their meeting in March. The interest rate hike was 0.25%. In an effort to fight inflation, the Fed indicated an aggressive path ahead, indicating that there will be rate rises at each of their six remaining...

I am, or was, an off-site construction manufacturing turnaround guy. I believe in Lean and 6-Sigma in concept, but I also know that implementing them within a company is hard. Not allowing people to slip back into their old ways is even harder. Many programs go by the wayside once management...