March 2017 Newsletter

• After resin manufacturers increased prices in both February and March, several other manufacturers of construction products we distribute either increased prices in March or will increase prices in April. On March 7^th the price for scrap steel posted up by $40/ton on the Chicago Metals Exchange and some analysts expect the price to post up again in April. As a result of scrap steel posting up manufacturers of some steel construction products increased prices in March.

• Advanced Drainage Systems (ADS), the largest domestic manufacturer of polyethylene corrugated drainage pipe increased prices by 8% effective March 21^st. The February and March resin price increases were cited by ADS as the reason for their price increase.

• R Max announced on February 27^th a 7% price increase on polyisocyanurate insulations effective April 1^st, due to increased raw material costs. They will offer no price protection for orders not shipped on order before March 31^st.

• On March 1^st, GCP Applied Technologies notified their distributors that they will increase prices by 7.5% on certain waterproofing and air barrier products April 1^st. All orders must be placed by March 24^th for immediate release to be invoiced at current prices.

• Right Pointe will implement an 8% price increase on their entire line of hot applied jointsealants effective April 1^st. All orders must be shipped prior to April 1^st for Right Pointe to honor current prices.

• Carlisle Coatings & Waterproofing will increase prices effective April 1^st due to increased raw materials costs. Prices for commercial waterproofing products and air barriers will be increased by 7% and prices for drainage products will increase by 4%.

• Most polyolefin under slab vapor barrier manufacturers, including Raven Industriesand Stego, increased prices by approximately 5% the first week in March and have announced a second price increase for April 1^st of 6 to7%. If you are bidding projects which specify polyolefin vapor barriers, please be sure that you get a current quote from your New South Construction Supply sales representative.

• PNA Construction Technologies, a subsidiary of ITW Commerical Construction North America, announced a 5 to 6% price increase on all steel products effective March 20^th.  Diamond Dowels, PD3 baskets, Armor Edge, square dowels, and round dowels are some of the products which will be affected. PNA will honor current prices for orders placed prior to March 20^th and shipped by April 20^th.

   

• After scrap steel posted up by $40/ton on March 7^th, domestic rebar mills in the southeast quickly increased prices. Nucor announced a $25/ton price increase on March 8^theffective immediately, and other domestic mills including CMC and Gerdau made  like announcements on March 9^th. Many analysts expect scrap steel to post up again in early April and if it does, expect domestic rebar mills to increase prices shortly thereafter. We strongly urge you to buy out any requirements you have for domestic rebar as soon as possible to avoid paying higher prices in the future.

• Expanded polystyrene insulation manufacturers increased prices by 10% March 1^st and most have announced another 10% price increase for April 1^st. Escalating resin costs, as well as other increased raw material costs, were cited by manufacturers as the reasons for their increasing prices for two consecutive months.

• Offerings for imported rebar for late April/early May shipments in the southeast are 6 to 7% higher than what offerings were for late March/early April delivery. Offers for July delivery are 12% higher than April/May offerings. When the July imported rebar is available for shipment, prices will have increased by nearly 30% since January. As with domestic rebar, if you have any requirements for imported rebar, we recommend buying out these requirements as soon as possible.

• ABT, Inc, manufacturer of polymer concrete trench drains, announced on March 16^th a price increase effective April 1^st. The amount of the price increase will be between 2 and 3%, depending on the item. Rising raw material costs, especially steel, was given as the reason for the price increase.

• The producer price index (PPI) for final demand in February, not seasonally adjusted, increased 0.4% from January and 2.2% year-over-year (y/y) from February 2017, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported recently. 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.

Max Vernerey

Our associate profile this month is of Max Vernerey, a data analyst in our headquarters in Greenville, SC. Max was born in Paris, France and graduated from SCECGS Redlands High School in Sydney, Australia. He then got his degree in international business and accounting at the University of South Carolina. Max is single and in his free time enjoys playing rugby, skiing, and hiking. Max joined us from Resurgent Capital Services where he was also a data analyst. Until recently we didn’t even have the position of data analyst but as our business has become more and more data-driven we felt the need to add this position and Max has been a great addition to our team.

Our management article this month is entitled, Uncommon Leadership. A lot of new managers don’t understand the difference between managing and leading so this story should be helpful to any new managers in your business.

MARCH’S MANAGEMENT ARTICLE

Uncommon Leadership
By Steve Keating

I’ve had the opportunity to spend several days recently with a person recently promoted to a leadership position. He was very good at what he did and earned his promotion. His promotion came with a new title and higher income, unfortunately what it didn’t come with was any hint of how to actually lead. So he doesn’t lead, he just tries to get by managing his new team.

I’ve seen the same scenario play out literally hundreds of times through the years. A person is good at what they do so they are promoted into a leadership role even through they have little, or more commonly, no leadership experience or skills at all.

I call them common leaders. I don’t mean to be disparaging here but it is what it is… common leadership really isn’t leadership at all. At its best it’s just managing and and at it’s worst it’s something much worse. That something involves fear, coercion and sometimes even outright abuse.

Absent any real leadership skills people in leadership positions too often tend to use intimidation, coercion, threats and punishment to force the compliance of their people. 99.9% of the people in leadership positions who use those tactics are not bad people, it’s just that in many cases that’s how they were taught to “lead.” Sadly, they were likely taught to lead by people who themselves had few if any leadership skills. So the cycle of common leadership simply repeats itself.

Individuals who do manage to break the cycle of common leadership and become uncommon leaders don’t do so on their own. They most often have a mentor or are led by someone who has broken through the common cycle themselves.

Here’s one of the most interesting aspects of leadership: it can’t actually be taught but it can be learned. It is learned not so much by listening to a true leader but by watching them.

Authentic leaders lead by example. They show the way to true uncommon leadership. I can tell people what to look for in a leader, I can share with them the characteristics that make a good leader, and I can even help them judge whether or not someone in a leadership position truly processes those characteristics but a person must teach themselves to lead.
Let me give you one example.

Caring for people, truly caring and investing yourself in another person’s success and well-being is an absolute characteristic of an uncommon, authentic leader. I can tell someone that, I can point out a person who has that characteristic but I know of no way to teach someone how to care. They must develop that caring nature on their own. The quickest way to do that is to see someone else display their own caring nature and decide if the results they see are something they want in their own life.

If you were taught to lead by someone who did not develop those uncommon leadership skills then my very best advice to you would be to find a mentor who has. Find a coach or hire a coach who will help you break that cycle of common leadership and become a leader who can actually make a positive difference in the lives of those they would lead.

Never assume that a leadership position makes you a leader. A leadership position doesn’t come with the right to lead, that must be earned by demonstrating consistent leadership skills.

Develop those skills and people will naturally follow you.