Todd Drummond

Automation Worth Considering for the Building Industry

Todd Drummond

Automation within the building industry has been ongoing for decades but at a slower pace than other industries. So, what do we mean by automation? Let’s focus on two types: automation for building estimation and automation for roof truss manufacturing. Both will be discussed at the...

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October 2024
Issue #16303
Page 26
Carl Villella

Fixed Rate Drops Below Prime…Just in Time for BCMC!

Carl Villella

On September 18th, the Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate by half a percent, the first cut in four years. It was a welcome development, and one that should have a positive outcome for the economy. Lower interest rates stimulate economic growth, and make lending of all types less...

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October 2024
Issue #16303
Page 67
Valerie Hansen

Optimize Offsite Production by Optimizing Lumber Costs

Valerie Hansen

Lumber is mission-critical to every component manufacturer (CM). On average, it represents two-thirds of your cost-of-goods (CoG), roughly half of the value of your product (Revenue – Pretax Profit). So, what are the market dynamics that surround the purchase of lumber? And how can your...

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October 2024
Issue #16303
Page 73
Todd Drummond

Why Are So Many Companies Unknowingly Losing Millions?

Todd Drummond

Millions of dollars are being lost by many companies that don’t recognize they have a problem — Does your LBM company have more than $50 million combined sales? Quantified as a ratio of sales, according to Six Sigma case studies, the cost of poor quality, defined as waste,...

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September 2024
Issue #16302
Page 26
Carl Villella

Equipment Finance Companies to the Rescue

Carl Villella

Many companies took advantage of the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) in 2021 by bidding on projects to rebuild the nation’s roads, bridges, ports, and broadband networks. But the economic climate of 2021 when the bids were placed was much different than the...

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September 2024
Issue #16302
Page 65
Todd Drummond

Retaining Profits Amid Margin Compression

Todd Drummond

What was widely expected has finally happened. Years of very profitable high sales led to vast increases in capacity to meet that demand, but now we have declining sales volume—the classic too much supply versus not enough demand to maintain margins. Some like to call this margin...

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August 2024
Issue #16301
Page 24
Carl Villella

Playing the Interest Rate Game

Carl Villella

At the time this article was being written, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the inflation rate for June fell to 3%. Given the stubborn nature of inflation over the past year, the 3% figure was a welcome surprise. Economists and the business community in general already began...

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August 2024
Issue #16301
Page 53
Lesko Financial Services Team

Economy Still Signaling Growth at Mid-Year But Not Among All Sectors

Lesko Financial Services Team

The U.S. economy at mid-year continued to show signs of continued resilience and growth—even if such strength remains uneven throughout all sectors. The labor market consistently added jobs in the second quarter but has not kept up with expectations and, more recently, showed signs of...

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August 2024
Issue #16301
Page 62
Carl Villella

Obtaining Financing is Crucial to Maintaining Growth

Carl Villella

Credit has been tightening in our industry over the past year, making it challenging to obtain financing for new or used equipment. The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank in March of 2023, followed by the failure of First Republic Bank in May, caused a seismic shift in our...

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July 2024
Issue #16300
Page 55
Geordie Secord

Design Connections: Estimating and the Cost of Quotes

Geordie Secord

One constant thorn in the side of truss fabricators is the cost of preparing quotes, often multiple times for the same job through the life of a project. I find that this is especially true for custom homes, as they often go through numerous revisions for aesthetic, budget, zoning, and other...

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July 2024
Issue #16300
Page 90
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