BCMC 2018 topped even the 1973 Show. At the Louisville fairgrounds back then, we also sold a record amount of truss machinery, but under vastly different conditions in the U.S. Housing starts had just peaked at 2.4 Million units, nearly twice current levels and 20% higher than any level since then. We gained optimism when the last troops returned from Vietnam, but lost heart when that country was quickly overrun by the North, and all our sacrifices were for naught. In 1974, housing starts declined 35% and our machinery sales dropped by over 50%.
2018 is clearly different, as indicated by the willingness of CMs to invest huge sums of money. We have logged multiple sales of the now commercialized Direct Drive System; an entire truss production process exhibited on the show floor.
Underlying this, CMs are optimistic for the following factors:
- Contracting labor force requires doing more with less workers
- Federal tax reduction freed up capital for expansion
- Eight-year housing expansion
- Historically moderate levels of housing permits (see chart).
And, anecdotally, Milwaukee BCMC Shows seem to fall in good or expanding housing years. Following that train of thought, next year’s Show in Columbus, and 2020’s in Knoxville, point to continued expansion. Stay tuned…