January 2017 Newsletter

• • For the third consecutive month the price for scrap steel posted up on January 8th by $35/ton on the Chicago Metals exchange and by a like amount on other metal exchanges in the US. Since October scrap steel prices have increased by $107/ton and many analysts expect scrap steel to post up in February. As a result, manufacturers of steel construction products increased prices in January or will increase prices soon. Other manufacturers of construction materials that we distribute also increased prices or will soon.

• • After scrap steel posted up in January domestic rebar mills announced price increases on January 10^th and 11^th of $40/ton effective immediately. Since mid-October, domestic mills have increased rebar prices by $115/ton. If the price for scrap steel posts up in February, as expected, domestic mills will, in all probability, increase prices again in February. If you have any projects which require domestic rebar, we strongly urge you to buy out these jobs as soon as possible.

• • As was noted in our December newsletter, wire rod manufacturers were expected to increase prices in February after increasing prices by $45/ton in January. Several major domestic manufacturers announced on January 10^th that they will increase prices by $45/ton effective February 1^st.  After the February 1st wire rod price increase announcements, concrete reinforcing wire mesh manufacturers indicted they will increase prices again by the first of February by 5 to 7%. As with rebar, if you have any projects that require concrete reinforcing wire mesh you should buy out these jobs as soon as possible to avoid paying higher prices in February.

• • Prices for imported rebar continued to move up in January and offerings for March//April delivery increased by around $10/ton more than offerings for January/February delivery. As of the date of this newsletter a final ruling has not been made on the trade case filed by domestic rebar manufacturers against Turkey, Japan, and Korea for dumping. It may be late winter or early spring before a final determination is made as the Department of Commerce continues to investigate the allocations.

• • Zurn Industries announced on December 29^th that they will increase prices by an average of 7% on February 1^st on their Linear Drain (trench drain) products. All orders entered prior to February 1^st must ship by March 30^th in order for Zurn to honor current prices.

• • Drew Foam Companies announced a price increase of 6% effective January 29^th on their entire line of expanded polystyrene insulations. Other expanded polystyrene insulation manufacturers are expected to follow Drew Foam’s lead and increases prices by a like percentage.

• • Roxul increased prices by 6% on all commercial board insulations on January 2^nd and Owens Corning Thermafiber increased prices by 6% on January 2^nd on their heavy density insulations and accessories.

• • Major masonry reinforcing and tie manufacturers announced they will increase prices between 12 to 15% effective January 23^rd due to recent price escalations for wire rod and zinc. Copper and stainless steel thru-wall flashing manufacturers will also increase prices between 15 to 18% on January 23^rd. All orders entered prior to January 23^rd must ship by February 15^th to be billed at the prices prior to the date of the price increase.

• • With the worldwide price of steel increasing over the past several months, manufacturers of steel construction items such as bar and wire mesh supports, nails, anchor bolts, nail stakes, and others have increased prices recently and are expected to continue to increase prices in the coming months. Be sure to get quotes from your New South sales representative if you are bidding jobs that require these types of products.

• • The producer price index (PPI) for final demand in December, not seasonally adjusted, increased 0.1% from November and 1.6% year-over-year (y/y) from December 2015, the BLS reported on January 13. AGC posted tables and an explanation focusing on construction prices and costs.

Click here for the latest update on the construction economy from Ken Simonson, the chief economist of the AGC.

Michael Sissel

Our associate profile this month is Michael Sissel, our operations manager in Greenville, SC. Michael was born in one of the other Greenville’s, Greenville, Texas. (Fun fact: Greenville is the most common city name in the US with Greenville’s being in 34 states.)
Michael graduated from Southside High School in Greenville, SC and worked with Lennar Homes and Meritage Homes as well as CMC Contractor Services before joining us in August of last year. Michael has been married for 29 years and has three children. His son Austin is 27, his daughter Spencer is 18, and his youngest son, Harrison is 12. Michael’s hobbies include building decks, camping and hiking with his son, helping with the Boy Scouts, and watching his daughter cheer. Michael has been a great addition to our Greenville team.

Our management article this month is, Using Your Leadership Megaphone. A lot of new managers aren’t comfortable asserting themselves in their new leadership position. This article will give you some great tips on how to approach your position in management.

JANUARY’S MANAGEMENT ARTICLE

Using Your Leadership Megaphone
By Anne Perschel

Congratulations and welcome to your role as a leader. Along with your title and responsibilities you also received your very own leadership megaphone. You may choose not to use it, but others will. For this reason your leadership megaphone comes with a warning label that reads, “Caution. You’re not in charge of how others use this instrument to broadcast their understanding of your message.”

How the Leader’s Megaphone Works

Your statements will be broadcast far and wide. At times you will be mis-quoted, mis-understood, or interpreted in ways you never intended. Sometimes you’ll hear about these misunderstandings and you’ll have an opportunity to set things right before too much damage is done. Other times, you’ll think everyone heard, understood and interpreted you correctly, until one or more people act in ways that make it clear your message was misunderstood. Sometimes these misinformed actions and their consequences are benign. Sometimes they’re not.

Let’s consider what happened when Charlie, a high tech vice president, innocently uttered a few words under his breath, not knowing his leadership megaphone was nearby on full volume.

Charlie was touring customers through one of the company’s assembly plants. He noted the assembly technicians were using manual screw drivers. Charlie quietly muttered to himself “Wouldn’t it be easier and more efficient if they used electronic screwdrivers?” The next week, Charlie toured the plant again. Each and every assembly tech was using an electronic screwdriver. When he asked what happened, the same engineer who ran the previous tour responded proudly, “You said you wanted everyone to use electronic screwdrivers, so we ordered them the next day.” Charlie’s leadership megaphone was working in accordance with the warning label.

This is a benign example. The sole cost was money spent, and the outcome may indeed have been greater efficiency. The more important outcome was what Charlie learned and put into practice.  He had to be more intentional about his communications and could no longer think-out-loud, before thinking silently about the unintended consequences of his words.

Wise Use Instructions for Your Leader’s Megaphone

The following principles and guidelines will help you use your leadership megaphone wisely.

• When in doubt, wait
  • You can say something later, but once said you can’t take it back
• Ask “How might my words be misinterpreted?” before you speak
• Communicate with intention by identifying
  • The desired outcome
  • The message and emotional tone that will achieve the desired outcome
• Minimize your words
  • Fewer words leave less room for misinterpretation

On that last point, a wise CEO was being introduced to speak at a event I was attending. I asked what he was going to talk about. He said, “Very little”, so I asked “Why?”

Anything I have to say, can be said in 3 minutes, which is about how long people listen attentively. After that, people are half listening and my message may well be taken out of context or misinterpreted.

He got up, spoke for 3 minutes and sat back down.